Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bowen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bowen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bowen
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Bowen:
- 40.232054, -91.063281
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Bowen
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Hancock County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hancock County
- Since Bowen is near Adams County and also Schuyler County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Adams County
- eBird sighting report for Schuyler County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Bowen ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Bowen.
Within Illinois, the name Bowen is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Las Animas County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Las Animas County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Las Animas County community of Bowen.
- Rio Grande County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Bowen [Rio Grande County].
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Dona Ana County
- Although located in Dona Ana County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dona Ana County community of Bowen.
- New York
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bowen ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Carthage
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
- Carthage is located in Hancock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carthage <4>
- Chili
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chili
- Chili is located in Hancock County
- Coatsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coatsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatsburg
- Coatsburg is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coatsburg <4>
- Elderville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elderville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
- Elderville is located in Hancock County
- Golden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golden have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
- Golden is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 611 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Golden <4>
- Hills Grove ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Grove
- Hills Grove is located in McDonough County
- Huntsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntsville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Huntsville is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntsville <4>
- Middle Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
- Middle Creek is located in Hancock County
- Plymouth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Plymouth is located in Hancock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plymouth <4>
How Far From Bowen to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Bowen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bowen and extending to:
- Carthage, which is the Seat of Hancock County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Bowen to Carthage, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 80 miles [128.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 751 miles [1,208.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,388 miles [10,280.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,129 miles [11,473 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,015 miles [8,070.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bowen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Bowen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bowen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bowen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2321, Longitude: -91.0633 In this case, the coordinates for Bowen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Bowen could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <7> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Bowen to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.702 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.696 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.69 degrees. |