RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Georgia >> Gordon County >> Big Spring >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Big Spring, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Spring 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 Big Spring:
    • 34.478422, -84.831050
    • 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 Big Spring
  • 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 Gordon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gordon County
    • Since Big Spring is near Bartow County and also Murray County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bartow County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Murray 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 Big Spring

Communities Also Named Big Spring ...

We found 21 communities that are also named Big Spring.

There are two communities within Georgia that are also named Big Spring.

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

  • Communities Located In Georgia ...
    • Hancock County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Big Spring [Hancock County].
    • Walker County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Big Spring [Walker County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Marshall 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 Alabama community of Big Spring [Marshall County].
    • Iowa
      • Wayne 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 Iowa community of Big Spring [Wayne County].
    • Kentucky
      • Meade County
      • This Big Spring is located in Meade County and lies 240 miles [386.2 km]<3> to the north northwest of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meade County community of Big Spring.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Big Spring is located in Baltimore County and lies 564 miles [907.7 km]<3> to the northeast of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Big Spring.
      • Washington County
      • This Big Spring is located in Washington County and lies 519 miles [835.2 km] to the northeast of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Big Spring.
    • Michigan
      • Ottawa County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Big Spring [Ottawa County].
    • Minnesota
      • Fillmore County
      • This Big Spring is located in Fillmore County and lies 736 miles [1,184.5 km]<3> to the north northwest of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fillmore County community of Big Spring.
    • Missouri
      • Montgomery County
      • This Big Spring is located in Montgomery County and lies 473 miles [761.2 km]<3> to the northwest of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Big Spring.
    • North Carolina
      • Jackson County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Big Spring [Jackson County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Hughes County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Big Spring [Hughes County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Centre County
      • This Big Spring is located in Centre County and lies 587 miles [944.7 km]<3> to the northeast of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Centre County community of Big Spring.
      • Cumberland County
      • This Big Spring is located in Cumberland County and lies 564 miles [907.7 km] to the northeast of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Big Spring.
      • Franklin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Big Spring [Franklin County].
    • Tennessee
      • Carter County
      • This Big Spring is located in Carter County and lies 193 miles [310.6 km]<3> to the northeast of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carter County community of Big Spring.
      • Meigs County
      • This Big Spring is located in Meigs County and lies 63 miles [101.4 km] to the north of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meigs County community of Big Spring.
      • Wilson 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 Tennessee community of Big Spring [Wilson County].
    • Texas
      • Howard County
      • This Big Spring is located in Howard County and lies 971 miles [1,562.7 km]<3> to the west of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Howard County community of Big Spring.
    • Virginia
      • Page County
      • This Big Spring is located in Page County and lies 460 miles [740.3 km]<3> to the northeast of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Page County community of Big Spring.
    • Wisconsin
      • Adams County
      • This Big Spring is located in Adams County and lies 684 miles [1,100.8 km]<3> to the north northwest of the Big Spring that is located in Gordon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Big Spring.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Spring ...

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.

  • Audubon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Audubon is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audubon
  • Bowls ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bowls is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowls
  • Cash
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Cash is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
  • Crane Eater
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Crane Eater is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane Eater
  • Farmville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Farmville is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmville
  • Fields Ferry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Fields Ferry is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields Ferry
  • Hunts Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Hunts Corner is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Corner
  • Lewis Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lewis Corner is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Corner
  • Redbud
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Redbud is located in Gordon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud

How Far From Big Spring 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 Big Spring 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 Big Spring once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Big Spring and extending to:

  • Calhoun, which is the Seat of Gordon County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Atlanta, which is the State Capital of Georgia, lies 55 miles [88.5 km]<3> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Big Spring to Atlanta, with an average speed<4> 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 over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 528 miles [849.7 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,424 miles [10,338.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,131 miles [11,476.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,007 miles [8,058 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Big Spring 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.
<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 Big Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Spring) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Big Spring 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 Big Spring. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4784, Longitude: -84.8311       In this case, the coordinates for Big Spring have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.545 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.116 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.286 degrees.