RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Montgomery County >> Western Hills >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Western Hills, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Western Hills 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 Western Hills:
    • 32.364583, -86.332470
    • 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 Western Hills
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Western Hills is near Elmore County and also Autauga County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Elmore County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Autauga 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 Western Hills

Communities Also Named Western Hills ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Western Hills.

There are two communities within Alabama that are also named Western Hills.

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

  • Communities Located In Alabama ...
    • Mobile 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 Western Hills [Mobile County].
    • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Western Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 101 miles [162.5 km]<2> to the northwest of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Western Hills.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Adams County
      • This Western Hills is located in Adams County and lies 1,158 miles [1,863.6 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Western Hills.
    • Indiana
      • Posey 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 Indiana community of Western Hills [Posey County].
    • Louisiana
      • Caddo Parish
      • 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 Louisiana community of Western Hills [Caddo Parish].
      • Ouachita Parish
      • This Western Hills is located in Ouachita Parish and lies 342 miles [550.4 km]<2> to the west of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ouachita Parish community of Western Hills.
    • Mississippi
      • Hinds County
      • This Western Hills is located in Hinds County and lies 232 miles [373.4 km]<2> to the west of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hinds County community of Western Hills.
    • North Carolina
      • Buncombe 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 North Carolina community of Western Hills [Buncombe County].
      • Lee County
      • This Western Hills is located in Lee County and lies 459 miles [738.7 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Western Hills.
    • Ohio
      • Clark 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 Ohio community of Western Hills [Clark County].
      • Hamilton County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Western Hills [Hamilton County].
      • Washington County
      • This Western Hills is located in Washington County and lies 557 miles [896.4 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Western Hills.
    • South Carolina
      • Greenville County
      • This Western Hills is located in Greenville County and lies 283 miles [455.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenville County community of Western Hills.
    • Virginia
      • Petersburg City
      • This Western Hills is located in Petersburg City and lies 605 miles [973.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Petersburg City community of Western Hills.
      • Roanoke County
      • This Western Hills is located in Roanoke County and lies 491 miles [790.2 km] to the northeast of the Western Hills that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roanoke County community of Western Hills.
    • Wyoming
      • Laramie 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 Wyoming community of Western Hills [Laramie County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Western Hills ...

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 southeast)
    • Cloverdale is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Cloverland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverland is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
  • English Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • English Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
  • Garden Square
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Garden Square is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Square
  • Gay Meadows
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Gay Meadows is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay Meadows
  • Grove Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Grove Hill is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Hill
  • Grovewood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Grovewood is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovewood
  • Hillcrest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillcrest is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Hunter
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hunter is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
  • King Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • King Hill is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Hill
  • Lakeview Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Lakeview Heights is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Heights
  • Lee Farms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Lee Farms is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Farms
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Lees Ferry
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Lees Ferry is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Ferry
    • Lynndale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lynndale is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynndale
    • Maxwell Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Maxwell Heights is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Heights
    • Memorial Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Memorial Heights is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Heights
    • Morningview
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Morningview is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morningview
    • Wildwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wildwood is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood

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

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

  • Montgomery, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies just to the east northeast (ENE).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 689 miles [1,108.8 km]<2> to the northeast (NE). If you could drive a straight line from Western Hills to White House, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 40 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 27 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,586 miles [10,599.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,289 miles [11,730.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,167 miles [8,315.5 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 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 Western Hills 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Western Hills) 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 Western Hills 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 Western Hills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.3646, Longitude: -86.3325       In this case, the coordinates for Western Hills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.321 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.718 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.353 degrees.