RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Georgia >> Murray County >> Ball Ground >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ball Ground, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ball Ground 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 Ball Ground:
    • 34.652536, -84.760156
    • 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 Ball Ground
  • 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 Murray County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Murray County
    • Since Ball Ground is near Gordon County and also Gilmer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gordon County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gilmer 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 Ball Ground

Communities Also Named Ball Ground ...

We found one communities that are also named Ball Ground.

There is one other community in Georgia that is also named Ball Ground.

Beyond Georgia.

  • Communities Located In Georgia ...
    • Cherokee County
      • This Ball Ground is located in Cherokee County and lies 30 miles [48.3 km]<1> to the southeast of the Ball Ground that is located in Murray County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cherokee County community of Ball Ground.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ball Ground ...

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.

  • Angelville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Angelville is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelville
  • Audubon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Audubon is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audubon
  • Bloodtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloodtown is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloodtown
  • Buff ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Buff is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buff
    • Estimated population in 2019: 15,522 people
  • Dennis
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dennis is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
  • Fields Ferry
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fields Ferry is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields Ferry
  • Fort Mountain ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Fort Mountain is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Mountain
  • Hunts Corner
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hunts Corner is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Corner
  • Keiths Mill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Keiths Mill is located in Whitfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keiths Mill
  • Lewis Corner
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lewis Corner is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Corner
  • Redbud
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Redbud is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud
  • Soapstick
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Soapstick is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soapstick
    • Estimated population in 2019: 4,544 people
  • Spring Place
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Place is located in Murray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Place

How Far From Ball Ground 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 city such as Ball Ground to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Chatsworth, which is the Seat of Murray County, lies just to the North.
  • Atlanta, which is the State Capital of Georgia, lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Ball Ground to Atlanta, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 517 miles [832 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 30 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,413 miles [10,320.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,120 miles [11,458.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,997 miles [8,041.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Ball Ground) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Ball Ground 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 Ball Ground. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6525, Longitude: -84.7602    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.51 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.10 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.215 degrees.