RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Nebraska >> Colfax County >> Olean >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Nebraska


The Commemorative Quarter for Nebraska







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Olean, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Olean 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 Olean:
    • 41.736116, -96.945312
    • 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 Olean
  • 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 Olean ...

We found five communities that share the name Olean.

There is one other community in Nebraska which is also named Olean.

Beyond Nebraska, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Nebraska ...
    • Valley County
      • This Olean is located in Valley County and lies 96 miles [154.5 km]<1> to the west of the Olean that is located in Colfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Olean.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Ripley County
      • This Olean is located in Ripley County and lies 644 miles [1,036.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Olean that is located in Colfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ripley County community of Olean.
    • Missouri
      • Miller County
      • This Olean is located in Miller County and lies 327 miles [526.3 km]<1> to the southeast of the Olean that is located in Colfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Miller County community of Olean.
    • New York
      • Cattaraugus County
      • This Olean is located in Cattaraugus County and lies 949 miles [1,527.3 km]<1> to the east of the Olean that is located in Colfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cattaraugus County community of Olean.
    • Virginia
      • Giles County
      • This Olean is located in Giles County and lies 915 miles [1,472.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Olean that is located in Colfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Giles County community of Olean.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Olean ...

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.

  • Beemer
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Cedar Bluffs
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Columbus
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Craig
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craig have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
    • Craig is located in Burt County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Craig <2>
  • Dodge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
    • Dodge is located in Dodge County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dodge <2>
  • Enola
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enola have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
    • Enola is located in Madison County
  • Lyons
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Rescue ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rescue. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
    • Rescue is located in Saunders County
  • Rogers
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Rogers is located in Colfax County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
  • Scribner
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Spurville
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spurville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurville
    • Spurville is located in Stanton County

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

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

  • Schuyler, which is the Seat of Colfax County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Olean to Schuyler, with an average speed<5> 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.
  • Lincoln, which is the State Capital of Nebraska, lies 64 miles [103 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,063 miles [1,710.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 61 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,512 miles [10,480 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,267 miles [11,695.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,173 miles [8,325.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

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

The official website for Colfax County: www.colfaxcounty.ne.gov/

The official website for State of Nebraska: https://www.nebraska.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Olean) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olean. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7361, Longitude: -96.9453       In this case, the coordinates for Olean have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Olean to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.821 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.635 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.359 degrees.









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025