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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Walnut Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Walnut Ridge 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 Walnut Ridge:
    • 41.725000, -88.107778
    • 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 Walnut Ridge
  • 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 Walnut Ridge is near DuPage County and also Cook County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for DuPage 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 Walnut Ridge

Communities Also Named Walnut Ridge ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Walnut Ridge.

Within Illinois, the name Walnut Ridge is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Grant County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Grant County and lies 553 miles [890 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Walnut Ridge.
      • Lawrence County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Lawrence County and lies 419 miles [674.3 km] to the south southwest of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • California
      • San Bernardino County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in San Bernardino County and lies 1,671 miles [2,689.2 km]<1> to the west of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Bernardino County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • Delaware
      • New Castle County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in New Castle County and lies 665 miles [1,070.2 km]<1> to the east of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the New Castle County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • Indiana
      • Clark 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 Indiana community of Walnut Ridge [Clark County].
      • Jennings County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Jennings County and lies 235 miles [378.2 km]<1> to the southeast of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jennings County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 640 miles [1,030 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Walnut Ridge.
      • Carroll County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Carroll County and lies 602 miles [968.8 km] to the east of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • North Carolina
      • Wake County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Wake County and lies 649 miles [1,044.5 km]<1> to the southeast of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wake County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • Ohio
      • Lawrence County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Lawrence County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • Tennessee
      • Rutherford County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Rutherford County and lies 405 miles [651.8 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • Texas
      • Lamar County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Lamar County and lies 679 miles [1,092.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamar County community of Walnut Ridge.
    • Virginia
      • Stafford County
      • This Walnut Ridge is located in Stafford County and lies 598 miles [962.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Walnut Ridge that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stafford County community of Walnut Ridge.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Walnut Ridge ...

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.

  • Cherrywood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cherrywood is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
  • Heritage Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Heritage Creek is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Creek
  • Heritage Knolls
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Heritage Knolls is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Knolls
  • Hickory Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory Oaks is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Oaks
  • Home Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Home Run is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Run
  • Indian Boundary
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Indian Boundary is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Boundary
  • Indian Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Oaks is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Oaks
  • Ivanhoe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ivanhoe is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
  • Old Sawmill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Old Sawmill is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Sawmill
  • Pepper Tree
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Pepper Tree is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pepper Tree
  • Prairie Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Prairie Ridge is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
  • Quail Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Quail Grove is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Grove
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • River Woods
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • River Woods is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Woods
    • Rivermist
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Rivermist is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivermist
    • Sugar Brook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sugar Brook is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Brook
    • Walnut Woods
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Walnut Woods is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Woods
    • Willow Grove
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Willow Grove is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
    • Woodleaf
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Woodleaf is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodleaf

How Far From Walnut Ridge to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Walnut Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Walnut Ridge and extending to:

  • Joliet, which is the Seat of Will County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Walnut Ridge to Joliet, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 156 miles [251.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 614 miles [988.1 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 6,207 miles [9,989.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,946 miles [11,178.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,830 miles [7,773.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Walnut Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Walnut Ridge 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 Walnut Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Walnut Ridge 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 Walnut Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7250, Longitude: -88.1078       In this case, the coordinates for Walnut Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.752 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.67 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.846 degrees.