RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Colbert County >> La Grange >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in La Grange, we use the following websites to find information relevant to La Grange 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 La Grange:
    • 34.661202, -87.560305
    • 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 La Grange
  • 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 Colbert County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Colbert County
    • Since La Grange is near Lawrence County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lawrence County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 La Grange

Communities Also Named La Grange ...

We found twenty communities that are also named La Grange.

Within Alabama, the name La Grange is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of twenty communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Stanislaus County
      • This La Grange is located in Stanislaus County and lies 1,836 miles [2,954.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stanislaus County community of La Grange.
    • Florida
      • Brevard County
      • This La Grange is located in Brevard County and lies 573 miles [922.2 km]<1> to the southeast of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brevard County community of La Grange.
    • Illinois
      • Brown County
      • This La Grange is located in Brown County and lies 399 miles [642.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brown County community of La Grange.
      • Cook County
      • This La Grange is located in Cook County and lies 493 miles [793.4 km] to the north of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of La Grange.
    • Kansas
      • Morris County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Morris County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morris County community of La Grange.
    • Kentucky
      • Oldham County
      • This La Grange is located in Oldham County and lies 285 miles [458.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oldham County community of La Grange.
    • Michigan
      • Cass County
      • This La Grange is located in Cass County and lies 510 miles [820.8 km]<1> to the north of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cass County community of La Grange.
    • Missouri
      • Lewis County
      • This La Grange is located in Lewis County and lies 430 miles [692 km]<1> to the north northwest of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of La Grange.
    • New York
      • Dutchess 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 New York community of La Grange [Dutchess County].
      • Orange County
      • This La Grange is located in Orange County and lies 859 miles [1,382.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of La Grange.
      • Wyoming County
      • This La Grange is located in Wyoming County and lies 760 miles [1,223.1 km] to the northeast of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming County community of La Grange.
    • North Carolina
      • Lenoir County
      • This La Grange is located in Lenoir County and lies 554 miles [891.6 km]<1> to the east of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lenoir County community of La Grange.
    • Ohio
      • Lawrence 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 Ohio community of La Grange [Lawrence County].
    • Tennessee
      • Fayette County
      • This La Grange is located in Fayette County and lies 99 miles [159.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of La Grange.
    • Texas
      • Fayette County
      • This La Grange is located in Fayette County and lies 634 miles [1,020.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of La Grange.
      • Red River County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Red River County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Red River County community of La Grange.
    • Virginia
      • Augusta 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 Virginia community of La Grange [Augusta County].
      • King George 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 Virginia community of La Grange [King George County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Walworth County
      • This La Grange is located in Walworth County and lies 564 miles [907.7 km]<1> to the north of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Walworth County community of La Grange.
    • Wyoming
      • Goshen County
      • This La Grange is located in Goshen County and lies 1,019 miles [1,639.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the La Grange that is located in Colbert County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Goshen County community of La Grange.

Curious and Interesting Names Near La Grange ...

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.

  • Cave Spring
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cave Spring is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
  • Cottontown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Cottontown is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottontown
  • Edmond
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Edmond is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
  • Hobgood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hobgood is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobgood
  • Houston Corner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Houston Corner is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Corner
  • Hunter ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hunter is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
  • James
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • James is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
  • Listerhill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Listerhill is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listerhill
  • Poplar Creek ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Poplar Creek is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
  • Section
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Section is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Section
  • Spring Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
  • Valley Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Valley Grove is located in Colbert County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Grove
  • Wolf Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wolf Springs is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Springs

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

  • Tuscumbia, which is the Seat of Colbert County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from La Grange to Tuscumbia, 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 173 miles [278.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 650 miles [1,046.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,528 miles [10,505.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,243 miles [11,656.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,119 miles [8,238.2 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 drawn from Point A (ie- La Grange) 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 La Grange, 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 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 La Grange 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 La Grange 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 La Grange. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6612, Longitude: -87.5603       In this case, the coordinates for La Grange have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.205 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.056 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.362 degrees.