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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hicks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hicks 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 Hicks:
    • 33.580939, -85.777463
    • 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 Hicks
  • 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 Calhoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
    • Since Hicks is near Talladega County and also Cleburne County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Talladega County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cleburne 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 Hicks

Communities Also Named Hicks ...

We found nineteen communities that are also named Hicks.

There is one other community in Alabama that is also named Hicks.

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

  • Communities Located In Alabama ...
    • Cleburne 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 Alabama community of Hicks [Cleburne County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Little River County
      • This Hicks is located in Little River County and lies 479 miles [770.9 km]<2> to the west of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Little River County community of Hicks.
      • Phillips County
      • This Hicks is located in Phillips County and lies 305 miles [490.8 km] to the west northwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Hicks.
      • Washington County
      • This Hicks is located in Washington County and lies 496 miles [798.2 km] to the west northwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Hicks.
    • British Columbia
      • This Hicks lies 2,124 miles [3,418.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
    • Georgia
      • Macon County
      • This Hicks is located in Macon County and lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<2> to the southeast of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Hicks.
    • Illinois
      • Hardin County
      • This Hicks is located in Hardin County and lies 310 miles [498.9 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hardin County community of Hicks.
    • Indiana
      • Jefferson 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 Indiana community of Hicks [Jefferson County].
      • LaPorte County
      • This Hicks is located in LaPorte County and lies 562 miles [904.5 km]<2> to the north of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the LaPorte County community of Hicks.
    • Iowa
      • Black Hawk County
      • This Hicks is located in Black Hawk County and lies 708 miles [1,139.4 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Black Hawk County community of Hicks.
    • Louisiana
      • Vernon Parish
      • This Hicks is located in Vernon Parish and lies 453 miles [729 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vernon Parish community of Hicks.
    • Michigan
      • Oscoda 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 Michigan community of Hicks [Oscoda County].
    • Mississippi
      • Jefferson 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 Mississippi community of Hicks [Jefferson County].
    • Missouri
      • Sainte Genevieve County
      • This Hicks is located in Sainte Genevieve County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sainte Genevieve County community of Hicks.
    • New York
      • Chemung County
      • This Hicks is located in Chemung County and lies 771 miles [1,240.8 km]<2> to the northeast of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chemung County community of Hicks.
    • Ohio
      • Warren County
      • This Hicks is located in Warren County and lies 410 miles [659.8 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Hicks.
    • Tennessee
      • DeKalb 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 Tennessee community of Hicks [DeKalb County].
    • Texas
      • Lee County
      • This Hicks is located in Lee County and lies 688 miles [1,107.2 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Hicks that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Hicks.
      • Tarrant 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 Texas community of Hicks [Tarrant County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hicks ...

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 Pond
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Pond is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Pond
  • Boiling Spring
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Boiling Spring is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring
  • Five Points
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Five Points is located in Cleburne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Friendship
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Friendship is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
  • Golden Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Golden Springs is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Springs
  • Harmony
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Harmony is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
  • Holly Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Holly Springs is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
  • House ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • House is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House
  • Jo Dell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jo Dell is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jo Dell
  • Lakeview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeview is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Meadowbrook
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Meadowbrook is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
  • Spring Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Spring Valley is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
  • Trinity
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Trinity is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
  • Woodland Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodland Park is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park

How Far From Hicks to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Hicks to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Anniston, which is the Seat of Calhoun County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 88 miles [141.6 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Hicks to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,505 miles [10,468.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,212 miles [11,606.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,089 miles [8,190 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Hicks 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>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- Hicks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Hicks 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 Hicks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.5809, Longitude: -85.7775       In this case, the coordinates for Hicks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.067 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.592 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.874 degrees.