RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Mercer County >> New Boston >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in New Boston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to New Boston and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 New Boston:
    • 41.169745, -90.999914
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on New Boston
  • 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mercer County
    • Since New Boston is near Louisa County and also Des Moines County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Louisa County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Des Moines 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for New Boston

Communities Also Named New Boston ...

We found 23 communities that are also named New Boston.

Within Illinois, the name New Boston is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of 23 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 23 communities, 22 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Connecticut
      • Windham County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Connecticut community of New Boston [Windham County].
    • Indiana
      • Harrison County
      • This New Boston is located in Harrison County and lies 343 miles [552 km]<2> to the southeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harrison County community of New Boston.
      • Spencer County
      • This New Boston is located in Spencer County and lies 309 miles [497.3 km] to the southeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spencer County community of New Boston.
    • Iowa
      • Lee County
      • This New Boston is located in Lee County and lies 49 miles [78.9 km]<2> to the south southwest of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of New Boston.
    • Kansas
      • Douglas County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of New Boston [Douglas County].
    • Maine
      • Oxford County
      • This New Boston is located in Oxford County and lies 1,033 miles [1,662.5 km]<2> to the east northeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oxford County community of New Boston.
    • Massachusetts
      • Barnstable County
      • This New Boston is located in Barnstable County and lies 1,074 miles [1,728.4 km]<2> to the east of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barnstable County community of New Boston.
      • Berkshire County
      • This New Boston is located in Berkshire County and lies 925 miles [1,488.6 km] to the east of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berkshire County community of New Boston.
      • Worcester County
      • This New Boston is located in Worcester County and lies 980 miles [1,577.2 km] to the east of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worcester County community of New Boston.
    • Michigan
      • Wayne County
      • This New Boston is located in Wayne County and lies 397 miles [638.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of New Boston.
    • Missouri
      • Linn County
      • This New Boston is located in Linn County and lies 128 miles [206 km]<2> to the southwest of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Linn County community of New Boston.
    • Nevada
      • Esmeralda County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of New Boston [Esmeralda County].
      • Mineral County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of New Boston [Mineral County].
    • New Hampshire
      • Hillsborough County
      • This New Boston is located in Hillsborough County and lies 995 miles [1,601.3 km]<2> to the east northeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of New Boston.
    • New York
      • Cortland County
      • This New Boston is located in Cortland County and lies 780 miles [1,255.3 km]<2> to the east northeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cortland County community of New Boston.
      • Lewis County
      • This New Boston is located in Lewis County and lies 796 miles [1,281 km] to the east northeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of New Boston.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This New Boston lies 1,572 miles [2,529.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
    • Ohio
      • Scioto County
      • This New Boston is located in Scioto County and lies 457 miles [735.5 km]<2> to the east southeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scioto County community of New Boston.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Schuylkill County
      • This New Boston is located in Schuylkill County and lies 773 miles [1,244 km]<2> to the east of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuylkill County community of New Boston.
    • Tennessee
      • Henry County
      • This New Boston is located in Henry County and lies 360 miles [579.4 km]<2> to the south southeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of New Boston.
    • Texas
      • Bowie County
      • This New Boston is located in Bowie County and lies 564 miles [907.7 km]<2> to the south southwest of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bowie County community of New Boston.
    • Vermont
      • Rutland County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Rutland County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutland County community of New Boston.
      • Windsor County
      • This New Boston is located in Windsor County and lies 944 miles [1,519.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the New Boston that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windsor County community of New Boston.

Curious and Interesting Names Near New Boston ...

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.

  • Bald Bluff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bald Bluff is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Bluff
  • Bard
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bard is located in Louisa County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bard
  • Buffalo Prairie
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Fruitland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fruitland is located in Muscatine County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
  • Grandview
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Grandview is located in Louisa County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
  • Joy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Joy is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joy <4>
  • Keithsburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mediapolis
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Petersville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Petersville is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
  • Sugar Grove
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Sugar Grove is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
  • Sunbeam
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Sunbeam is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam

How Far From New Boston 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 New Boston to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in New Boston and extending to:

  • Aledo, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from New Boston to Aledo, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 119 miles [191.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 753 miles [1,211.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,339 miles [10,201.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,082 miles [11,397.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,970 miles [7,998.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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 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 New Boston 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- New Boston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 New Boston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 New Boston to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in New Boston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1697, Longitude: -90.9999       In this case, the coordinates for New Boston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.684 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.803 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.431 degrees.