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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Republic, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Republic 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 Republic:
    • 33.601216, -86.890827
    • 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 Republic
  • 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Since Republic is near Walker County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Walker County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Republic

Communities Also Named Republic ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Republic.

Within Alabama, the name Republic is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Iowa
      • Chickasaw County
      • This Republic is located in Chickasaw County and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chickasaw County community of Republic.
    • Kansas
      • Republic County
      • This Republic is located in Republic County and lies 744 miles [1,197.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Republic County community of Republic.
    • Kentucky
      • Pike County
      • This Republic is located in Pike County and lies 364 miles [585.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Republic.
    • Michigan
      • Marquette County
      • This Republic is located in Marquette County and lies 886 miles [1,425.9 km]<1> to the north of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marquette County community of Republic.
    • Minnesota
      • Anoka 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 Minnesota community of Republic [Anoka County].
    • Missouri
      • Greene County
      • This Republic is located in Greene County and lies 442 miles [711.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Republic.
    • Montana
      • Musselshell 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 Montana community of Republic [Musselshell County].
    • New York
      • Suffolk 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 New York community of Republic [Suffolk County].
    • North Carolina
      • Yadkin 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 North Carolina community of Republic [Yadkin County].
    • North Dakota
      • Mercer 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 North Dakota community of Republic [Mercer County].
    • Ohio
      • Seneca County
      • This Republic is located in Seneca County and lies 561 miles [902.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Seneca County community of Republic.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Fayette County
      • This Republic is located in Fayette County and lies 585 miles [941.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Republic.
    • Texas
      • Llano County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Llano County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Llano County community of Republic.
    • Washington
      • Ferry County
      • This Republic is located in Ferry County and lies 1,933 miles [3,110.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ferry County community of Republic.
    • West Virginia
      • Kanawha County
      • This Republic is located in Kanawha County and lies 432 miles [695.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Republic that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Republic.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Republic ...

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.

  • Coalburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Coalburg is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
    • Former name for Coalburg:
    • Coalburgh
  • Dogtown
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Dogtown is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
  • Fieldstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fieldstown is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldstown
  • Forestdale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Forestdale is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
  • Frances Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Frances Heights is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frances Heights
  • Glasgow
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
  • Grays Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Grays Gardens is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Gardens
  • Graysville Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Graysville Heights is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville Heights
  • Hillview
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Hillview is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillview
  • Merrywood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Merrywood is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrywood
  • Mineral Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Mineral Springs is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
  • Red Wine
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Red Wine is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Wine
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Scarlet Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Scarlet Town is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarlet Town
    • Sunset Mountain
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Sunset Mountain is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Mountain
    • Union Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Union Grove is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
    • Zion Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Zion Heights is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Heights

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

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

  • Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 91 miles [146.5 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Republic to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>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 6 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 658 miles [1,058.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,551 miles [10,542.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,260 miles [11,683.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,137 miles [8,267.2 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 from Point A (ie- Republic) 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 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 Republic 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 Republic, 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 Republic 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 Republic. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6012, Longitude: -86.8908       In this case, the coordinates for Republic have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.735 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.366 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.315 degrees.