RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Cook County >> Countryside >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Countryside, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Countryside 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 Countryside:
    • 41.774117, -87.875432
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Countryside
  • 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 Cook County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cook County
    • Since Countryside is near DuPage County and also Will County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for DuPage County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Will 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Countryside

Communities Also Named Countryside ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Countryside.

There are three communities within Illinois that are also named Countryside.

Beyond Illinois, we know of ten communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Illinois ...
    • Kane County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Countryside [Kane County].
    • Kendall County
      • This Countryside is located in Kendall County and lies 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kendall County community of Countryside.
    • Lake County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Countryside [Lake County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Jefferson County
      • This Countryside is located in Jefferson County and lies 908 miles [1,461.3 km]<2> to the west of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Countryside.
    • Florida
      • Pinellas County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Countryside [Pinellas County].
    • Kansas
      • Johnson County
      • This Countryside is located in Johnson County and lies 404 miles [650.2 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Countryside.
    • Maryland
      • Charles County
      • This Countryside is located in Charles County and lies 612 miles [984.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charles County community of Countryside.
      • Howard County
      • This Countryside is located in Howard County and lies 594 miles [956 km] to the east southeast of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Howard County community of Countryside.
      • Washington County
      • This Countryside is located in Washington County and lies 548 miles [881.9 km] to the east southeast of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Countryside.
    • Massachusetts
      • Middlesex County
      • This Countryside is located in Middlesex County and lies 854 miles [1,374.4 km]<2> to the east of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Countryside.
    • Missouri
      • Platte County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Countryside [Platte County].
    • Tennessee
      • Knox County
      • This Countryside is located in Knox County and lies 451 miles [725.8 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Countryside.
    • Virginia
      • Loudoun County
      • This Countryside is located in Loudoun County and lies 581 miles [935 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Countryside that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Loudoun County community of Countryside.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Countryside ...

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.

  • Bridgeview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Fullersburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fullersburg is located in DuPage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullersburg
  • Gary
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Gary is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
  • Hickory Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Indian Head Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Indian Head Park is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head Park
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,680 people
  • Justice
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Lace
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lace is located in DuPage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lace
  • Lyons
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • McCook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Willow Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Willowbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)

How Far From Countryside to ...

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

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

  • Chicago, which is the Seat of Cook County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Countryside to Chicago, with an average speed<4> 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 165 miles [265.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 603 miles [970.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,196 miles [9,971.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,935 miles [11,160.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,819 miles [7,755.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Countryside 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.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Countryside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Countryside to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Countryside. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7741, Longitude: -87.8754       In this case, the coordinates for Countryside have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.597 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.501 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.717 degrees.