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.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dexter
- 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Dexter ...
We found 29 communities that share the name Dexter.
Within Illinois, the name Dexter is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 29 communities that are located throughout 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
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Dexter lies 465 miles [748.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Dexter that is located in Effingham County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
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.
- Funkhouser
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funkhouser
- Funkhouser is located in Effingham County
- Greenland ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Heartville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartville
- Heartville is located in Effingham County
- Holland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Howards Point ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howards Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Point
- Howards Point is located in Fayette County
- Magnolia Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Corner
- Magnolia Corner is located in Fayette County
- Mason
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Mason is located in Effingham County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 333 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <5>
- Moccasin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Moccasin is located in Effingham County
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<6>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<7> 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).<8>
- 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).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,969 miles [7,996.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dexter. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Effingham County: www.co.effingham.il.us/
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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dexter) to Point B.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). |
| <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 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 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> | 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 Dexter 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 315.098 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.696 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.829 degrees. |