RoadsideThoughts
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 Saint Francis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Saint Francis 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 Saint Francis:
    • 45.759965, -94.585009
    • 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 Saint Francis
  • 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 Saint Francis ...

We found sixteen communities that share the name Saint Francis.

There are two communities within Minnesota that are also named Saint Francis.

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

  • Communities Located In Minnesota ...
    • Anoka County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Anoka County and lies 62 miles [99.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anoka County community of Saint Francis.
    • Benton 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 Minnesota community of Saint Francis [Benton County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alberta
      • This Saint Francis lies 1,021 miles [1,643.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
    • Arkansas
      • Clay County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Clay County and lies 682 miles [1,097.6 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Saint Francis.
      • Cross 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 Arkansas community of Saint Francis [Cross County].
    • California
      • Santa Clara County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Santa Clara County and lies 1,523 miles [2,451 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Clara County community of Saint Francis.
    • Florida
      • Lake County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Lake County and lies 1,357 miles [2,183.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Saint Francis.
    • Kansas
      • Brown County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Brown County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brown County community of Saint Francis.
      • Cheyenne County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Cheyenne County and lies 551 miles [886.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheyenne County community of Saint Francis.
      • Marion 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 Kansas community of Saint Francis [Marion County].
    • Kentucky
      • Marion County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Marion County and lies 732 miles [1,178 km]<1> to the southeast of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Saint Francis.
    • Maine
      • Aroostook County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Aroostook County and lies 1,220 miles [1,963.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aroostook County community of Saint Francis.
    • Ohio
      • Hamilton 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 Ohio community of Saint Francis [Hamilton County].
    • South Dakota
      • Todd County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Todd County and lies 359 miles [577.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Todd County community of Saint Francis.
    • Texas
      • Potter County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Potter County and lies 812 miles [1,306.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Potter County community of Saint Francis.
    • Wisconsin
      • Milwaukee County
      • This Saint Francis is located in Milwaukee County and lies 383 miles [616.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Saint Francis that is located in Stearns County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Milwaukee County community of Saint Francis.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Saint Francis ...

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.

  • Bowlus
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Elmdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmdale have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
    • Elmdale is located in Morrison County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
  • Freeport
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
    • Freeport is located in Stearns County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <4>
  • Grey Eagle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grey Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grey Eagle
    • Grey Eagle is located in Todd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grey Eagle <4>
  • Holdingford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holdingford have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holdingford
    • Holdingford is located in Stearns County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 725 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holdingford <4>
  • Pillsbury
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pillsbury have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury
    • Pillsbury is located in Todd County
  • Pleasant Beach
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Beach
    • Pleasant Beach is located in Todd County
  • Swanville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Saint Cloud, which is the Seat of Stearns County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Saint Francis to Saint Cloud, with an average speed<6> 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.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 91 miles [146.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,010 miles [1,625.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 58 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,224 miles [10,016.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,982 miles [11,236.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,899 miles [7,884.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

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

The official website for Stearns County: www.co.stearns.mn.us/

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

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Saint Francis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saint Francis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.7600, Longitude: -94.5850       In this case, the coordinates for Saint Francis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Saint Francis 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>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 Saint Francis, 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>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.
<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 Saint Francis 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 319.238 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.336 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.164 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024