RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kentucky >> Owen County >> Owenton >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Owenton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Owenton 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 Owenton:
    • 38.539284, -84.839822
    • 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 Owenton
  • 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 Owen County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Owen County
    • Since Owenton is near Grant County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grant County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henry 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 Owenton

Communities Also Named Owenton ...

We found two communities that are also named Owenton.

Within Kentucky, the name Owenton is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Owenton is located in Jefferson County and lies 364 miles [585.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Owenton that is located in Owen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Owenton.
    • Virginia
      • King and Queen County
      • This Owenton is located in King and Queen County and lies 422 miles [679.1 km]<1> to the east of the Owenton that is located in Owen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King and Queen County community of Owenton.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Owenton ...

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.

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

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

  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 23 miles [37 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Owenton to Frankfort, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 421 miles [677.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,234 miles [10,032.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,957 miles [11,196.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,832 miles [7,776.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Owenton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Owenton 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 Owenton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5393, Longitude: -84.8398    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.637 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.799 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.214 degrees.