Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Homestead, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Homestead and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Homestead
- 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 Homestead:
- 33.205948, -86.468313
- 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 Homestead
- 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Homestead is near Talladega County and also Coosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Talladega County
- eBird sighting report for Coosa 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Homestead ...
We found 38 communities that share the name Homestead.
Within Alabama, the name Homestead is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 38 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 38 communities, 38 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- California
- Kern 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 California community of Homestead [Kern County].
- Modoc County
- This Homestead is located in Modoc County and lies 1,989 miles [3,201 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Modoc County community of Homestead.
- Riverside County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Homestead [Riverside County].
- Sacramento County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Homestead [Sacramento County].
- San Joaquin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Homestead [San Joaquin County].
- Colorado
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Homestead is located in Hillsborough County and lies 432 miles [695.2 km]<1> to the southeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Homestead.
- Miami-Dade County
- This Homestead is located in Miami-Dade County and lies 644 miles [1,036.4 km] to the southeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Miami-Dade County community of Homestead.
- Georgia
- Clayton County
- This Homestead is located in Clayton County and lies 129 miles [207.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clayton County community of Homestead.
- Pierce County
- This Homestead is located in Pierce County and lies 278 miles [447.4 km] to the east southeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pierce County community of Homestead.
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Manitoba
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Benzie 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 Michigan community of Homestead [Benzie County].
- Chippewa County
- This Homestead is located in Chippewa County and lies 915 miles [1,472.5 km]<1> to the north of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chippewa County community of Homestead.
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Carter 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 Missouri community of Homestead [Carter County].
- Ray County
- This Homestead is located in Ray County and lies 604 miles [972 km]<1> to the northwest of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ray County community of Homestead.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Mecklenburg County
- This Homestead is located in Mecklenburg County and lies 347 miles [558.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mecklenburg County community of Homestead.
- Rockingham County
- This Homestead is located in Rockingham County and lies 438 miles [704.9 km] to the east northeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockingham County community of Homestead.
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Cumberland County
- This Homestead is located in Cumberland County and lies 204 miles [328.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Homestead.
- Knox County
- This Homestead is located in Knox County and lies 246 miles [395.9 km] to the northeast of the Homestead that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Homestead.
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Homestead ...
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.
- Chancellor Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chancellor Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor Crossroads
- Chancellor Crossroads is located in Shelby County
- Erratta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Fourmile
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Grove Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
- Grove Park is located in Talladega County
- Indian Shoals
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Shoals have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Shoals
- Indian Shoals is located in Shelby County
- Kingdom Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingdom Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingdom Crossroads
- Kingdom Crossroads is located in Shelby County
- Minor Terrace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minor Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Terrace
- Minor Terrace is located in Talladega County
- Mount Sharon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Sharon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sharon
- Mount Sharon is located in Talladega County
- Nelson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Sulphur Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Spring
- Sulphur Spring is located in Talladega County
- Valentine
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
How Far From Homestead 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 Homestead to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Homestead and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Homestead to Montgomery, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 656 miles [1,055.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,552 miles [10,544.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,259 miles [11,682.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,136 miles [8,265.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Homestead. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Shelby County: www.shelbycountyalabama.com/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Homestead) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Homestead. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2059, Longitude: -86.4683 In this case, the coordinates for Homestead 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 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 Homestead 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 Homestead, 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 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. |
| <6> | 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 Homestead to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.457 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.991 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.23 degrees. |