RoadsideThoughts
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Beckleys, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Beckleys and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Beckleys:
    • 32.282921, -87.928070
    • 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 Beckleys
  • 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 Beckleys ...

We found one communities that share the name Beckleys.

Within Alabama, the name Beckleys is unique.

Beyond Alabama, there is another community also named Beckleys in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Connecticut
      • Hartford County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Connecticut community of Beckleys [Hartford County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Beckleys ...

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.

  • Blue Lock ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Lock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Lock
    • Blue Lock is located in Marengo County
  • Calvary
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calvary have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
    • Calvary is located in Marengo County
  • Campground
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campground
    • Campground is located in Marengo County
  • Edna
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
    • Edna is located in Choctaw County
  • Geneva
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
    • Geneva is located in Marengo County
  • Griffins ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Griffins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins
    • Griffins is located in Marengo County
  • Half Acre
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Acre
    • Half Acre is located in Marengo County
    • Former names for Half Acre:
    • Hell's Half Acre
    • Luther's Store
  • Hill Top
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill Top have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Top
    • Hill Top is located in Marengo County
  • Murphys Ferry
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphys Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Ferry
    • Murphys Ferry is located in Choctaw County
  • Persimmon Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Persimmon Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persimmon Grove
    • Persimmon Grove is located in Sumter County
  • Pin Hook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Hook
    • Pin Hook is located in Marengo County
  • Providence
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Providence is located in Marengo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Beckleys once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Beckleys and extending to:

  • Linden, which is the Seat of Marengo County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 95 miles [152.9 km]<4> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Beckleys to Montgomery, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 762 miles [1,226.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,658 miles [10,715 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,365 miles [11,852.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,242 miles [8,436.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Beckleys 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.
<2>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.
<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 Beckleys, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Beckleys) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Beckleys. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2829, Longitude: -87.9281       In this case, the coordinates for Beckleys have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Beckleys 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 314.265 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.799 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.993 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 09 Mar 2024