Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ben, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ben and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ben
- 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 Ben:
- 40.091864, -82.307666
- 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 Ben
- 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 Licking County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Licking County
- Since Ben is near Franklin County and also Muskingum County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- eBird sighting report for Muskingum 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 Ben ...
We found five communities that share the name Ben.
Within Ohio, the name Ben is unique.
Beyond Ohio, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ben ...
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.
- Amsterdam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Boston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Claylick ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Claypools ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Cottage Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hill
- Cottage Hill is located in Muskingum County
- Fallsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Fleatown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Henpeck ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Lloyd Corners
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lloyd Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyd Corners
- Lloyd Corners is located in Licking County
- Locust Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Locust Grove is located in Licking County
- Long Run ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Rain Rock ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Continue List (4 more) ...
- Reform
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
- Reform is located in Licking County
- Rocky Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Fork
- Rocky Fork is located in Licking County
- Swans
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Welsh Hills ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welsh Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh Hills
- Welsh Hills is located in Licking County
- Welsh Hills has also been known as:
- Welsh Hills Settlement
- Reform
How Far From Ben 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 Ben to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ben and extending to:
- Newark, which is the Seat of Licking County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 37 miles [59.5 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could walk a straight line from Ben to Columbus, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 292 miles [469.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,062 miles [9,755.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,784 miles [10,917.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,660 miles [7,499.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ben. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Licking County: www.lcounty.com/
The official website for State of Ohio: https://ohio.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 from Point A (ie- Ben) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ben. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0919, Longitude: -82.3077 |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Ben 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 Ben, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | 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. |
| <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 Ben 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 311.035 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.197 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.593 degrees. |