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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Loretto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Loretto 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 Loretto:
    • 37.634899, -85.398785
    • 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 Loretto
  • 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 Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Marion County
    • Since Loretto is near Washington County and also Nelson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Nelson 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 Loretto

Communities Also Named Loretto ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Loretto.

Within Kentucky, the name Loretto is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Cullman County
      • This Loretto is located in Cullman County and lies 260 miles [418.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cullman County community of Loretto.
    • California
      • Inyo County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Inyo County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Inyo County community of Loretto.
    • Florida
      • Duval County
      • This Loretto is located in Duval County and lies 559 miles [899.6 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Duval County community of Loretto.
    • Illinois
      • Livingston County
      • This Loretto is located in Livingston County and lies 282 miles [453.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Loretto.
    • Maryland
      • Somerset County
      • This Loretto is located in Somerset County and lies 530 miles [853 km]<1> to the east of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Loretto.
    • Michigan
      • Dickinson County
      • This Loretto is located in Dickinson County and lies 575 miles [925.4 km]<1> to the north of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickinson County community of Loretto.
    • Minnesota
      • Hennepin County
      • This Loretto is located in Hennepin County and lies 666 miles [1,071.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hennepin County community of Loretto.
    • Nebraska
      • Boone County
      • This Loretto is located in Boone County and lies 730 miles [1,174.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boone County community of Loretto.
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
      • This Loretto lies 1,510 miles [2,430.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
    • Ohio
      • Belmont County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Belmont County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Belmont County community of Loretto.
    • Ontario
      • This Loretto lies 527 miles [848.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cambria County
      • This Loretto is located in Cambria County and lies 412 miles [663 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of Loretto.
    • Tennessee
      • Lawrence County
      • This Loretto is located in Lawrence County and lies 209 miles [336.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Loretto.
    • Virginia
      • Essex County
      • This Loretto is located in Essex County and lies 456 miles [733.9 km]<1> to the east of the Loretto that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Essex County community of Loretto.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Loretto ...

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.

  • Balltown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Balltown is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
  • Bearwallow
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bearwallow is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
  • Belltown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Belltown is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
  • Croakes
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Croakes is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croakes
  • Frogtown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Frogtown is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
  • Gandertown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Gandertown is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandertown
  • Gethsemane
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Gethsemane is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gethsemane
  • Gleanings
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gleanings is located in Larue County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gleanings
  • Holy Cross
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Holy Cross is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross
  • Jimtown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jimtown is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
  • Valley Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Valley Hill is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hill

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

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

  • Lebanon, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Loretto to Lebanon, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 48 miles [77.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 461 miles [741.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 27 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,299 miles [10,137.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,019 miles [11,296 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,895 miles [7,877.7 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Loretto) 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 Loretto, 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 Loretto 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 Loretto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6349, Longitude: -85.3988       In this case, the coordinates for Loretto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.977 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.059 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.714 degrees.