Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McConnell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McConnell and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McConnell
- 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 McConnell:
- 42.434457, -89.731508
- 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 McConnell
- 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 McConnell is near Green County and also Jo Daviess County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Green County
- eBird sighting report for Jo Daviess 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 McConnell ...
We found nine communities that share the name McConnell.
Within Illinois, the name McConnell is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these nine communities, eight are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- This McConnell lies 745 miles [1,199 km]<2> to the northwest of the McConnell that is located in Stephenson County.
- North Carolina
- Beaufort County
- This McConnell is located in Beaufort County and lies 834 miles [1,342.2 km]<2> to the east southeast of the McConnell that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaufort County community of McConnell.
- Moore County
- This McConnell is located in Moore County and lies 729 miles [1,173.2 km] to the southeast of the McConnell that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Moore County community of McConnell.
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Scott County
- This McConnell is located in Scott County and lies 550 miles [885.1 km]<2> to the southeast of the McConnell that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of McConnell.
- Washington County
- This McConnell is located in Washington County and lies 571 miles [918.9 km] to the southeast of the McConnell that is located in Stephenson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of McConnell.
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near McConnell ...
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.
- Cedarville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- 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 <3>
- Dakota
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- 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 <3>
- Damascus
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Freeport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
- Freeport is located in Stephenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,447 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <3>
- Lena
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Lena is located in Stephenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <3>
- Martintown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martintown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martintown
- Martintown is located in Green County (WI)
- Orangeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
- Orangeville is located in Stephenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 737 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orangeville <3>
- Red Oak
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Rock Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Grove
- Rock Grove is located in Stephenson County
- Sunnyside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Twin Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Twin Grove is located in Green County (WI)
- Yellow Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County
How Far From McConnell 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 McConnell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in McConnell and extending to:
- Freeport, which is the Seat of Stephenson County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from McConnell to Freeport, with an average speed<5> 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 183 miles [294.5 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 707 miles [1,137.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,231 miles [10,027.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,975 miles [11,225.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,864 miles [7,827.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for McConnell. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Stephenson County: www.co.stephenson.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 McConnell 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- McConnell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McConnell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4345, Longitude: -89.7315 In this case, the coordinates for McConnell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 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 McConnell 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 315.842 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.013 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.462 degrees. |