Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hampshire, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hampshire and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hampshire
- 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 Hampshire:
- 42.115702, -88.505168
- 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 Hampshire
- 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 Kane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kane County
- Since Hampshire is near McHenry County and also DeKalb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McHenry County
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb 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 Hampshire ...
We found eight communities that share the name Hampshire.
Within Illinois, the name Hampshire is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Maryland
- Baltimore County
- This Hampshire is located in Baltimore County and lies 649 miles [1,044.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Hampshire that is located in Kane County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Hampshire.
- Charles County
- This Hampshire is located in Charles County and lies 653 miles [1,050.9 km] to the east southeast of the Hampshire that is located in Kane County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charles County community of Hampshire.
- Michigan
- New York
- Ohio
- Prince Edward Island
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
- Maryland
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hampshire ...
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.
- Charter Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
- Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
- Coral
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Freeman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Gilberts
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilberts
- Gilberts is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,071 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilberts <5>
- Harmony
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Hidden Lakes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hidden Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Lakes
- Hidden Lakes is located in Kane County
- Plato Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plato Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato Center
- Plato Center is located in Kane County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plato Center <5>
- Silent Meadow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silent Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silent Meadow
- Silent Meadow is located in Kane County
- Starks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- Starks is located in Kane County
- Union
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Union is located in McHenry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union <5>
- Wildwood Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Valley
- Wildwood Valley is located in Kane County
How Far From Hampshire 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 village such as Hampshire to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Hampshire and extending to:
- Geneva, which is the Seat of Kane County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Hampshire to Geneva, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 171 miles [275.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 641 miles [1,031.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,202 miles [9,981.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,943 miles [11,173.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,829 miles [7,771.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Hampshire: www.hampshireillinois.com/
The official website for Kane County: www.co.kane.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- Hampshire) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hampshire. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1157, Longitude: -88.5052 In this case, the coordinates for Hampshire 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Hampshire 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 Hampshire, 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 Hampshire 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 315.016 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.027 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.933 degrees. |