Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sheppard, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sheppard and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sheppard
- 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 Sheppard:
- 31.911261, -87.479996
- 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 Sheppard
- 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 Wilcox County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wilcox County
- Since Sheppard is near Monroe County and also Clarke County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- eBird sighting report for Clarke 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 Sheppard ...
We found five communities that share the name Sheppard.
Within Alabama, the name Sheppard is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Maryland
- Ontario
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sheppard ...
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.
- Coal Bluff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Bluff
- Coal Bluff is located in Wilcox County
- Dry Forks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Holly Ferry
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ferry
- Holly Ferry is located in Wilcox County
- Kings Log Landing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Log Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Log Landing
- Kings Log Landing is located in Monroe County
- Lower Peach Tree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Peach Tree
- Lower Peach Tree is located in Wilcox County
- Nellie
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Pebble Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pebble Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble Hill
- Pebble Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Rockwest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Yellow Bluff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yellow Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Bluff
- Yellow Bluff is located in Wilcox County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Yellow Bluff Ferry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yellow Bluff Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Bluff Ferry
- Yellow Bluff Ferry is located in Wilcox County
How Far From Sheppard 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 Sheppard to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sheppard and extending to:
- Camden, which is the Seat of Wilcox County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sheppard to Camden, with an average speed<5> 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 76 miles [122.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 759 miles [1,221.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,657 miles [10,713.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,361 miles [11,846.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,239 miles [8,431.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sheppard. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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- Sheppard) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sheppard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9113, Longitude: -87.4800 In this case, the coordinates for Sheppard 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 Sheppard 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 Sheppard, 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 Sheppard 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 313.967 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.403 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.888 degrees. |