RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Arkansas >> Independence County >> Bethesda >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bethesda, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bethesda 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 Bethesda:
    • 35.791587, -91.788261
    • 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 Bethesda
  • 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 Independence County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Independence County
    • Since Bethesda is near Stone County and also Cleburne County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stone County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cleburne 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 Bethesda

Communities Also Named Bethesda ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Bethesda.

Within Arkansas, the name Bethesda is unique.

Beyond Arkansas, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, 21 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Delaware
      • Kent County
      • This Bethesda is located in Kent County and lies 910 miles [1,464.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Bethesda.
    • Georgia
      • Chatham County
      • This Bethesda is located in Chatham County and lies 667 miles [1,073.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chatham County community of Bethesda.
      • Greene County
      • This Bethesda is located in Greene County and lies 519 miles [835.2 km] to the east southeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Bethesda.
      • Gwinnett County
      • This Bethesda is located in Gwinnett County and lies 455 miles [732.3 km] to the east southeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gwinnett County community of Bethesda.
    • Iowa
      • Page County
      • This Bethesda is located in Page County and lies 392 miles [630.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Page County community of Bethesda.
    • Kentucky
      • Wayne County
      • This Bethesda is located in Wayne County and lies 389 miles [626 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Bethesda.
    • Maryland
      • Montgomery County
      • This Bethesda is located in Montgomery County and lies 834 miles [1,342.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Bethesda.
    • Mississippi
      • Hinds County
      • This Bethesda is located in Hinds County and lies 265 miles [426.5 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hinds County community of Bethesda.
      • Yazoo County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Bethesda [Yazoo County].
    • North Carolina
      • Davidson County
      • This Bethesda is located in Davidson County and lies 646 miles [1,039.6 km]<1> to the east of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davidson County community of Bethesda.
      • Durham County
      • This Bethesda is located in Durham County and lies 724 miles [1,165.2 km] to the east of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Durham County community of Bethesda.
    • Ohio
      • Belmont County
      • This Bethesda is located in Belmont County and lies 652 miles [1,049.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Belmont County community of Bethesda.
      • Ross County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Ross County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ross County community of Bethesda.
    • Ontario
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Bethesda.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lancaster County
      • This Bethesda is located in Lancaster County and lies 888 miles [1,429.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lancaster County community of Bethesda.
    • South Carolina
      • Chesterfield County
      • This Bethesda is located in Chesterfield County and lies 666 miles [1,071.8 km]<1> to the east of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chesterfield County community of Bethesda.
    • Tennessee
      • Greene County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Bethesda [Greene County].
      • White County
      • This Bethesda is located in White County and lies 360 miles [579.4 km]<1> to the east of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Bethesda.
      • Williamson County
      • This Bethesda is located in Williamson County and lies 279 miles [449 km] to the east of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Williamson County community of Bethesda.
    • Texas
      • Titus County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Bethesda [Titus County].
    • West Virginia
      • Wayne County
      • This Bethesda is located in Wayne County and lies 542 miles [872.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Bethesda.
    • Wisconsin
      • Waukesha County
      • This Bethesda is located in Waukesha County and lies 530 miles [853 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Bethesda that is located in Independence County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Waukesha County community of Bethesda.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bethesda ...

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.

  • Almond
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bluetip ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Bluetip is located in Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluetip
  • Limedale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Limedale is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limedale
  • Limedale Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Limedale Junction is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limedale Junction
  • Limeville ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Limeville is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limeville
  • Locust Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Locust Grove is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Meadow Heights
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Meadow Heights is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Heights
  • Phosphate ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Phosphate is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phosphate
  • Pleasant Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Grove is located in Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove

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

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

  • Batesville, which is the Seat of Independence County, lies just to the East.
  • Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 77 miles [123.9 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Bethesda to Little Rock, with an average speed<4>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 5 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 836 miles [1,345.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,639 miles [10,684.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,369 miles [11,859.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,247 miles [8,444.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Bethesda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Bethesda, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Bethesda 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.
<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 Bethesda 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 Bethesda. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7916, Longitude: -91.7883       In this case, the coordinates for Bethesda have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.95 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.386 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.968 degrees.