RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Chilton County >> Rocky Mount >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rocky Mount, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount:
    • 32.990955, -86.716929
    • 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 Rocky Mount
  • 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 Chilton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chilton County
    • Since Rocky Mount is near Shelby County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bibb 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 Rocky Mount

Communities Also Named Rocky Mount ...

We found nine communities that are also named Rocky Mount.

There is one other community in Alabama that is also named Rocky Mount.

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

  • Communities Located In Alabama ...
    • Clay 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 Rocky Mount [Clay County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Meriwether County
      • This Rocky Mount is located in Meriwether County and lies 118 miles [189.9 km]<2> to the east of the Rocky Mount that is located in Chilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meriwether County community of Rocky Mount.
    • Louisiana
      • Bossier Parish
      • This Rocky Mount is located in Bossier Parish and lies 400 miles [643.7 km]<2> to the west of the Rocky Mount that is located in Chilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bossier Parish community of Rocky Mount.
    • Mississippi
      • Kemper 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 Mississippi community of Rocky Mount [Kemper County].
    • Missouri
      • Miller County
      • This Rocky Mount is located in Miller County and lies 496 miles [798.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Rocky Mount that is located in Chilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Miller County community of Rocky Mount.
      • Morgan County
      • This Rocky Mount is located in Morgan County and lies 496 miles [798.2 km] to the northwest of the Rocky Mount that is located in Chilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Rocky Mount.
    • North Carolina
      • Edgecombe County
      • This Rocky Mount is located in Edgecombe County and lies 547 miles [880.3 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Rocky Mount that is located in Chilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Edgecombe County community of Rocky Mount.
    • South Carolina
      • Chester 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 South Carolina community of Rocky Mount [Chester County].
    • Virginia
      • Franklin County
      • This Rocky Mount is located in Franklin County and lies 475 miles [764.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Rocky Mount that is located in Chilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Rocky Mount.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rocky Mount ...

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.

  • Dry Valley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Dry Valley is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Valley
  • Gap of the Mountain
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Gap of the Mountain is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap of the Mountain
  • Jumbo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jumbo is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
  • Mars Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Mars Hill is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Hill
  • Mineral Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mineral Springs is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
  • Oak Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Oak Grove is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Pleasant Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Grove is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
  • Poseys Crossroads
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Poseys Crossroads is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poseys Crossroads
  • Roberta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Roberta is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberta
  • Springs Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Springs Junction is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springs Junction
  • Stems
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Stems is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stems
  • Union Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Union Grove is located in Chilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
  • Valley Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Valley Junction is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction

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

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

  • Clanton, which is the Seat of Chilton County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rocky Mount to Clanton, 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 48 miles [77.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 676 miles [1,087.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,573 miles [10,578.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,279 miles [11,714.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,156 miles [8,297.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 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 Rocky Mount 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 '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- Rocky Mount) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Rocky Mount, 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 Rocky Mount 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 Rocky Mount. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.9910, Longitude: -86.7169       In this case, the coordinates for Rocky Mount have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.592 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.117 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.374 degrees.