RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Marion County >> Allens Factory >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Allens Factory, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Allens Factory 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 Allens Factory:
    • 34.278986, -87.721417
    • 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 Allens Factory
  • 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 Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Marion County
    • Since Allens Factory is near Franklin County and also Winston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Winston 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 Allens Factory

Curious and Interesting Names Near Allens Factory ...

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.

  • Boar Tush
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Boar Tush is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boar Tush
    • Boar Tush has also been known as:
    • Boar Tusk
    • Boartush
    • Boartusk
  • Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Center is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
  • Churntown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Churntown is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churntown
  • Forkville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Forkville is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkville
  • Jim Williams Ford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jim Williams Ford is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Williams Ford
  • Liberty Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty Hill is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Littleville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Littleville is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
  • Martintown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Martintown is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martintown
  • Needmore
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Needmore is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Nix
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Nix is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
    • Nix Mill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Nix Mill is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix Mill
    • Posey Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Posey Mill is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posey Mill
    • Shady Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Shady Grove is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Spruce Pine
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Spruce Pine is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Pine
    • Thornhill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Thornhill is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhill

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Allens Factory and extending to:

  • Hamilton, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Allens Factory to Hamilton, with an average speed<2> 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 five to six hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 154 miles [247.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 672 miles [1,081.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,553 miles [10,546 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,267 miles [11,695.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,143 miles [8,276.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Allens Factory) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Allens Factory 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 Allens Factory. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2790, Longitude: -87.7214       In this case, the coordinates for Allens Factory have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.281 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.092 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.51 degrees.