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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Williamstown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Williamstown 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 Williamstown:
    • 33.703442, -87.301947
    • 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 Williamstown
  • 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 Walker County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Walker County
    • Since Williamstown is near Tuscaloosa County and also Fayette 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 Fayette 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 Williamstown

Communities Also Named Williamstown ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Williamstown.

Within Alabama, the name Williamstown is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, twenty are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Fannin County
      • This Williamstown is located in Fannin County and lies 189 miles [304.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fannin County community of Williamstown.
    • Indiana
      • Clay 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 Indiana community of Williamstown [Clay County].
      • Rush County
      • This Williamstown is located in Rush County and lies 409 miles [658.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rush County community of Williamstown.
    • Iowa
      • Cedar 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 Iowa community of Williamstown [Cedar County].
      • Chickasaw County
      • This Williamstown is located in Chickasaw County and lies 694 miles [1,116.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chickasaw County community of Williamstown.
      • Johnson County
      • This Williamstown is located in Johnson County and lies 594 miles [956 km] to the north northwest of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Williamstown.
    • Kansas
      • Jefferson County
      • This Williamstown is located in Jefferson County and lies 579 miles [931.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Williamstown.
    • Kentucky
      • Grant County
      • This Williamstown is located in Grant County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Williamstown.
    • Massachusetts
      • Berkshire County
      • This Williamstown is located in Berkshire County and lies 983 miles [1,582 km]<1> to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berkshire County community of Williamstown.
    • Missouri
      • Lewis County
      • This Williamstown is located in Lewis County and lies 514 miles [827.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Williamstown.
    • New Brunswick
      • 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 New Brunswick community of Williamstown.
    • New Jersey
      • Gloucester County
      • This Williamstown is located in Gloucester County and lies 795 miles [1,279.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gloucester County community of Williamstown.
    • New York
      • Oswego County
      • This Williamstown is located in Oswego County and lies 909 miles [1,462.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oswego County community of Williamstown.
    • Ohio
      • Defiance County
      • This Williamstown is located in Defiance County and lies 548 miles [881.9 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Defiance County community of Williamstown.
      • Hancock County
      • This Williamstown is located in Hancock County and lies 531 miles [854.6 km] to the north northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Williamstown.
    • Ontario
      • This Williamstown lies 1,038 miles [1,670.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Dauphin County
      • This Williamstown is located in Dauphin County and lies 755 miles [1,215.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dauphin County community of Williamstown.
      • Lancaster 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 Pennsylvania community of Williamstown [Lancaster County].
      • Lehigh County
      • This Williamstown is located in Lehigh County and lies 804 miles [1,293.9 km] to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lehigh County community of Williamstown.
      • Washington County
      • This Williamstown is located in Washington County and lies 590 miles [949.5 km] to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Williamstown.
    • Vermont
      • Orange County
      • This Williamstown is located in Orange County and lies 1,067 miles [1,717.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Williamstown.
    • West Virginia
      • Wood County
      • This Williamstown is located in Wood County and lies 509 miles [819.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Williamstown that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Williamstown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Williamstown ...

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.

  • America
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • America is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America
  • Cedar Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Lake is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
  • Gobblers Crossing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gobblers Crossing is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gobblers Crossing
  • Goodsprings
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Goodsprings is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
  • High Level
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • High Level is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Level
  • Key Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Key Hill is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key Hill
  • Kings Mill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kings Mill is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
  • Mount Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Hope is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
  • Mountain Valley ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mountain Valley is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Valley
  • Pleasant Field
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Field is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Field
  • Providence
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Providence is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Short Camp
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Short Camp is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Camp
  • Standard
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Standard is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard

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

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

  • Jasper, which is the Seat of Walker County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Williamstown to Jasper, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 108 miles [173.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 673 miles [1,083.1 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,563 miles [10,562.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,274 miles [11,706.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,150 miles [8,288.1 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Williamstown) 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 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 Williamstown 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 Williamstown 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 Williamstown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7034, Longitude: -87.3019       In this case, the coordinates for Williamstown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.99 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.675 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.459 degrees.