RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Switzer, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Switzer 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 Switzer:
    • 38.254167, -84.754444
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Switzer
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Switzer ...

We found six communities that share the name Switzer.

Within Kentucky, the name Switzer is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kansas
      • Osage 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 Kansas community of Switzer [Osage County].
    • Ohio
      • Monroe County
      • This Switzer is located in Monroe County and lies 234 miles [376.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Switzer that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Switzer.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lehigh County
      • This Switzer is located in Lehigh County and lies 509 miles [819.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Switzer that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lehigh County community of Switzer.
    • South Carolina
      • Spartanburg County
      • This Switzer is located in Spartanburg County and lies 282 miles [453.8 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Switzer that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spartanburg County community of Switzer.
    • West Virginia
      • Barbour 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 West Virginia community of Switzer [Barbour County].
      • Logan County
      • This Switzer is located in Logan County and lies 153 miles [246.2 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Switzer that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Logan County community of Switzer.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Switzer ...

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.

  • Duckers
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duckers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckers
    • Duckers is located in Woodford County
  • Elmville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmville
    • Elmville is located in Franklin County
  • Forks of Elkhorn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forks of Elkhorn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Elkhorn
    • Forks of Elkhorn is located in Franklin County
  • Indian Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
    • Indian Hills is located in Franklin County
  • Jett
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jett have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jett
    • Jett is located in Franklin County
  • Minorsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorsville
    • Minorsville is located in Scott County
  • Peaks Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peaks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaks Mill
    • Peaks Mill is located in Franklin County
  • Sand Lick
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Lick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Lick
    • Sand Lick is located in Scott County
  • Slickway
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slickway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickway
    • Slickway is located in Franklin County
  • Stamping Ground
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamping Ground
    • Stamping Ground is located in Scott County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 822 people
  • Woodlake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake
    • Woodlake is located in Franklin County

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

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

  • Frankfort, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies just to the west southwest (WSW).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 418 miles [672.7 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Switzer to White House, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 24 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 17 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,244 miles [10,048.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,965 miles [11,209.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,841 miles [7,790.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Switzer. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.gov/

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 Switzer 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>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- Switzer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Switzer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2542, Longitude: -84.7544       In this case, the coordinates for Switzer have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 Switzer to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.583 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.696 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.258 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024