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The Commemorative
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The Commemorative Quarter for Illinois





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Straut, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Straut 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 Straut:
    • 39.441645, -90.705727
    • 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 Straut
  • 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

Curious and Interesting Names Near Straut ...

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.

  • Bee Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Grand Pass
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Pass have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Pass
    • Grand Pass is located in Greene County
  • Greenpond
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenpond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenpond
    • Greenpond is located in Pike County
  • Hillview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillview
    • Hillview is located in Greene County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillview <2>
  • Independence
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
    • Independence is located in Pike County
  • Martinsburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Pearl
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Pearl have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Pearl
    • Old Pearl is located in Pike County
  • Pearl
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Pleasant Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Time
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Time have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Time
    • Time is located in Pike County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people

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

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

  • Pittsfield, which is the Seat of Pike County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Straut to Pittsfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 60 miles [96.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 732 miles [1,178 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,415 miles [10,323.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,153 miles [11,511.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,036 miles [8,104.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Straut. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Straut) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Straut. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4416, Longitude: -90.7057       In this case, the coordinates for Straut have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Straut to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.438 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.285 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.702 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025