RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Will County >> Old Kent >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Old Kent.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Old Kent, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Old Kent 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 Old Kent:
    • 41.524167, -88.155278<1>
    • 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 Old Kent
  • 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 Will County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Will County
    • Since Old Kent is near Grundy County and also Cook County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grundy County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cook 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 Old Kent

Curious and Interesting Names Near Old Kent ...

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.

  • Crest Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Crystal Lawns
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Crystal Lawns is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lawns
  • Erin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Erin is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
  • Fox Meadow
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Fox Meadow is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Meadow
  • Grand Prairie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Grand Prairie is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Prairie
  • Hunt Club
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Hunt Club is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Club
  • Oak Lane
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Lane is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Lane
  • Pheasant Landing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pheasant Landing is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Landing
  • Pleasant Knoll
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Pleasant Knoll is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Knoll
  • Prairie Trail
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Prairie Trail is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Trail
  • Riverwalk
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverwalk is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwalk
  • Rock Run Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Rock Run Park is also located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run Park
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Rockdale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockdale is also located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
    • Rockdale Junction
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rockdale Junction is also located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale Junction
    • Springwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Springwood is also located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
    • Squires Mill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Squires Mill is also located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squires Mill
    • Sunset Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Sunset Hills is also located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
    • Sunset Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunset Ridge is also located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Ridge
    • Vintage
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Vintage is also located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage

How Far From Old Kent 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 included the distance from a community such as Old Kent to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Old Kent and extending to:

  • Joliet, which is the Seat of Will County, lies just to the East.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 143 miles [230.1 km]<3> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Old Kent to Springfield, with an average speed<4>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 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 613 miles [986.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,219 miles [10,008.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,957 miles [11,196.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,841 miles [7,790.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>GPS Coordinates for Old Kent:
     Decimal: 41.52416, -88.155278
     DDMMSS: 41° 31' 26", -88° 9' 19"
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Old Kent) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.
<5>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 Old Kent 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 Old Kent. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5242, Longitude: -88.1553       In this case, the coordinates for Old Kent have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.783 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.678 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.926 degrees.