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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative Quarter for Minnesota







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Forbes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Forbes 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 Forbes:
    • 47.371598, -92.604075
    • 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 Forbes
  • 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 Saint Louis County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • eBird sighting report for Saint Louis County
    • Since Forbes is near Itasca County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
    • eBird sighting report for Itasca 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Forbes ...

We found thirteen communities that share the name Forbes.

Within Minnesota, the name Forbes is unique.

Beyond Minnesota, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Marin County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Forbes [Marin County].
    • Colorado
      • Las Animas County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Forbes [Las Animas County].
    • Kentucky
      • Lawrence 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 Forbes [Lawrence County].
    • Maine
      • Waldo 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 Maine community of Forbes [Waldo County].
    • Massachusetts
      • Suffolk 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 Massachusetts community of Forbes [Suffolk County].
    • Missouri
      • Holt County
      • This Forbes is located in Holt County and lies 530 miles [853 km]<3> to the south southwest of the Forbes that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holt County community of Forbes.
    • North Carolina
      • Mitchell 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 North Carolina community of Forbes [Mitchell County].
    • North Dakota
      • Dickey County
      • This Forbes is located in Dickey County and lies 308 miles [495.7 km]<3> to the west southwest of the Forbes that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickey County community of Forbes.
    • Ontario
      • This Forbes lies 817 miles [1,314.8 km]<3> to the east of the Forbes that is located in Saint Louis County.
    • Texas
      • Jasper County
      • This Forbes is located in Jasper County and lies 1,166 miles [1,876.5 km]<3> to the south of the Forbes that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Forbes.
    • Virginia
      • Buckingham County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Forbes [Buckingham County].
      • Rockbridge 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 Virginia community of Forbes [Rockbridge County].
    • Washington
      • Mason County
      • This Forbes is located in Mason County and lies 1,421 miles [2,286.9 km]<3> to the west of the Forbes that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mason County community of Forbes.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Forbes ...

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.

  • Central Lakes
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Lakes
    • Central Lakes is located in Saint Louis County
  • Cherry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry
    • Cherry is located in Saint Louis County
  • De Forest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Forest
    • De Forest is located in Saint Louis County
  • Gilbert
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbert have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
    • Gilbert is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,761 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilbert <5>
  • Hopper
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopper have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopper
    • Hopper is located in Saint Louis County
  • Iron Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Junction
    • Iron Junction is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
  • Little Swan
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Swan have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Swan
    • Little Swan is located in Saint Louis County
  • Mountain Iron
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Rainy Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainy Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainy Junction
    • Rainy Junction is located in Saint Louis County
  • Spruce
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce
    • Spruce is located in Saint Louis County
  • Virginia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Wolf
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf
    • Wolf is located in Saint Louis County

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

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

  • Duluth, which is the Seat of Saint Louis County, lies 46 miles [74 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Forbes to Duluth, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 168 miles [270.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 975 miles [1,569.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 56 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,078 miles [9,781.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,836 miles [11,001.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,755 miles [7,652.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

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

The official website for Saint Louis County: www.co.st-louis.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Forbes, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Forbes 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Forbes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Forbes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3716, Longitude: -92.6041       In this case, the coordinates for Forbes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>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 Forbes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.798 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.918 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.599 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025