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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Fenton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fenton 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 Fenton:
    • 34.179817, -86.105531
    • 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 Fenton
  • 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 Etowah County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Etowah County
    • Since Fenton is near DeKalb County and also Marshall County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Marshall 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 Fenton

Communities Also Named Fenton ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Fenton.

Within Alabama, the name Fenton is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Whiteside County
      • This Fenton is located in Whiteside County and lies 563 miles [906.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Whiteside County community of Fenton.
    • Indiana
      • Marion 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 Indiana community of Fenton [Marion County].
    • Iowa
      • Kossuth County
      • This Fenton is located in Kossuth County and lies 767 miles [1,234.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kossuth County community of Fenton.
    • Kansas
      • Rush 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 Kansas community of Fenton [Rush County].
    • Kentucky
      • Trigg County
      • This Fenton is located in Trigg County and lies 211 miles [339.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Trigg County community of Fenton.
    • Louisiana
      • Jefferson Davis Parish
      • This Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish and lies 476 miles [766 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson Davis Parish community of Fenton.
    • Michigan
      • Genesee County
      • This Fenton is located in Genesee County and lies 609 miles [980.1 km]<1> to the north of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Genesee County community of Fenton.
    • Mississippi
      • Hancock County
      • This Fenton is located in Hancock County and lies 322 miles [518.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Fenton.
    • Missouri
      • Saint Louis County
      • This Fenton is located in Saint Louis County and lies 385 miles [619.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Fenton.
    • New York
      • Erie County
      • This Fenton is located in Erie County and lies 695 miles [1,118.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Fenton.
    • Ohio
      • Wood 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 Ohio community of Fenton [Wood County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Montgomery 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 Fenton [Montgomery County].
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Fenton lies 1,613 miles [2,595.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
    • Tennessee
      • 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 Tennessee community of Fenton [Hancock County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Ashland 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 Wisconsin community of Fenton [Ashland County].
    • Wyoming
      • Big Horn 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 Wyoming community of Fenton [Big Horn County].
      • Park County
      • This Fenton is located in Park County and lies 1,385 miles [2,228.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Fenton that is located in Etowah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Park County community of Fenton.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Fenton ...

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.

  • Aurora
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Aurora is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
  • Double Bridges
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Double Bridges is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Bridges
  • Duck Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
  • Happy Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Happy Hill is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Hill
  • Kilpatrick
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Kilpatrick is located in DeKalb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilpatrick
  • Liberty
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty is located in DeKalb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
  • Liberty Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Liberty Hill is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Lot ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lot is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lot
  • Marshall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Marshall is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
  • Maryville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Maryville is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryville
  • Noble Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Noble Hill is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble Hill
  • Pleasant Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Pulltight
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Pulltight is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulltight
    • Rains ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Rains is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
    • Red Apple ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Red Apple is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Apple
    • Rockledge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Rockledge is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockledge
    • Shady Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Shady Grove is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Union
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Union is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union

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

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

  • Gadsden, which is the Seat of Etowah County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Fenton to Gadsden, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 124 miles [199.6 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 598 miles [962.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,491 miles [10,446.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,200 miles [11,587.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,077 miles [8,170.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fenton) 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 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 Fenton 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 Fenton, 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 Fenton 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 Fenton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.1798, Longitude: -86.1055       In this case, the coordinates for Fenton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.295 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.938 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.87 degrees.