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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ducktown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ducktown 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 Ducktown:
    • 41.831422, -87.675053
    • 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 Ducktown
  • 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 Ducktown is near DuPage County and also Lake 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 Lake 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 Ducktown

Communities Also Named Ducktown ...

We found four communities that are also named Ducktown.

Within Illinois, the name Ducktown is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Forsyth County
      • This Ducktown is located in Forsyth County and lies 555 miles [893.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ducktown that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Forsyth County community of Ducktown.
    • North Carolina
      • Transylvania County
      • This Ducktown is located in Transylvania County and lies 527 miles [848.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ducktown that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Transylvania County community of Ducktown.
    • Tennessee
      • Polk County
      • This Ducktown is located in Polk County and lies 501 miles [806.3 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ducktown that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Ducktown.
      • Washington County
      • This Ducktown is located in Washington County and lies 465 miles [748.3 km] to the southeast of the Ducktown that is located in Cook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Ducktown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ducktown ...

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.

  • Back of the Yards
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Back of the Yards is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Back of the Yards
  • Bronzeville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Bronzeville is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronzeville
  • Chinatown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Chinatown is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
  • Film Row
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Film Row is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Film Row
  • Forestville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Forestville is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
  • Fuller Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Fuller Park is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller Park
  • Gage Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Gage Park is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage Park
  • Grand Boulevard
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Grand Boulevard is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Boulevard
  • Grant Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Grant Village is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
  • Harbor Square
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Harbor Square is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Square
  • Lake Meadows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Meadows is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Meadows
  • Locks
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Locks is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Maplewood Courts
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Maplewood Courts is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood Courts
    • Mexico
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Mexico is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
    • Mount Pleasant
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • New City
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • New City is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
    • New Patch
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • New Patch is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Patch
    • Park Row
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Park Row is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Row
    • Prairie Courts
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Prairie Courts is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Courts
    • Prairie Shores
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Prairie Shores is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Shores
    • Sleepy Hollow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Sleepy Hollow is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Hollow
    • Whiskey Row
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Whiskey Row is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiskey Row

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

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

  • Chicago, which is the Seat of Cook County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 175 miles [281.6 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Ducktown to Springfield, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 594 miles [956 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,186 miles [9,955.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,925 miles [11,144.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,808 miles [7,737.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Ducktown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Ducktown 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 Ducktown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8314, Longitude: -87.6751       In this case, the coordinates for Ducktown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.464 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.357 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.601 degrees.