Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Brownton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Brownton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Brownton
- 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 Brownton:
- 39.763658, -90.191231
- 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 Brownton
- 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 Morgan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Morgan County
- Since Brownton is near Cass County and also Sangamon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cass County
- eBird sighting report for Sangamon 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 Brownton ...
We found four communities that share the name Brownton.
Within Illinois, the name Brownton is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Minnesota
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Brownton ...
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.
- Arnold
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Jordanville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordanville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordanville
- Jordanville is located in Morgan County
- Joy Prairie
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joy Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy Prairie
- Joy Prairie is located in Morgan County
- Little Indian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Indian have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Indian
- Little Indian is located in Cass County
- Lynnville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Orleans
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Portuguese Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portuguese Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portuguese Hill
- Portuguese Hill is located in Morgan County
- Savage ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
How Far From Brownton 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 community such as Brownton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Brownton once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Brownton and extending to:
- Jacksonville, which is the Seat of Morgan County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Brownton to Springfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 704 miles [1,133 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,380 miles [10,267.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,118 miles [11,455.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,001 miles [8,048.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brownton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brownton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7637, Longitude: -90.1912 In this case, the coordinates for Brownton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Brownton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Brownton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.107 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.949 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.378 degrees. |