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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Westminster, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Westminster 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 Westminster:
- 39.359763, -88.989244
- 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 Westminster
- 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Westminster is near Christian County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Christian County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery 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 Westminster
Communities Also Named Westminster ...
We found twenty communities that are also named Westminster.
Within Illinois, the name Westminster is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of twenty communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these twenty communities, eighteen are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Orange County
- This Westminster is located in Orange County and lies 1,647 miles [2,650.6 km]<1> to the west of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Westminster.
- Colorado
- Jefferson County
- This Westminster is located in Jefferson County and lies 854 miles [1,374.4 km]<1> to the west of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Westminster.
- Connecticut
- Windham County
- This Westminster is located in Windham County and lies 903 miles [1,453.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windham County community of Westminster.
- Delaware
- New Castle County
- This Westminster is located in New Castle County and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km]<1> to the east of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the New Castle County community of Westminster.
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Westminster is located in Hillsborough County and lies 879 miles [1,414.6 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Westminster.
- Kansas
- Reno 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 Westminster [Reno County].
- Louisiana
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- This Westminster is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 628 miles [1,010.7 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of Westminster.
- Maryland
- Carroll County
- This Westminster is located in Carroll County and lies 638 miles [1,026.8 km]<1> to the east of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Westminster.
- Massachusetts
- Worcester County
- This Westminster is located in Worcester County and lies 915 miles [1,472.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worcester County community of Westminster.
- Michigan
- Grand Traverse 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 Michigan community of Westminster [Grand Traverse County].
- North Carolina
- Rutherford County
- This Westminster is located in Rutherford County and lies 473 miles [761.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Westminster.
- Ohio
- Allen County
- This Westminster is located in Allen County and lies 280 miles [450.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allen County community of Westminster.
- Ontario
- 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 Ontario community of Westminster.
- Pennsylvania
- Erie County
- This Westminster is located in Erie County and lies 499 miles [803.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Westminster.
- Luzerne County
- This Westminster is located in Luzerne County and lies 707 miles [1,137.8 km] to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Luzerne County community of Westminster.
- Quebec
- This Westminster lies 877 miles [1,411.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- South Carolina
- Oconee County
- This Westminster is located in Oconee County and lies 458 miles [737.1 km]<1> to the southeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oconee County community of Westminster.
- Texas
- Brazoria County
- This Westminster is located in Brazoria County and lies 764 miles [1,229.5 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazoria County community of Westminster.
- Collin County
- This Westminster is located in Collin County and lies 586 miles [943.1 km] to the southwest of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collin County community of Westminster.
- Vermont
- Windham County
- This Westminster is located in Windham County and lies 894 miles [1,438.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windham County community of Westminster.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Westminster ...
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.
- Assumption
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Dunkel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dunkel is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkel
- Greenland ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greenland is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Holland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Holland is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Holliday
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Holliday is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
- Mode
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mode is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
- Tower Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Churches
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Twin Churches is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Churches
How Far From Westminster 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 Westminster 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<4> community of Westminster once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Westminster and extending to:
- Shelbyville, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Westminster to Shelbyville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 45 miles [72.4 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 640 miles [1,030 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,355 miles [10,227.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,090 miles [11,410.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,970 miles [7,998.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Westminster) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Westminster 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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 Westminster, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Westminster 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 Westminster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3598, Longitude: -88.9892 In this case, the coordinates for Westminster have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.304 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.972 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.903 degrees. |
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