RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Ripley County >> Handy >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Handy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Handy 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 Handy:
    • 36.809222, -91.107074
    • 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 Handy
  • 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 Ripley County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ripley County
    • Since Handy is near Oregon County and also Carter County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Oregon County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carter 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 Handy

Communities Also Named Handy ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Handy.

Within Missouri, the name Handy is unique.

Beyond Missouri, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Fayette 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 Handy [Fayette County].
    • Georgia
      • Coweta County
      • This Handy is located in Coweta County and lies 419 miles [674.3 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Handy that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coweta County community of Handy.
    • Illinois
      • Crawford 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 Illinois community of Handy [Crawford County].
    • Indiana
      • Benton County
      • This Handy is located in Benton County and lies 321 miles [516.6 km]<2> to the northeast of the Handy that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Handy.
      • Monroe County
      • This Handy is located in Monroe County and lies 296 miles [476.4 km] to the east northeast of the Handy that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Handy.
    • Kansas
      • Osborne 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 Kansas community of Handy [Osborne County].
      • Phillips County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Phillips County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Handy.
    • Michigan
      • Alcona 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 Michigan community of Handy [Alcona County].
      • Tuscola County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Handy [Tuscola County].
    • Minnesota
      • Martin 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 Minnesota community of Handy [Martin County].
    • North Carolina
      • Davidson County
      • This Handy is located in Davidson County and lies 618 miles [994.6 km]<2> to the east of the Handy that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davidson County community of Handy.
    • Ohio
      • Fulton County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Fulton County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fulton County community of Handy.
      • Geauga County
      • This community is historic and although located in Geauga County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Geauga County community of Handy.
    • Texas
      • Milam County
      • This Handy is located in Milam County and lies 547 miles [880.3 km]<2> to the southwest of the Handy that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Milam County community of Handy.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Handy ...

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.

  • Barren ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Barren is located in Carter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barren
  • Calm
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Calm is located in Oregon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calm
  • Chicopee
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Chicopee is located in Carter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicopee
  • House Creek
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • House Creek is located in Carter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House Creek
  • Hunter
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Hunter is located in Carter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
  • Low Wassie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Low Wassie is located in Shannon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Wassie
  • Lulu
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lulu is located in Oregon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulu
  • Pleasant Grove
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Pleasant Grove is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
  • Ponder
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ponder is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponder
  • Wilderness
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Wilderness is located in Oregon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderness
  • Woodside
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Woodside is located in Oregon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside

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

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

  • Doniphan, which is the Seat of Ripley County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Handy to Doniphan, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 135 miles [217.3 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 779 miles [1,253.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,562 miles [10,560.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,293 miles [11,736.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,172 miles [8,323.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 Handy 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 '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- Handy) 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 Handy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Handy 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 Handy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8092, Longitude: -91.1071       In this case, the coordinates for Handy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.576 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.089 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.462 degrees.