RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Nicholson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Nicholson 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 Nicholson:
    • 34.310648, -85.915527
    • 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 Nicholson
  • 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 Nicholson ...

We found eleven communities that share the name Nicholson.

Within Alabama, the name Nicholson is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, nine are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Nicholson lies 1,934 miles [3,112.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
    • Georgia
      • Jackson County
      • This Nicholson is located in Jackson County and lies 142 miles [228.5 km]<1> to the east of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Nicholson.
    • Kentucky
      • Kenton County
      • This Nicholson is located in Kenton County and lies 326 miles [524.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kenton County community of Nicholson.
    • Michigan
      • Shiawassee County
      • This Nicholson is located in Shiawassee County and lies 592 miles [952.7 km]<1> to the north of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shiawassee County community of Nicholson.
    • Mississippi
      • Hancock 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 Mississippi community of Nicholson [Hancock County].
      • Pearl River County
      • This Nicholson is located in Pearl River County and lies 344 miles [553.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pearl River County community of Nicholson.
    • Montana
      • Cascade County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Cascade County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cascade County community of Nicholson.
    • North Dakota
      • Sargent County
      • This Nicholson is located in Sargent County and lies 1,027 miles [1,652.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sargent County community of Nicholson.
    • Ontario
      • This Nicholson lies 948 miles [1,525.7 km]<1> to the north of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Wyoming County
      • This Nicholson is located in Wyoming County and lies 746 miles [1,200.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming County community of Nicholson.
    • Wisconsin
      • Waupaca County
      • This Nicholson is located in Waupaca County and lies 722 miles [1,161.9 km]<1> to the north of the Nicholson that is located in DeKalb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Waupaca County community of Nicholson.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Nicholson ...

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.

  • Clyde ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clyde have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
    • Clyde is located in DeKalb County
  • Crossville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Flanders
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flanders have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders
    • Flanders is located in DeKalb County
  • Geraldine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Gilbert Crossroads
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbert Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Crossroads
    • Gilbert Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
  • Homer ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Homer is located in DeKalb County
  • Lakeview
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Lakeview is located in DeKalb County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
  • Marcus ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcus have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
    • Marcus is located in DeKalb County
  • Peeks Corner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peeks Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peeks Corner
    • Peeks Corner is located in DeKalb County
  • Portersville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portersville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
    • Portersville is located in DeKalb County

How Far From Nicholson 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 Nicholson 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 community of Nicholson once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Nicholson and extending to:

  • Fort Payne, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Nicholson to Fort Payne, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 135 miles [217.3 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 584 miles [939.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,477 miles [10,423.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,186 miles [11,564.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,062 miles [8,146.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcountyal.us/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.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- Nicholson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Nicholson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3106, Longitude: -85.9155       In this case, the coordinates for Nicholson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 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 Nicholson 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 Nicholson, 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Nicholson 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 313.187 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.832 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.763 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024