RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
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The Commemorative Quarter for Illinois







Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Centralia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Centralia and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Centralia:
    • 38.529280, -89.135795
    • 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 Centralia
  • 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 Centralia ...

We found seventeen communities that share the name Centralia.

There is one other community in Illinois which is also named Centralia.

Beyond Illinois, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Illinois ...
    • Marion County
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Centralia.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Sacramento County
      • This Centralia is located in Sacramento County and lies 1,728 miles [2,780.9 km]<1> to the west of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sacramento County community of Centralia.
    • Florida
      • Hernando County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Centralia [Hernando County].
      • Hillsborough County
      • This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Centralia [Hillsborough County].
    • Iowa
      • Dubuque County
      • This Centralia is located in Dubuque County and lies 286 miles [460.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dubuque County community of Centralia.
    • Kansas
      • Cherokee 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 Kansas community of Centralia [Cherokee County].
      • Nemaha County
      • This Centralia is located in Nemaha County and lies 383 miles [616.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nemaha County community of Centralia.
    • Missouri
      • Boone County
      • This Centralia is located in Boone County and lies 167 miles [268.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boone County community of Centralia.
    • New York
      • Chautauqua County
      • This Centralia is located in Chautauqua County and lies 575 miles [925.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chautauqua County community of Centralia.
    • Oklahoma
      • Craig County
      • This Centralia is located in Craig County and lies 360 miles [579.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Craig County community of Centralia.
    • Ontario
      • This Centralia lies 517 miles [832 km]<1> to the northeast of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Columbia County
      • This Centralia is located in Columbia County and lies 697 miles [1,121.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Centralia.
    • Texas
      • Trinity County
      • This Centralia is located in Trinity County and lies 602 miles [968.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Trinity County community of Centralia.
    • Virginia
      • Chesterfield County
      • This Centralia is located in Chesterfield County and lies 640 miles [1,030 km]<1> to the east of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chesterfield County community of Centralia.
    • Washington
      • Lewis County
      • This Centralia is located in Lewis County and lies 1,792 miles [2,883.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Centralia.
    • West Virginia
      • Braxton County
      • This Centralia is located in Braxton County and lies 462 miles [743.5 km]<1> to the east of the Centralia that is located in Clinton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Braxton County community of Centralia.
    • Wisconsin
      • Wood 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 Wisconsin community of Centralia [Wood County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Centralia ...

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.

  • Boulder
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boulder have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
    • Boulder is located in Clinton County
  • Fairman
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairman
    • Fairman is located in Marion County
  • Foxville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foxville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxville
    • Foxville is located in Marion County
  • Huey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huey have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huey
    • Huey is located in Clinton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huey <5>
  • Junction City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
    • Junction City is located in Marion County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
  • Posey
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posey
    • Posey is located in Clinton County
  • Pyramid
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pyramid have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyramid
    • Pyramid is located in Washington County
  • Richview
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Roaches
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaches
    • Roaches is located in Jefferson County
  • Walnut Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Walnut Hill is located in Marion County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Hill <5>
  • Woodlawn
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)

How Far From Centralia to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Centralia to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Centralia and extending to:

  • Carlyle, which is the Seat of Clinton County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Centralia to Carlyle, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 90 miles [144.8 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 651 miles [1,047.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,402 miles [10,303 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,134 miles [11,481.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,012 miles [8,066 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

The official website for Centralia: www.city.centralia.il.us/

The official website for Clinton County: www.clintonco.org/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Centralia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Centralia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5293, Longitude: -89.1358    
<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 Centralia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Centralia 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>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.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Centralia 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 315.376 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.939 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.175 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024