Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shirley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shirley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shirley
- 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 Shirley:
- 40.407259, -89.062581
- 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 Shirley
- 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 McLean County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McLean County
- Since Shirley is near De Witt County and also Tazewell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for De Witt County
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell 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 Shirley ...
We found 36 communities that share the name Shirley.
There is one other community in Illinois which is also named Shirley.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 35 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 35 communities, 34 are located in the United States and four are in Canada.
- Communities Located In Illinois ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Covington 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 Alabama community of Shirley [Covington County].
- Tuscaloosa County
- This Shirley is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 492 miles [791.8 km]<1> to the south of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Shirley.
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Shirley lies 1,787 miles [2,875.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- California
- Kings County
- This Shirley is located in Kings County and lies 1,670 miles [2,687.6 km]<1> to the west of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kings County community of Shirley.
- Orange County
- This Shirley is located in Orange County and lies 1,649 miles [2,653.8 km] to the west of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Shirley.
- Colorado
- Chaffee 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 Colorado community of Shirley [Chaffee County].
- El Paso County
- This Shirley is located in El Paso County and lies 834 miles [1,342.2 km]<1> to the west of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the El Paso County community of Shirley.
- Saguache 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 Colorado community of Shirley [Saguache County].
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Middlesex County
- This Shirley is located in Middlesex County and lies 911 miles [1,466.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Shirley.
- Suffolk 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 Massachusetts community of Shirley [Suffolk County].
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Erie County
- This Shirley is located in Erie County and lies 545 miles [877.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Shirley.
- Suffolk County
- This Shirley is located in Suffolk County and lies 848 miles [1,364.7 km] to the east of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Suffolk County community of Shirley.
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Huntingdon 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 Shirley [Huntingdon County].
- Westmoreland County
- This Shirley is located in Westmoreland County and lies 517 miles [832 km]<1> to the east of the Shirley that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of Shirley.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shirley ...
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.
- Bucks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Burns
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Downs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs
- Downs is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 949 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downs <5>
- Eagle Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Ridge
- Eagle Ridge is located in McLean County
- Funks Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Funks Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funks Grove
- Funks Grove is located in McLean County
- Hedgewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Littleville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Littleville is located in McLean County
- Normal
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normal
- Normal is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,451 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Normal <5>
- Randolph
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Shamrock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Twin Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Twin Grove is located in McLean County
How Far From Shirley 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 Shirley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shirley and extending to:
- Bloomington, which is the Seat of McLean County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 53 miles [85.3 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Shirley to Springfield, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 647 miles [1,041.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,307 miles [10,150.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,044 miles [11,336.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,926 miles [7,927.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shirley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for McLean County: www.mclean.gov/
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- Shirley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shirley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4073, Longitude: -89.0626 In this case, the coordinates for Shirley 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 Shirley 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 Shirley, 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 Shirley 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 315.374 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.197 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.672 degrees. |