Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oxford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oxford and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oxford
- 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 Oxford:
- 41.173648, -90.433185
- 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 Oxford
- 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 Henry County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Henry County
- Since Oxford is near Mercer County and also Knox County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- eBird sighting report for Knox 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 Oxford ...
We found 44 communities that share the name Oxford.
Within Illinois, the name Oxford is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 40 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 40 communities, 39 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
In addition to the above occurrences of Oxford, we know of four communities located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Bingham 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 Idaho community of Oxford [Bingham County].
- Franklin County
- This Oxford is located in Franklin County and lies 1,112 miles [1,789.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Oxford.
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Johnson 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 Kansas community of Oxford [Johnson County].
- Sumner County
- This Oxford is located in Sumner County and lies 449 miles [722.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumner County community of Oxford.
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- De Soto Parish
- This Oxford is located in De Soto Parish and lies 662 miles [1,065.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the De Soto Parish community of Oxford.
- Saint Mary Parish
- This Oxford is located in Saint Mary Parish and lies 783 miles [1,260.1 km] to the south of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Mary Parish community of Oxford.
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Bristol County
- This Oxford is located in Bristol County and lies 1,009 miles [1,623.8 km]<1> to the east of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bristol County community of Oxford.
- Worcester County
- This Oxford is located in Worcester County and lies 958 miles [1,541.8 km] to the east of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worcester County community of Oxford.
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Amite County
- This Oxford is located in Amite County and lies 684 miles [1,100.8 km]<1> to the south of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Amite County community of Oxford.
- Lafayette County
- This Oxford is located in Lafayette County and lies 472 miles [759.6 km] to the south of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafayette County community of Oxford.
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New York
- Chenango County
- This Oxford is located in Chenango County and lies 767 miles [1,234.4 km]<1> to the east of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chenango County community of Oxford.
- Orange County
- This Oxford is located in Orange County and lies 840 miles [1,351.8 km] to the east of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Oxford.
- North Carolina
- Nova Scotia
- This Oxford lies 1,361 miles [2,190.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- Ohio
- Butler County
- This Oxford is located in Butler County and lies 320 miles [515 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Oxford.
- Coshocton 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 Ohio community of Oxford [Coshocton County].
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Fort Bend County
- This Oxford is located in Fort Bend County and lies 852 miles [1,371.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Oxford that is located in Henry County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fort Bend County community of Oxford.
- Llano 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 Texas community of Oxford [Llano County].
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Communities Beyond North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Oxford ...
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.
- Alexis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexis
- Alexis is located in Mercer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alexis <4>
- Alpha
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpha have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Alpha is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alpha <4>
- Cable
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Griffin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Lynn Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynn Center have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Center
- Lynn Center is located in Henry County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynn Center <4>
- Martin ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Orion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Orion is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orion <4>
- Preemption
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preemption have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preemption
- Preemption is located in Mercer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preemption <4>
- Shale City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shale City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Shale City is located in Mercer County
- Shanghai City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shanghai City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai City
- Shanghai City is located in Warren County
How Far From Oxford 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 Oxford 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 Oxford once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Oxford and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Henry County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Oxford to Cambridge, 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 four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 104 miles [167.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 724 miles [1,165.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,318 miles [10,167.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,061 miles [11,363.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,947 miles [7,961.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Henry County: www.henrycty.com/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oxford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oxford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1736, Longitude: -90.4332 In this case, the coordinates for Oxford 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 Oxford 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 Oxford, 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> | 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. |
| <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 Oxford 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 316.302 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.365 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.148 degrees. |