RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Wisconsin >> Portage County >> Keene >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Keene, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Keene 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 Keene:
    • 44.366916, -89.474285
    • 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 Keene
  • 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 Portage County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Portage County
    • Since Keene is near Waushara County and also Waupaca County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Waushara County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Waupaca 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 Keene

Communities Also Named Keene ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Keene.

Within Wisconsin, the name Keene is unique.

Beyond Wisconsin, we know of seventeen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Kern County
      • This Keene is located in Kern County and lies 1,656 miles [2,665.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kern County community of Keene.
    • Colorado
      • Chaffee 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 Colorado community of Keene [Chaffee County].
      • Weld 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 Colorado community of Keene [Weld County].
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Keene is located in Hillsborough County and lies 1,193 miles [1,919.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Keene.
      • Nassau County
      • This Keene is located in Nassau County and lies 1,044 miles [1,680.2 km] to the south southeast of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nassau County community of Keene.
    • Kansas
      • Wabaunsee County
      • This Keene is located in Wabaunsee County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wabaunsee County community of Keene.
    • Kentucky
      • Jessamine County
      • This Keene is located in Jessamine County and lies 509 miles [819.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jessamine County community of Keene.
    • Nebraska
      • Kearney County
      • This Keene is located in Kearney County and lies 559 miles [899.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kearney County community of Keene.
    • New Hampshire
      • Cheshire County
      • This Keene is located in Cheshire County and lies 861 miles [1,385.6 km]<1> to the east of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheshire County community of Keene.
    • New York
      • Essex County
      • This Keene is located in Essex County and lies 773 miles [1,244 km]<1> to the east of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Essex County community of Keene.
      • Jefferson 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 New York community of Keene [Jefferson County].
    • North Carolina
      • Durham County
      • This Keene is located in Durham County and lies 804 miles [1,293.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Durham County community of Keene.
    • North Dakota
      • McKenzie County
      • This Keene is located in McKenzie County and lies 688 miles [1,107.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McKenzie County community of Keene.
    • Ohio
      • Coshocton County
      • This Keene is located in Coshocton County and lies 476 miles [766 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coshocton County community of Keene.
    • Ontario
      • This Keene lies 558 miles [898 km]<1> to the east of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
    • Texas
      • Johnson County
      • This Keene is located in Johnson County and lies 928 miles [1,493.5 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Keene.
    • Virginia
      • Albemarle County
      • This Keene is located in Albemarle County and lies 722 miles [1,161.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Keene that is located in Portage County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albemarle County community of Keene.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Keene ...

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.

  • Almond
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Almond is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
  • Blaine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Blaine is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
  • Chain O' Lakes
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Chain O' Lakes is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain O' Lakes
  • Grand Rapids
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Grand Rapids is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Rapids
  • Indian Crossing
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Indian Crossing is located in Waupaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Crossing
  • Jordan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Jordan is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
  • Park Ridge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Park Ridge is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 496 people
  • Plover
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Plover is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,252 people
  • Rocky Run
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rocky Run is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Run
  • Stevens Point
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Stevens Point is located in Portage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Point
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,949 people

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

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

  • Stevens Point, which is the Seat of Portage County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Keene to Stevens Point, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the south (S). 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 743 miles [1,195.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 43 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,126 miles [9,858.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,874 miles [11,062.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,770 miles [7,676.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Keene) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Keene 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>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.
<4>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 Keene 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 Keene. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3669, Longitude: -89.4743       In this case, the coordinates for Keene have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.654 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.07 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.776 degrees.