RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Georgia >> Washington County >> Balls Ferry >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Balls Ferry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Balls Ferry 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 Balls Ferry:
    • 32.781824, -82.958478
    • 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 Balls Ferry
  • 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Balls Ferry is near Wilkinson County and also Laurens County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilkinson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Laurens 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 Balls Ferry

Communities Also Named Balls Ferry ...

We found two communities that are also named Balls Ferry.

Within Georgia, the name Balls Ferry is unique.

Beyond Georgia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Shasta County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Balls Ferry [Shasta County].
    • Ohio
      • Butler County
      • This Balls Ferry is located in Butler County and lies 469 miles [754.8 km]<2> to the north of the Balls Ferry that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Balls Ferry.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Balls Ferry ...

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.

  • Cooktown
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cooktown is located in Wilkinson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooktown
  • Donovan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Donovan is located in Johnson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donovan
  • Edgars
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Edgars is located in Wilkinson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgars
  • Hazard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hazard is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazard
  • Hebron
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hebron is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
  • Holly Hills
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Holly Hills is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Hills
  • Irwins Crossroads
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Irwins Crossroads is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwins Crossroads
  • Peacocks Crossing
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Peacocks Crossing is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacocks Crossing
  • Tabernacle
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Tabernacle is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
  • Tuckers Crossroad
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Tuckers Crossroad is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckers Crossroad
  • Youngblood Corners ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Youngblood Corners is located in Wilkinson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngblood Corners

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

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

  • Sandersville, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Balls Ferry to Sandersville, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Atlanta, which is the State Capital of Georgia, lies 106 miles [170.6 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 536 miles [862.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 31 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,422 miles [10,335.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,116 miles [11,452.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,998 miles [8,043.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Balls Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Balls Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Balls Ferry 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 Balls Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.7818, Longitude: -82.9585       In this case, the coordinates for Balls Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.386 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.542 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.976 degrees.