Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gillespie, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gillespie and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gillespie
- 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 Gillespie:
- 39.127326, -89.816930
- 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 Gillespie
- 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 Macoupin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
- Since Gillespie is near Montgomery County and also Madison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- eBird sighting report for Madison 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 Gillespie ...
We found fifteen communities that share the name Gillespie.
Within Illinois, the name Gillespie is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Cloud 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 Kansas community of Gillespie [Cloud County].
- Finney County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Gillespie [Finney County].
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Virginia
- Bedford County
- This Gillespie is located in Bedford County and lies 578 miles [930.2 km]<1> to the east of the Gillespie that is located in Macoupin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bedford County community of Gillespie.
- Tazewell County
- This Gillespie is located in Tazewell County and lies 464 miles [746.7 km] to the east southeast of the Gillespie that is located in Macoupin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tazewell County community of Gillespie.
- West Virginia
- Braxton County
- This Gillespie is located in Braxton County and lies 495 miles [796.6 km]<1> to the east of the Gillespie that is located in Macoupin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Braxton County community of Gillespie.
- Pocahontas 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 Gillespie [Pocahontas County].
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gillespie ...
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.
- Centerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Macoupin County
- Eagarville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagarville
- Eagarville is located in Macoupin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagarville <5>
- Honey Bend
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Bend
- Honey Bend is located in Montgomery County
- Island View
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View
- Island View is located in Montgomery County
- Plainview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
- Plainview is located in Macoupin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainview <5>
- Prairietown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairietown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
- Prairietown is located in Madison County
- Royal Lakes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Lakes
- Royal Lakes is located in Macoupin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Royal Lakes has also been known as:
- Royal Lakes village
- Shipman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Shipman is located in Macoupin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shipman <5>
- Shop Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shop Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shop Creek
- Shop Creek is located in Montgomery County
- Stagecoach Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stagecoach Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Junction
- Stagecoach Junction is located in Montgomery County
- Sunrise Hills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Hills
- Sunrise Hills is located in Montgomery County
How Far From Gillespie 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 city such as Gillespie to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Gillespie and extending to:
- Carlinville, which is the Seat of Macoupin County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Gillespie to Carlinville, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 46 miles [74 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 685 miles [1,102.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,398 miles [10,296.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,133 miles [11,479.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,014 miles [8,069.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gillespie. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gillespie) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gillespie. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1273, Longitude: -89.8169 |
| <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 Gillespie 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 Gillespie, 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 Gillespie 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 315.84 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.555 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.352 degrees. |