RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kentucky >> Clay County >> Hooker >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hooker, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hooker 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 Hooker:
    • 37.136201, -83.835478
    • 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 Hooker
  • 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 Clay County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clay County
    • Since Hooker is near Laurel County and also Knox County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Laurel County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Knox 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 Hooker

Communities Also Named Hooker ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Hooker.

Within Kentucky, the name Hooker is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Greene County
      • This Hooker is located in Greene County and lies 376 miles [605.1 km]<1> to the west of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Hooker.
      • Jefferson County
      • This Hooker is located in Jefferson County and lies 497 miles [799.8 km] to the west southwest of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Hooker.
    • California
      • Tehama County
      • This Hooker is located in Tehama County and lies 2,068 miles [3,328.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tehama County community of Hooker.
    • Georgia
      • Dade County
      • This Hooker is located in Dade County and lies 173 miles [278.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dade County community of Hooker.
    • Indiana
      • Washington County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Hooker [Washington County].
    • Kansas
      • Decatur County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Hooker [Decatur County].
    • Mississippi
      • Lawrence County
      • This Hooker is located in Lawrence County and lies 519 miles [835.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Hooker.
    • Missouri
      • Pulaski County
      • This Hooker is located in Pulaski County and lies 453 miles [729 km]<1> to the west of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pulaski County community of Hooker.
    • New York
      • Lewis County
      • This Hooker is located in Lewis County and lies 620 miles [997.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Hooker.
    • North Carolina
      • Alleghany County
      • This Hooker is located in Alleghany County and lies 161 miles [259.1 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alleghany County community of Hooker.
    • Ohio
      • Fairfield County
      • This Hooker is located in Fairfield County and lies 191 miles [307.4 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Hooker.
    • Oklahoma
      • Texas County
      • This Hooker is located in Texas County and lies 957 miles [1,540.1 km]<1> to the west of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Texas County community of Hooker.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Butler County
      • This Hooker is located in Butler County and lies 342 miles [550.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Hooker.
    • South Dakota
      • Turner County
      • This Hooker is located in Turner County and lies 810 miles [1,303.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Hooker that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Turner County community of Hooker.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hooker ...

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.

  • Bluehole
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bluehole is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluehole
  • Bush
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bush is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
  • Flatwoods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Flatwoods is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
  • Grace
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Grace is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
  • Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
  • Littleton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Littleton is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
  • Pigeonroost
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pigeonroost is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeonroost
  • Portersburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Portersburg is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersburg
  • Upper Horse Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Upper Horse Creek is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Horse Creek
  • Urban
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Urban is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban

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

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

  • Manchester, which is the Seat of Clay County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Hooker to Frankfort, 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 389 miles [626 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,259 miles [10,072.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,974 miles [11,223.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,849 miles [7,803.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Hooker) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Hooker 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.
<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 Hooker 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 Hooker. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1362, Longitude: -83.8355       In this case, the coordinates for Hooker have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.008 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.877 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.175 degrees.