RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Macoupin County >> Schoper >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Schoper:
    • 39.338105, -89.784262
    • 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 Schoper
  • 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 Macoupin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
    • Since Schoper is near Montgomery County and also Sangamon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sangamon 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 Schoper

Curious and Interesting Names Near Schoper ...

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.

  • Farmersville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Greenridge is located in Macoupin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenridge
  • Honey Bend
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Honey Bend is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Bend
  • Island View
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Island View is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View
  • Lemmon ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lemmon is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemmon
  • Raymond
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Reader
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Reader is located in Macoupin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reader
  • Shop Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Shop Creek is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shop Creek
  • Stagecoach Junction
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Stagecoach Junction is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Junction
  • Standard City
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Standard City is located in Macoupin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
  • Sunrise Hills
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunrise Hills is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Hills
  • Tower Heights
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Tower Heights is located in Sangamon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Heights

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Schoper and extending to:

  • Carlinville, which is the Seat of Macoupin County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<2> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Schoper to Springfield, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 683 miles [1,099.2 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,386 miles [10,277.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,122 miles [11,461.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,003 miles [8,051.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Schoper) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Schoper 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 Schoper. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3381, Longitude: -89.7843       In this case, the coordinates for Schoper have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.825 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.567 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.286 degrees.