RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Tuscaloosa County >> Washington Square >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Washington Square, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Washington Square 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 Washington Square:
    • 33.190952, -87.588896
    • 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 Washington Square
  • 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 Tuscaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
    • Since Washington Square is near Hale County and also Greene County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hale County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Greene 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 Washington Square

Communities Also Named Washington Square ...

We found six communities that are also named Washington Square.

Within Alabama, the name Washington Square is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Connecticut
      • New London 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 Connecticut community of Washington Square [New London County].
    • Georgia
      • Peach County
      • This Washington Square is located in Peach County and lies 218 miles [350.8 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Washington Square that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Peach County community of Washington Square.
    • North Carolina
      • Wake County
      • This Washington Square is located in Wake County and lies 541 miles [870.7 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Washington Square that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wake County community of Washington Square.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Montgomery County
      • This Washington Square is located in Montgomery County and lies 831 miles [1,337.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Washington Square that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Washington Square.
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Washington Square is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,429 miles [2,299.8 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Washington Square that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Washington Square.
    • West Virginia
      • Cabell County
      • This Washington Square is located in Cabell County and lies 462 miles [743.5 km]<2> to the northeast of the Washington Square that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cabell County community of Washington Square.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Washington Square ...

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.

  • Cloverdale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cloverdale is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Dearing Place
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Dearing Place is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearing Place
  • Fairlawn
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Fairlawn is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
  • Fernridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Fernridge is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernridge
  • Gardendale
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Gardendale is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardendale
  • Green Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Green Valley is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
  • Greenview
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Greenview is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenview
  • Guilds Woods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Guilds Woods is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilds Woods
  • Hays Court
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Hays Court is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Court
  • Hickory Forest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hickory Forest is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Forest
  • Hillcrest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hillcrest is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Lincoln Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Lincoln Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Meadow Lawn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Meadow Lawn is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lawn
    • Rosedale
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Rosedale is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale Courts
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Rosedale Courts is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale Courts
    • Royal Pines
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Royal Pines is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
    • Snow Terrace
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Snow Terrace is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Terrace
    • South Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • South Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Park
    • Twin Manor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Twin Manor is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Manor
    • University Lane
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • University Lane is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Lane
    • University Place
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • University Place is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Place

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

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

  • Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 93 miles [149.7 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Washington Square to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>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 708 miles [1,139.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,310 miles [11,764.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,186 miles [8,346.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 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 Washington Square 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Washington Square) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Washington Square 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 Washington Square. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1910, Longitude: -87.5889       In this case, the coordinates for Washington Square have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.129 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.766 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.681 degrees.