Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in New Salem, we use the following websites to find information relevant to New Salem and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for New Salem
- 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 Salem:
- 39.978938, -89.843998
- 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 New Salem
- 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 Menard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Menard County
- Since New Salem is near Sangamon County and also Cass County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sangamon County
- eBird sighting report for Cass 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 New Salem ...
We found 32 communities that share the name New Salem.
There is one other community in Illinois which is also named New Salem.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 31 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 31 communities, 31 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Illinois ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Lee County
- This New Salem is located in Lee County and lies 357 miles [574.5 km]<1> to the south of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of New Salem.
- Mississippi County
- This New Salem is located in Mississippi County and lies 291 miles [468.3 km] to the south of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi County community of New Salem.
- Woodruff County
- This New Salem is located in Woodruff County and lies 333 miles [535.9 km] to the south southwest of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Woodruff County community of New Salem.
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Rush County
- This New Salem is located in Rush County and lies 239 miles [384.6 km]<1> to the east of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rush County community of New Salem.
- Washington County
- This New Salem is located in Washington County and lies 230 miles [370.1 km] to the east southeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of New Salem.
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Crittenden County
- This New Salem is located in Crittenden County and lies 206 miles [331.5 km]<1> to the south southeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crittenden County community of New Salem.
- Lincoln County
- This New Salem is located in Lincoln County and lies 326 miles [524.6 km] to the east southeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of New Salem.
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New York
- Albany County
- This New Salem is located in Albany County and lies 842 miles [1,355.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albany County community of New Salem.
- Ulster County
- This New Salem is located in Ulster County and lies 834 miles [1,342.2 km] to the east northeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ulster County community of New Salem.
- North Carolina
- Randolph 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 North Carolina community of New Salem [Randolph County].
- Union County
- This New Salem is located in Union County and lies 616 miles [991.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of New Salem.
- North Dakota
- Nova Scotia
- This New Salem lies 1,319 miles [2,122.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- Ohio
- Fairfield County
- This New Salem is located in Fairfield County and lies 390 miles [627.6 km]<1> to the east of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of New Salem.
- Huron County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Huron County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Huron County community of New Salem.
- Ross County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of New Salem [Ross County].
- Pennsylvania
- Armstrong County
- This New Salem is located in Armstrong County and lies 560 miles [901.2 km]<1> to the east of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Armstrong County community of New Salem.
- Fayette County
- This New Salem is located in Fayette County and lies 529 miles [851.3 km] to the east of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of New Salem.
- Westmoreland 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 Pennsylvania community of New Salem [Westmoreland County].
- York County
- This New Salem is located in York County and lies 690 miles [1,110.4 km] to the east of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of New Salem.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Hamilton County
- This New Salem is located in Hamilton County and lies 415 miles [667.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of New Salem.
- Jackson County
- This New Salem is located in Jackson County and lies 339 miles [545.6 km] to the southeast of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of New Salem.
- Texas
- Palo Pinto County
- This New Salem is located in Palo Pinto County and lies 684 miles [1,100.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Palo Pinto County community of New Salem.
- Rusk County
- This New Salem is located in Rusk County and lies 624 miles [1,004.2 km] to the south southwest of the New Salem that is located in Menard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rusk County community of New Salem.
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near New Salem ...
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.
- Bobtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Claysville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claysville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
- Claysville is located in Sangamon County
- Green Acres
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Sangamon County
- Greenview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenview
- Greenview is located in Menard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenview <5>
- Hill Top
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Hilltop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Lewisburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Pleasant Plains
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
- Pleasant Plains is located in Sangamon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 792 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Plains <5>
- Salisbury
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Salisbury is located in Sangamon County
- Sweet Water
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Water have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
- Sweet Water is located in Menard County
How Far From New Salem 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 community such as New Salem to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of New Salem once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in New Salem and extending to:
- Petersburg, which is the Seat of Menard County, lies just to the North.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from New Salem to Springfield, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 686 miles [1,104 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 6,356 miles [10,229 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,094 miles [11,416.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,977 miles [8,009.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
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 from Point A (ie- New Salem) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in New Salem. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9789, Longitude: -89.8440 In this case, the coordinates for New Salem 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 New Salem 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 New Salem, 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 New Salem 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 315.883 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.721 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.158 degrees. |