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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Woodward, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Woodward 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 Woodward:
    • 33.636214, -86.606654
    • 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 Woodward
  • 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 Woodward is near Blount County and also Saint Clair County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Woodward

Communities Also Named Woodward ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Woodward.

There is one other community in Alabama that is also named Woodward.

Beyond Alabama, we know of twelve communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these twelve communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Alabama ...
    • Calhoun 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 Woodward [Calhoun County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Solano County
      • This Woodward is located in Solano County and lies 1,972 miles [3,173.6 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Solano County community of Woodward.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Woodward is located in Hillsborough County and lies 462 miles [743.5 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Woodward.
    • Georgia
      • Fulton County
      • This Woodward is located in Fulton County and lies 126 miles [202.8 km]<2> to the east of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fulton County community of Woodward.
    • Iowa
      • Dallas County
      • This Woodward is located in Dallas County and lies 693 miles [1,115.3 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dallas County community of Woodward.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Woodward is located in Baltimore County and lies 680 miles [1,094.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Woodward.
    • Michigan
      • Lenawee 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 Michigan community of Woodward [Lenawee County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Woodward County
      • This Woodward is located in Woodward County and lies 747 miles [1,202.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Woodward County community of Woodward.
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Woodward.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Centre County
      • This Woodward is located in Centre County and lies 713 miles [1,147.5 km]<2> to the northeast of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Centre County community of Woodward.
    • South Carolina
      • Barnwell 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 South Carolina community of Woodward [Barnwell County].
      • Fairfield County
      • This Woodward is located in Fairfield County and lies 316 miles [508.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Woodward that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Woodward.
    • Texas
      • La Salle County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Woodward [La Salle County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Woodward ...

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.

  • Arrowhead
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Arrowhead is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
  • Center Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Chalkville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
  • Clay
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Clay is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
    • Estimated population in 2015: 9,655 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clay <4>
  • Cotton Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cotton Ridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Ridge
  • Dale ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dale is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
  • Eagle Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Eagle Ridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Ridge
  • Echo Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Echo Hills is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hills
  • Queenstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Queenstown is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
  • Rolling Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Rolling Hills is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
  • Roper
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Roper is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
  • Saddlewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Saddlewood is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddlewood

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

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

  • Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Woodward to Birmingham, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 88 miles [141.6 km] to the south (S). 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 644 miles [1,036.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,538 miles [10,521.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,246 miles [11,661.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,123 miles [8,244.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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 Woodward 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 from Point A (ie- Woodward) 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 Woodward, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Woodward 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 Woodward. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6362, Longitude: -86.6067       In this case, the coordinates for Woodward have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.566 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.176 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.193 degrees.