RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Grant Parish >> Bagdad >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bagdad, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bagdad 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 Bagdad:
    • 31.466566, -92.593755
    • 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 Bagdad
  • 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 parish-by-parish basis. We have selected Grant Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grant Parish
    • Since Bagdad is near Rapides Parish and also Natchitoches Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Rapides Parish
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Natchitoches Parish
  • 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 Bagdad

Communities Also Named Bagdad ...

We found nineteen communities that are also named Bagdad.

Within Louisiana, the name Bagdad is unique.

Beyond Louisiana, we know of eighteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

In addition to the above occurrences of Bagdad, we know of another community located outside of the United States and Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Yavapai County
      • This Bagdad is located in Yavapai County and lies 1,208 miles [1,944.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yavapai County community of Bagdad.
    • California
      • San Bernardino 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 California community of Bagdad [San Bernardino County].
    • Colorado
      • Lincoln County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Bagdad [Lincoln County].
    • Florida
      • Santa Rosa County
      • This Bagdad is located in Santa Rosa County and lies 334 miles [537.5 km]<1> to the east of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Rosa County community of Bagdad.
    • Kansas
      • Coffey County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Coffey County, we don't know where within the parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coffey County community of Bagdad.
    • Kentucky
      • Shelby County
      • This Bagdad is located in Shelby County and lies 633 miles [1,018.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of Bagdad.
    • Michigan
      • Marquette County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Bagdad [Marquette County].
    • New Brunswick
      • This Bagdad lies 1,739 miles [2,798.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
    • New York
      • Erie County
      • This Bagdad is located in Erie County and lies 1,068 miles [1,718.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Bagdad.
    • Ohio
      • Medina County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Medina County, we don't know where within the parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Medina County community of Bagdad.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Erie County
      • This Bagdad is located in Erie County and lies 1,002 miles [1,612.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Bagdad.
      • Westmoreland County
      • This Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County and lies 959 miles [1,543.4 km] to the northeast of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of Bagdad.
    • South Carolina
      • York County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Bagdad [York County].
    • Tennessee
      • Jackson 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 Bagdad [Jackson County].
      • Smith County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Bagdad [Smith County].
    • Texas
      • Taylor County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Bagdad [Taylor County].
    • Virginia
      • Caroline County
      • This Bagdad is located in Caroline County and lies 967 miles [1,556.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bagdad that is located in Grant Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caroline County community of Bagdad.
    • Washington
      • Lincoln County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Lincoln County, we don't know where within the parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Bagdad.
  • Communities Beyond North America ...
    • Australia
      • Distance: 9,114 miles [14,667.6 km]<1> to the west southwest
      • Open a Google Map centered on Bagdad

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bagdad ...

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.

  • Alfalfa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Alfalfa is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfalfa
  • Kateland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Kateland is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kateland
  • Magnolia Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Magnolia Park is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Park
  • Mead ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Mead is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mead
  • Oak Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak Grove is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Prospect
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Prospect is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
  • Ravencamp
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ravencamp is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravencamp
  • Rock Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Rock Hill is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
  • Stay
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Stay is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
  • Timber Trails
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Timber Trails is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Trails

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

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

  • Colfax, which is the Seat of Grant Parish, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 110 miles [177 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Bagdad to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,014 miles [1,631.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 58 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,889 miles [11,086.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,607 miles [12,242.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,483 miles [8,824 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bagdad) 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 Bagdad, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Bagdad 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 parish. 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.
<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 Bagdad 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 Bagdad. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4666, Longitude: -92.5938       In this case, the coordinates for Bagdad have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.052 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.932 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.011 degrees.