RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Georgia >> Wilkes County >> Bessie >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bessie, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bessie 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 Bessie:
    • 33.814846, -82.810977
    • 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 Bessie
  • 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 Wilkes County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilkes County
    • Since Bessie is near Oglethorpe County and also Taliaferro County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Oglethorpe County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Taliaferro 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 Bessie

Communities Also Named Bessie ...

We found nine communities that are also named Bessie.

Within Georgia, the name Bessie is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Chilton County
      • This Bessie is located in Chilton County and lies 239 miles [384.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Bessie that is located in Wilkes County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chilton County community of Bessie.
      • Jefferson County
      • This Bessie is located in Jefferson County and lies 242 miles [389.5 km] to the west of the Bessie that is located in Wilkes County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Bessie.
    • Arkansas
      • Faulkner 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 Arkansas community of Bessie [Faulkner County].
      • Lawrence County
      • This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Bessie [Lawrence County].
    • Illinois
      • Franklin County
      • This Bessie is located in Franklin County and lies 442 miles [711.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Bessie that is located in Wilkes County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Bessie.
    • North Carolina
      • Jackson County
      • This Bessie is located in Jackson County and lies 94 miles [151.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Bessie that is located in Wilkes County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Bessie.
    • Oklahoma
      • Washita County
      • This Bessie is located in Washita County and lies 924 miles [1,487 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Bessie that is located in Wilkes County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washita County community of Bessie.
    • Tennessee
      • Lake County
      • This Bessie is located in Lake County and lies 420 miles [675.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Bessie that is located in Wilkes County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Bessie.
    • Texas
      • Gaines County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Gaines County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gaines County community of Bessie.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bessie ...

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.

  • Brickhouse
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Brickhouse is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhouse
  • Celeste
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Celeste is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celeste
  • Centerville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Centerville is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Lincoln Heights
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Lincoln Heights is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Heights
  • Linesville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Linesville is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linesville
  • Norman
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Norman is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
  • Ravenwood Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ravenwood Park is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenwood Park
  • Sandtown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sandtown is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandtown
  • Sandy Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sandy Hill is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hill

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Bessie once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Bessie and extending to:

  • Washington, which is the Seat of Wilkes County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Atlanta, which is the State Capital of Georgia, lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Bessie to Atlanta, with an average speed<3>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 6 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 475 miles [764.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 27 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,368 miles [10,248.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,067 miles [11,373.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,946 miles [7,959.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bessie) 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 Bessie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Bessie 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 Bessie. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8148, Longitude: -82.8110       In this case, the coordinates for Bessie have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.337 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.631 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.659 degrees.