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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sumter, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sumter and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Sumter:
    • 33.353446, -87.127774
    • 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 Sumter
  • 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 Sumter is near Tuscaloosa County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa 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 Sumter

Communities Also Named Sumter ...

We found four communities that are also named Sumter.

Within Alabama, the name Sumter is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Sumter County
      • This Sumter is located in Sumter County and lies 193 miles [310.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Sumter that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of Sumter.
    • Minnesota
      • McLeod County
      • This Sumter is located in McLeod County and lies 873 miles [1,405 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Sumter that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLeod County community of Sumter.
    • Nebraska
      • Valley County
      • This Sumter is located in Valley County and lies 853 miles [1,372.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sumter that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Sumter.
    • South Carolina
      • Sumter County
      • This Sumter is located in Sumter County and lies 392 miles [630.9 km]<1> to the east of the Sumter that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of Sumter.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sumter ...

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.

  • Black Diamond
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Black Diamond is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
  • Bucksville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bucksville is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksville
  • Johns
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Johns is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns
  • Lake View
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
  • Mud Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mud Creek is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Creek
  • Red Hill Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Red Hill Heights is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill Heights
  • Valley Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Valley Creek is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek
  • Virginia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Virginia is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia

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

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

  • Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sumter to Birmingham, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 82 miles [132 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 680 miles [1,094.4 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<3> 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).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,282 miles [11,719.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,158 miles [8,301 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sumter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Sumter 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 Sumter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3534, Longitude: -87.1278       In this case, the coordinates for Sumter have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.862 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.479 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.462 degrees.