Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Freeport, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Freeport and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Freeport
- 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 Freeport:
- 42.289507, -89.635510
- 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 Freeport
- 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 Stephenson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Stephenson County
- Since Freeport is near Ogle County and also Carroll County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ogle County
- eBird sighting report for Carroll 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 Freeport ...
We found 25 communities that share the name Freeport.
Within Illinois, the name Freeport is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 25 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 25 communities, 22 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- California
- Florida
- Indiana
- Jackson 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 Indiana community of Freeport [Jackson County].
- Shelby County
- This Freeport is located in Shelby County and lies 272 miles [437.7 km]<1> to the southeast of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of Freeport.
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New York
- Nassau County
- This Freeport is located in Nassau County and lies 836 miles [1,345.4 km]<1> to the east of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nassau County community of Freeport.
- Queens 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 York community of Freeport [Queens County].
- Nova Scotia
- This Freeport lies 1,176 miles [1,892.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Freeport lies 473 miles [761.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- Pennsylvania
- Armstrong County
- This Freeport is located in Armstrong County and lies 526 miles [846.5 km]<1> to the east of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Armstrong County community of Freeport.
- Erie County
- This Freeport is located in Erie County and lies 500 miles [804.7 km] to the east of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Freeport.
- Quebec
- This Freeport lies 863 miles [1,388.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- Texas
- Brazoria County
- This Freeport is located in Brazoria County and lies 975 miles [1,569.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazoria County community of Freeport.
- Hale County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Hale County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hale County community of Freeport.
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Preston County
- This Freeport is located in Preston County and lies 565 miles [909.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Preston County community of Freeport.
- Wirt County
- This Freeport is located in Wirt County and lies 485 miles [780.5 km] to the east southeast of the Freeport that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wirt County community of Freeport.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Freeport ...
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.
- Bolton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Cedarville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Cedarville is located in Stephenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 675 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedarville <5>
- Dakota
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota
- Dakota is located in Stephenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dakota <5>
- Damascus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Florence
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - German Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- German Valley is located in Stephenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for German Valley <5>
- Harper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Harper is located in Ogle County
- Hunt Corners
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunt Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Corners
- Hunt Corners is located in Stephenson County
- Pearl City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Pearl City is located in Stephenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 772 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pearl City <5>
- Red Oak
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Valley Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek
- Valley Creek is located in Stephenson County
How Far From Freeport 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 Freeport to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Freeport and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 173 miles [278.4 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Freeport to Springfield, with an average speed<6>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 700 miles [1,126.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,234 miles [10,032.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,978 miles [11,230 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,866 miles [7,831.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Freeport: www.ci.freeport.il.us/
The official website for Stephenson County: www.co.stephenson.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Freeport) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Freeport. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2895, Longitude: -89.6355 In this case, the coordinates for Freeport 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 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 Freeport 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 Freeport, 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 Freeport 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 315.776 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.918 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.453 degrees. |