RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Kalamazoo County >> Schoolcraft >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Schoolcraft, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Schoolcraft 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 Schoolcraft:
    • 42.114191, -85.637075
    • 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 Schoolcraft
  • 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 Schoolcraft ...

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.

  • Chamberlain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Flowerfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowerfield
    • Flowerfield is located in Saint Joseph County
  • Howardsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howardsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardsville
    • Howardsville is located in Saint Joseph County
  • Lemon Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lemon Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Park
    • Lemon Park is located in Kalamazoo County
  • Pavilion
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pavilion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavilion
    • Pavilion is located in Kalamazoo County
  • Pavillion Center
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Pine Ridge is located in Saint Joseph County
  • Portage
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Texas Corners
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas Corners
    • Texas Corners is located in Kalamazoo County

How Far From Schoolcraft to ...

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

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

  • Kalamazoo, which is the Seat of Kalamazoo County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Schoolcraft to Kalamazoo, 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.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 69 miles [111 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 502 miles [807.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 20 days and walking would take 29 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,097 miles [9,812.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,833 miles [10,996.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,714 miles [7,586.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

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

The official website for Kalamazoo County: www.kalcounty.com/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.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- Schoolcraft) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Schoolcraft. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1142, Longitude: -85.6371    
<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 Schoolcraft 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 313.116 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.863 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.512 degrees.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025