Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Matthews, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Matthews and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Matthews
- 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 Matthews:
- 37.967551, -89.373977
- 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 Matthews
- 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 Perry County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Perry County
- Since Matthews is near Jackson County and also Randolph County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- eBird sighting report for Randolph 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 Matthews ...
We found seventeen communities that share the name Matthews.
Within Illinois, the name Matthews is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Calhoun 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 Matthews [Calhoun County].
- Jones County
- This Matthews is located in Jones County and lies 426 miles [685.6 km]<1> to the south of the Matthews that is located in Perry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jones County community of Matthews.
- Pontotoc County
- This Matthews is located in Pontotoc County and lies 267 miles [429.7 km] to the south of the Matthews that is located in Perry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pontotoc County community of Matthews.
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Brunswick
- This Matthews lies 1,338 miles [2,153.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Matthews that is located in Perry County.
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Matthews ...
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.
- De Soto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Soto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,503 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Soto <4>
- Denmark
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Denny
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Dowell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dowell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Dowell is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dowell <4>
- Elkville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkville
- Elkville is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkville <4>
- Grubbs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Jamestown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Kampenville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kampenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampenville
- Kampenville is located in Randolph County
- Layfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
How Far From Matthews 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 community such as Matthews to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Matthews and extending to:
- Pinckneyville, which is the Seat of Perry County, lies just to the North.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 126 miles [202.8 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Matthews to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 669 miles [1,076.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,438 miles [10,361 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,169 miles [11,537.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,047 miles [8,122.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Matthews. 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Matthews) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Matthews. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9676, Longitude: -89.3740 In this case, the coordinates for Matthews 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 Matthews 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Matthews to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.51 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.016 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.417 degrees. |