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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Woodruff, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Woodruff 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 Woodruff:
    • 33.813989, -85.892190
    • 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 Woodruff
  • 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 Calhoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
    • Since Woodruff is near Etowah County and also Saint Clair County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Etowah 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 Woodruff

Communities Also Named Woodruff ...

We found twenty communities that are also named Woodruff.

Within Alabama, the name Woodruff is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Apache 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 Arizona community of Woodruff [Apache County].
      • Navajo County
      • This Woodruff is located in Navajo County and lies 1,375 miles [2,212.8 km]<2> to the west of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Navajo County community of Woodruff.
    • Colorado
      • Fremont 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 Colorado community of Woodruff [Fremont County].
    • Florida
      • Gadsden 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 Florida community of Woodruff [Gadsden County].
    • Idaho
      • Oneida County
      • This Woodruff is located in Oneida County and lies 1,534 miles [2,468.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oneida County community of Woodruff.
    • Illinois
      • Cook 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 Illinois community of Woodruff [Cook County].
      • McLean County
      • This Woodruff is located in McLean County and lies 499 miles [803.1 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLean County community of Woodruff.
    • Indiana
      • LaGrange County
      • This Woodruff is located in LaGrange County and lies 536 miles [862.6 km]<2> to the north of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the LaGrange County community of Woodruff.
    • Kansas
      • Phillips County
      • This Woodruff is located in Phillips County and lies 859 miles [1,382.4 km]<2> to the northwest of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Woodruff.
    • Missouri
      • Platte County
      • This Woodruff is located in Platte County and lies 628 miles [1,010.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Platte County community of Woodruff.
    • New Jersey
      • Cumberland County
      • This Woodruff is located in Cumberland County and lies 709 miles [1,141 km]<2> to the northeast of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Woodruff.
      • Ocean County
      • This Woodruff is located in Ocean County and lies 763 miles [1,227.9 km] to the northeast of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ocean County community of Woodruff.
    • North Dakota
      • Richland 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 Dakota community of Woodruff [Richland County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Greene County
      • This Woodruff is located in Greene County and lies 517 miles [832 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Woodruff.
    • South Carolina
      • Spartanburg County
      • This Woodruff is located in Spartanburg County and lies 229 miles [368.5 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spartanburg County community of Woodruff.
    • Utah
      • Rich County
      • This Woodruff is located in Rich County and lies 1,473 miles [2,370.6 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rich County community of Woodruff.
    • Vermont
      • Windham 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 Vermont community of Woodruff [Windham County].
    • Washington
      • Snohomish County
      • This Woodruff is located in Snohomish County and lies 2,095 miles [3,371.6 km]<2> to the northwest of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Snohomish County community of Woodruff.
    • West Virginia
      • Marshall County
      • This Woodruff is located in Marshall County and lies 506 miles [814.3 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Woodruff.
    • Wisconsin
      • Oneida County
      • This Woodruff is located in Oneida County and lies 858 miles [1,380.8 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Woodruff that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oneida County community of Woodruff.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Woodruff ...

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.

  • Angel
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Angel is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
  • Cedar Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Springs is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
  • Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
  • Clark ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Clark is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
  • Crystal Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Crystal Springs is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
  • Duke
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Duke is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
  • Hebron ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hebron is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
  • Hill Top ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Hill Top is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Top
  • Peek's Hill ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Peek's Hill is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peek's Hill
  • Post Oak
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Post Oak is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak
  • Reads Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Reads Mill is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reads Mill
  • Sulphur Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
  • Union
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Union is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Woodruff once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Woodruff and extending to:

  • Anniston, which is the Seat of Calhoun County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Woodruff to Anniston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 101 miles [162.5 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 604 miles [972 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,499 miles [10,459.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,207 miles [11,598.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,083 miles [8,180.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 Woodruff 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- Woodruff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Woodruff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>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 Woodruff 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 Woodruff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8140, Longitude: -85.8922       In this case, the coordinates for Woodruff have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.148 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.718 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.867 degrees.