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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sylvan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sylvan 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 Sylvan:
    • 43.422478, -90.628185
    • 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 Sylvan
  • 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 Richland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Richland County
    • Since Sylvan is near Vernon County and also Crawford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Vernon County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Crawford 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 Sylvan

Communities Also Named Sylvan ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Sylvan.

Within Wisconsin, the name Sylvan is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Sylvan is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 731 miles [1,176.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Sylvan that is located in Richland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Sylvan.
    • Colorado
      • Montezuma 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 Sylvan [Montezuma County].
    • Illinois
      • Cass County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Sylvan [Cass County].
    • Kansas
      • Marshall County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Marshall County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Sylvan.
    • Manitoba
      • This Sylvan lies 615 miles [989.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Sylvan that is located in Richland County.
    • Michigan
      • Washtenaw 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 Michigan community of Sylvan [Washtenaw County].
    • Minnesota
      • Cass County
      • This Sylvan is located in Cass County and lies 273 miles [439.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sylvan that is located in Richland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cass County community of Sylvan.
    • Missouri
      • Dent County
      • Although located in Dent County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dent County community of Sylvan.
    • New York
      • Oneida 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 Sylvan [Oneida County].
    • Ontario
      • This Sylvan lies 444 miles [714.5 km]<1> to the east of the Sylvan that is located in Richland County.
    • Oregon
      • Multnomah County
      • This Sylvan is located in Multnomah County and lies 1,578 miles [2,539.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sylvan that is located in Richland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Multnomah County community of Sylvan.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny 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 Pennsylvania community of Sylvan [Allegheny County].
      • Franklin County
      • This Sylvan is located in Franklin County and lies 697 miles [1,121.7 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Sylvan that is located in Richland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Sylvan.
      • Perry 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 Pennsylvania community of Sylvan [Perry County].
    • Texas
      • Lamar County
      • This Sylvan is located in Lamar County and lies 723 miles [1,163.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Sylvan that is located in Richland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamar County community of Sylvan.
    • Washington
      • Pierce 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 Washington community of Sylvan [Pierce County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sylvan ...

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.

  • Bloom City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bloom City is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
  • Bosstown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bosstown is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosstown
  • Five Points
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Five Points is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Jimtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jimtown is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
  • Liberty
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
  • Readstown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Readstown is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
  • Rolling Ground
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Rolling Ground is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Ground
  • Soldiers Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
  • Sugar Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Sugar Grove is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
  • Tunnelville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Tunnelville is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
  • Wild Rose
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Wild Rose is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Rose

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

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

  • Richland Center, which is the Seat of Richland County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sylvan to Richland Center, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 66 miles [106.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 771 miles [1,240.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 44 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,213 miles [9,998.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,961 miles [11,202.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,855 miles [7,813.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Sylvan) 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 Sylvan 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 Sylvan, 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 Sylvan 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 Sylvan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4225, Longitude: -90.6282       In this case, the coordinates for Sylvan have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.455 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.849 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.653 degrees.