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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rector, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rector 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 Rector:
    • 37.406990, -91.509587
    • 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 Rector
  • 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 Shannon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shannon County
    • Since Rector is near Dent County and also Texas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dent County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Texas 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 Rector

Communities Also Named Rector ...

We found four communities that are also named Rector.

Within Missouri, the name Rector is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Clay County
      • This Rector is located in Clay County and lies 103 miles [165.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Rector that is located in Shannon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Rector.
    • California
      • Tulare County
      • This Rector is located in Tulare County and lies 1,528 miles [2,459.1 km]<1> to the west of the Rector that is located in Shannon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tulare County community of Rector.
    • New York
      • Lewis County
      • This Rector is located in Lewis County and lies 936 miles [1,506.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rector that is located in Shannon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Rector.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Westmoreland County
      • This Rector is located in Westmoreland County and lies 687 miles [1,105.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rector that is located in Shannon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of Rector.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rector ...

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.

  • Cedargrove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Cedargrove is located in Shannon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedargrove
  • Falk Mill ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Falk Mill is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falk Mill
  • Fawn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Fawn is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn
  • Halcyon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Halcyon is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halcyon
  • Ink
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Ink is located in Shannon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ink
  • Joy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Joy is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
  • Round Spring
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Round Spring is located in Shannon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Spring
  • Timber
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Timber is located in Shannon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber
  • Turtle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Turtle is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle

How Far From Rector to ...

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

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

  • Eminence, which is the Seat of Shannon County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rector to Eminence, with an average speed<2> 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 6 hours.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 88 miles [141.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 791 miles [1,273 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,547 miles [10,536.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,281 miles [11,717.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,161 miles [8,305.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Rector) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Rector 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 Rector. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4070, Longitude: -91.5096       In this case, the coordinates for Rector have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.874 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.514 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.526 degrees.