RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Highlands County >> Childs >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Childs.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Childs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Childs and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Childs:
    • 27.209770, -81.344795<1>
    • 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 Childs
  • 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 Highlands County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Highlands County
    • Since Childs is near Glades County and also Hardee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Glades County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hardee 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 Childs

Communities Also Named Childs ...

We found eleven communities that are also named Childs.

Within Florida, the name Childs is unique.

Beyond Florida, we know of eleven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Childs, Pima County
      • This Childs is located in Pima County and lies 1,914 miles [3,080.3 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pima County community of Childs.
    • Maryland
      • Childs, Cecil County
      • This Childs is located in Cecil County and lies 914 miles [1,470.9 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cecil County community of Childs.
    • Minnesota
      • Childs, Wilkin County
      • This Childs is located in Wilkin County and lies 1,544 miles [2,484.8 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wilkin County community of Childs.
    • Montana
      • Childs, Sanders County
      • This Childs is located in Sanders County and lies 2,317 miles [3,728.9 km]<2> to the northwest of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sanders County community of Childs.
    • Nebraska
      • Childs, Douglas County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Douglas County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Childs.
    • New York
      • Childs, Orleans County
      • This Childs is located in Orleans County and lies 1,124 miles [1,808.9 km]<2> to the north of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orleans County community of Childs.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Childs, Erie County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<4> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Childs [Erie County].
      • Childs, Fayette 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 Pennsylvania community of Childs [Fayette County].
      • Childs, Lackawanna County
      • This Childs is located in Lackawanna County and lies 1,044 miles [1,680.2 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lackawanna County community of Childs.
    • South Carolina
      • Childs, Richland County
      • This Childs is located in Richland County and lies 466 miles [750 km]<2> to the north of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Childs.
    • West Virginia
      • Childs, Wetzel County
      • This Childs is located in Wetzel County and lies 856 miles [1,377.6 km]<2> to the north of the Childs that is located in Highlands County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wetzel County community of Childs.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Childs ...

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.

  • Bear Hollow
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Bear Hollow is also located in Highlands County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Hollow
  • Crewsville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Crewsville is located in Hardee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crewsville
  • De Soto City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • De Soto City is also located in Highlands County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto City
  • Hall City
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Hall City is located in Glades County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall City
  • Harrisburg
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Harrisburg is located in Glades County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Joshua
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Joshua is located in DeSoto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua
  • Placid Lakes
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Placid Lakes is also located in Highlands County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placid Lakes
  • Plains
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Plains is also located in Highlands County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains
  • Wild Island
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wild Island is also located in Highlands County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Island

How Far From Childs 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 included the distance from a community such as Childs to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Sebring, which is the Seat of Highlands County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Childs to Sebring, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 284 miles [457.1 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 844 miles [1,358.3 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,261 miles [11,685.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,167 miles [8,315.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Footnotes ...

<1>GPS Coordinates for Childs:
     Decimal: 27.20977, -81.344795
     DDMMSS: 27° 12' 35", -81° 20' 41"
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Childs) 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 Childs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 Childs 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.
<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 Childs 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 Childs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.2098, Longitude: -81.3448       In this case, the coordinates for Childs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.192 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.388 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.697 degrees.