RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Coosa County >> Smiths Ferry >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Smiths Ferry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Smiths Ferry 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 Smiths Ferry:
    • 33.830655, -86.459707
    • 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 Smiths Ferry
  • 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 Coosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Coosa County
    • Since Smiths Ferry is near Blount County and also Saint Clair County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Clair 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 Smiths Ferry

Communities Also Named Smiths Ferry ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Smiths Ferry.

There is one other community in Alabama that is also named Smiths Ferry.

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

  • Communities Located In Alabama ...
    • Greene County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Greene County and lies 118 miles [189.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Smiths Ferry.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Garland County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Garland County and lies 380 miles [611.6 km]<1> to the west of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Garland County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • California
      • Fresno County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Fresno County and lies 1,862 miles [2,996.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fresno County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Idaho
      • Valley County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Valley County and lies 1,732 miles [2,787.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Kansas
      • Shawnee County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Shawnee County and lies 631 miles [1,015.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shawnee County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Hampden County and lies 949 miles [1,527.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Smiths Ferry.
      • Hampshire 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 Massachusetts community of Smiths Ferry [Hampshire County].
    • Mississippi
      • Warren County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Warren County and lies 265 miles [426.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Beaver County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Beaver County and lies 573 miles [922.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaver County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • South Carolina
      • Union County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Union County and lies 292 miles [469.9 km]<1> to the east of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Texas
      • Tyler 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 Texas community of Smiths Ferry [Tyler County].
    • Virginia
      • Southampton County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Southampton County and lies 569 miles [915.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Coosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Southampton County community of Smiths Ferry.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Smiths Ferry ...

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.

  • Allgood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Allgood is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
  • Champion
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Champion is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
  • Cool Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Cool Springs is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Springs
  • Graystone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Graystone is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graystone
  • Holly Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Holly Springs is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
  • Inland Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Inland Junction is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inland Junction
  • Mill ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mill is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill
  • Mountain View
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mountain View is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
  • Pine Mountain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Pine Mountain is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mountain
  • Straight Mountain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain

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

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

  • Rockford, which is the Seat of Coosa County, lies 66 miles [106.2 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Smiths Ferry to Rockford, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 100 miles [160.9 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 629 miles [1,012.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,522 miles [10,496.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,231 miles [11,637.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,108 miles [8,220.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Smiths Ferry) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Smiths Ferry 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>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.
<4>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 Smiths Ferry 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 Smiths Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8307, Longitude: -86.4597       In this case, the coordinates for Smiths Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.489 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.114 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.091 degrees.