RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Indiana >> Grant County >> Matthews >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Matthews, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Matthews 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 Matthews:
    • 40.387447, -85.497890
    • 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 Matthews
  • 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 Grant County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grant County
    • Since Matthews is near Delaware County and also Blackford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Delaware County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blackford 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 Matthews

Communities Also Named Matthews ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Matthews.

Within Indiana, the name Matthews is unique.

Beyond Indiana, we know of seventeen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Montgomery County
      • This Matthews is located in Montgomery County and lies 561 miles [902.8 km]<1> to the south of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Matthews.
    • Colorado
      • Weld County
      • This Matthews is located in Weld County and lies 996 miles [1,602.9 km]<1> to the west of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weld County community of Matthews.
    • Georgia
      • Jefferson County
      • This Matthews is located in Jefferson County and lies 525 miles [844.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Matthews.
    • Illinois
      • Perry County
      • This Matthews is located in Perry County and lies 266 miles [428.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Perry County community of Matthews.
    • Kentucky
      • Breckinridge 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 Kentucky community of Matthews [Breckinridge County].
    • Maryland
      • Talbot County
      • This Matthews is located in Talbot County and lies 519 miles [835.2 km]<1> to the east of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Talbot County community of Matthews.
    • Michigan
      • Berrien 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 Matthews [Berrien County].
    • Mississippi
      • Calhoun 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 Mississippi community of Matthews [Calhoun County].
      • Jones County
      • This Matthews is located in Jones County and lies 628 miles [1,010.7 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jones County community of Matthews.
      • Pontotoc County
      • This Matthews is located in Pontotoc County and lies 480 miles [772.5 km] to the south southwest of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pontotoc County community of Matthews.
    • Missouri
      • New Madrid County
      • This Matthews is located in New Madrid County and lies 333 miles [535.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the New Madrid County community of Matthews.
    • Montana
      • Gallatin County
      • This Matthews is located in Gallatin County and lies 1,335 miles [2,148.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallatin County community of Matthews.
    • New Brunswick
      • This Matthews lies 1,073 miles [1,726.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
    • New Jersey
      • Monmouth County
      • This Matthews is located in Monmouth County and lies 592 miles [952.7 km]<1> to the east of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monmouth County community of Matthews.
    • North Carolina
      • Mecklenburg County
      • This Matthews is located in Mecklenburg County and lies 447 miles [719.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mecklenburg County community of Matthews.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Chester County
      • This Matthews is located in Chester County and lies 518 miles [833.6 km]<1> to the east of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chester County community of Matthews.
    • Texas
      • Colorado County
      • This Matthews is located in Colorado County and lies 968 miles [1,557.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Matthews that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colorado County community of Matthews.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Matthews ...

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.

  • Anthony
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Anthony is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony
  • Converse
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Converse is located in Blackford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
  • Desoto
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Desoto is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto
  • Drew
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Drew is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drew
  • Friendly Corner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Friendly Corner is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendly Corner
  • Gas City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Home Corner
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Home Corner is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Corner
  • Marion
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Michaelsville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Michaelsville is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaelsville
  • Moonville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Moonville is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moonville
  • Reed Station
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Reed Station is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Station
  • Shamrock Lakes
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Shamrock Lakes is located in Blackford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Lakes
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
  • Summitville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Summitville is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summitville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 982 people
  • Weaver
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Weaver is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver

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

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

  • Marion, which is the Seat of Grant County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Matthews to Marion, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 55 miles [88.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 461 miles [741.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 27 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,173 miles [9,934.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,903 miles [11,109.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,781 miles [7,694.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 from Point A (ie- Matthews) 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 Matthews 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>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 Matthews 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 Matthews. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3874, Longitude: -85.4979       In this case, the coordinates for Matthews have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.051 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.538 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.976 degrees.