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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Dexter:
    • 39.080794, -88.683531
    • 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 Dexter
  • 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 Effingham County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Effingham County
    • Since Dexter is near Fayette County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 Dexter

Communities Also Named Dexter ...

We found 29 communities that are also named Dexter.

Within Illinois, the name Dexter is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of 29 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 29 communities, 28 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Elmore County
      • This Dexter is located in Elmore County and lies 466 miles [750 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elmore County community of Dexter.
    • Arkansas
      • Jefferson County
      • This Dexter is located in Jefferson County and lies 379 miles [609.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Dexter.
    • Georgia
      • Laurens County
      • This Dexter is located in Laurens County and lies 556 miles [894.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Laurens County community of Dexter.
    • Indiana
      • Perry County
      • This Dexter is located in Perry County and lies 138 miles [222.1 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Perry County community of Dexter.
    • Iowa
      • Dallas County
      • This Dexter is located in Dallas County and lies 336 miles [540.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dallas County community of Dexter.
    • Kansas
      • Cowley County
      • This Dexter is located in Cowley County and lies 455 miles [732.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cowley County community of Dexter.
    • Kentucky
      • Calloway County
      • This Dexter is located in Calloway County and lies 162 miles [260.7 km]<1> to the south of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calloway County community of Dexter.
      • Mason County
      • This Dexter is located in Mason County and lies 259 miles [416.8 km] to the east of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mason County community of Dexter.
    • Maine
      • Penobscot County
      • This Dexter is located in Penobscot County and lies 1,072 miles [1,725.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Penobscot County community of Dexter.
    • Michigan
      • Marquette County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Dexter [Marquette County].
      • Washtenaw County
      • This Dexter is located in Washtenaw County and lies 336 miles [540.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washtenaw County community of Dexter.
    • Minnesota
      • Mower County
      • This Dexter is located in Mower County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mower County community of Dexter.
    • Mississippi
      • Marion County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Dexter [Marion County].
      • Walthall County
      • This Dexter is located in Walthall County and lies 557 miles [896.4 km]<1> to the south of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Walthall County community of Dexter.
    • Missouri
      • Stoddard County
      • This Dexter is located in Stoddard County and lies 172 miles [276.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stoddard County community of Dexter.
    • Nebraska
      • Lincoln County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Lincoln County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Dexter.
    • New Hampshire
      • Strafford County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Hampshire community of Dexter [Strafford County].
    • New Mexico
      • Chaves County
      • This Dexter is located in Chaves County and lies 962 miles [1,548.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chaves County community of Dexter.
    • New York
      • Jefferson County
      • This Dexter is located in Jefferson County and lies 735 miles [1,182.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Dexter.
    • North Carolina
      • Granville County
      • This Dexter is located in Granville County and lies 585 miles [941.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Granville County community of Dexter.
    • Ohio
      • Meigs County
      • This Dexter is located in Meigs County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km]<1> to the east of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meigs County community of Dexter.
    • Ontario
      • This Dexter lies 465 miles [748.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
    • Oregon
      • Lane County
      • This Dexter is located in Lane County and lies 1,783 miles [2,869.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lane County community of Dexter.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Tioga County
      • This Dexter is located in Tioga County and lies 621 miles [999.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tioga County community of Dexter.
    • South Dakota
      • Codington County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Dakota community of Dexter [Codington County].
    • Tennessee
      • Shelby County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Dexter [Shelby County].
    • Texas
      • Cooke County
      • This Dexter is located in Cooke County and lies 585 miles [941.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cooke County community of Dexter.
    • West Virginia
      • Roane County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Dexter [Roane County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Fond du Lac County
      • This Dexter is located in Fond du Lac County and lies 328 miles [527.9 km]<1> to the north of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fond du Lac County community of Dexter.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Dexter ...

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.

How Far From Dexter 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 community such as Dexter to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Effingham, which is the Seat of Effingham County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 70 miles [112.7 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Dexter to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take three full days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 624 miles [1,004.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,357 miles [10,230.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,090 miles [11,410.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,969 miles [7,996.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 from Point A (ie- Dexter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Dexter 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.
<3>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 Dexter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Dexter 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 Dexter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0808, Longitude: -88.6835       In this case, the coordinates for Dexter have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.098 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.696 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.829 degrees.