RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Carlton County >> Atkinson >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Atkinson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Atkinson 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 Atkinson:
    • 46.612167, -92.565471
    • 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 Atkinson
  • 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 Carlton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carlton County
    • Since Atkinson is near Saint Louis County and also Pine County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Louis County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pine 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 Atkinson

Communities Also Named Atkinson ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Atkinson.

Within Minnesota, the name Atkinson is unique.

Beyond Minnesota, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Clarke County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Atkinson [Clarke County].
    • Georgia
      • Brantley County
      • This Atkinson is located in Brantley County and lies 1,205 miles [1,939.3 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brantley County community of Atkinson.
      • Wayne County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Atkinson [Wayne County].
    • Illinois
      • Henry County
      • This Atkinson is located in Henry County and lies 380 miles [611.6 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Atkinson.
    • Indiana
      • Benton County
      • This Atkinson is located in Benton County and lies 494 miles [795 km]<2> to the southeast of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Atkinson.
    • Kentucky
      • Hopkins County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Atkinson [Hopkins County].
    • Maine
      • Piscataquis County
      • This Atkinson is located in Piscataquis County and lies 1,130 miles [1,818.6 km]<2> to the east of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Piscataquis County community of Atkinson.
    • Maryland
      • Somerset County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Maryland community of Atkinson [Somerset County].
    • Michigan
      • Iron County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Atkinson [Iron County].
    • Nebraska
      • Holt County
      • This Atkinson is located in Holt County and lies 422 miles [679.1 km]<2> to the southwest of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holt County community of Atkinson.
    • New Hampshire
      • Rockingham County
      • This Atkinson is located in Rockingham County and lies 1,078 miles [1,734.9 km]<2> to the east of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockingham County community of Atkinson.
    • North Carolina
      • Pender County
      • This Atkinson is located in Pender County and lies 1,121 miles [1,804.1 km]<2> to the southeast of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pender County community of Atkinson.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Atkinson lies 1,374 miles [2,211.2 km]<2> to the east of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
    • Ontario
      • This Atkinson lies 801 miles [1,289.1 km]<2> to the east of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
    • Utah
      • Summit County
      • This Atkinson is located in Summit County and lies 1,024 miles [1,648 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Summit County community of Atkinson.
    • Washington
      • King County
      • This Atkinson is located in King County and lies 1,379 miles [2,219.3 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Atkinson that is located in Carlton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Atkinson.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Atkinson ...

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.

  • Blackhoof
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Blackhoof is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhoof
  • Dewey
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Dewey is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
  • Five Corners
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Five Corners is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
  • Gary
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Gary is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
  • Grand Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Grand Lake is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
  • Kettle River
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Moose Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Oliver
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Oliver is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
  • Otter Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
  • Riverview
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Riverview is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview

How Far From Atkinson 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 community such as Atkinson to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Carlton, which is the Seat of Carlton County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 117 miles [188.3 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Atkinson to Saint Paul, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 947 miles [1,524 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,116 miles [9,842.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,873 miles [11,061 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,787 miles [7,703.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Atkinson 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.
<2>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- Atkinson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Atkinson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Atkinson 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 Atkinson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.6122, Longitude: -92.5655       In this case, the coordinates for Atkinson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.786 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.80 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.80 degrees.