RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Marshall County >> Bowen >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bowen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bowen 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 Bowen:
    • 34.219262, -86.375817
    • 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 Bowen
  • 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 Marshall County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Marshall County
    • Since Bowen is near Blount County and also Cullman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cullman 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 Bowen

Communities Also Named Bowen ...

We found eighteen communities that are also named Bowen.

Within Alabama, the name Bowen is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Pike County
      • This Bowen is located in Pike County and lies 407 miles [655 km]<1> to the west of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Bowen.
    • Colorado
      • Las Animas County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Las Animas County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Las Animas County community of Bowen.
      • Rio Grande County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Bowen [Rio Grande County].
    • Georgia
      • Liberty County
      • This Bowen is located in Liberty County and lies 320 miles [515 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Bowen.
    • Illinois
      • Hancock County
      • This Bowen is located in Hancock County and lies 488 miles [785.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Bowen.
    • Iowa
      • Jones County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Bowen [Jones County].
    • Kentucky
      • Powell County
      • This Bowen is located in Powell County and lies 289 miles [465.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Powell County community of Bowen.
    • Michigan
      • Kent County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Bowen [Kent County].
    • Mississippi
      • Itawamba County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Bowen [Itawamba County].
    • Missouri
      • Henry County
      • This Bowen is located in Henry County and lies 500 miles [804.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Bowen.
    • Montana
      • Beaverhead County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Bowen [Beaverhead County].
    • Nebraska
      • Washington County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Washington County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Bowen.
    • New Mexico
      • Dona Ana County
      • Although located in Dona Ana County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dona Ana County community of Bowen.
    • New York
      • Cattaraugus County
      • This Bowen is located in Cattaraugus County and lies 676 miles [1,087.9 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cattaraugus County community of Bowen.
    • Ohio
      • Lucas County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Bowen [Lucas County].
    • Ontario
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Bowen.
    • Tennessee
      • Grainger County
      • This Bowen is located in Grainger County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grainger County community of Bowen.
    • West Virginia
      • Wayne County
      • This Bowen is located in Wayne County and lies 360 miles [579.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Bowen that is located in Marshall County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Bowen.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bowen ...

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.

  • Big Spring ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Big Spring is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
  • Bright Star
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bright Star is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
  • Diamond
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Diamond is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
  • Fowler ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Fowler is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
  • High Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • High Point is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
  • Highmound
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Highmound is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
  • Hopewell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hopewell is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
  • Meadow Wood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Meadow Wood is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Wood
  • Nixon Chapel
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Nixon Chapel is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon Chapel
  • Pleasant Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Grove is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
  • Red Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Red Hill is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
  • Reedbrake ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
  • Street ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Street is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street

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

  • Guntersville, which is the Seat of Marshall County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bowen to Guntersville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 127 miles [204.4 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 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 609 miles [980.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,500 miles [10,460.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,211 miles [11,605 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,087 miles [8,186.7 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- Bowen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Bowen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Bowen 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.
<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 Bowen 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 Bowen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2193, Longitude: -86.3758       In this case, the coordinates for Bowen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.46 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.134 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.971 degrees.