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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Stephens, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Stephens 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 Stephens:
    • 31.768775, -93.150166
    • 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 Stephens
  • 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 Natchitoches Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Natchitoches Parish
    • Since Stephens is near Winn Parish and also Red River Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Winn Parish
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Red River 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 Stephens

Communities Also Named Stephens ...

We found eighteen communities that are also named Stephens.

Within Louisiana, the name Stephens is unique.

Beyond Louisiana, we know of eighteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson 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 Alabama community of Stephens [Jefferson County].
    • Arkansas
      • Ouachita County
      • This Stephens is located in Ouachita County and lies 114 miles [183.5 km]<2> to the north of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ouachita County community of Stephens.
    • California
      • Los Angeles 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 California community of Stephens [Los Angeles County].
    • Georgia
      • Oglethorpe County
      • This Stephens is located in Oglethorpe County and lies 596 miles [959.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oglethorpe County community of Stephens.
    • Kentucky
      • Elliott County
      • This Stephens is located in Elliott County and lies 724 miles [1,165.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elliott County community of Stephens.
    • Michigan
      • Lapeer 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 Stephens [Lapeer County].
    • Mississippi
      • Pike County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Stephens [Pike County].
    • Missouri
      • Boone County
      • This Stephens is located in Boone County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<2> to the north of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boone County community of Stephens.
      • Callaway County
      • This Stephens is located in Callaway County and lies 501 miles [806.3 km] to the north of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Callaway County community of Stephens.
    • Ohio
      • Adams County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Adams County, we don't know where within the parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Stephens.
    • Oregon
      • Douglas County
      • This Stephens is located in Douglas County and lies 1,825 miles [2,937.1 km]<2> to the northwest of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Stephens.
    • Tennessee
      • Morgan County
      • This Stephens is located in Morgan County and lies 579 miles [931.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Stephens.
    • Texas
      • Cherokee 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 Texas community of Stephens [Cherokee County].
    • Utah
      • Davis County
      • This Stephens is located in Davis County and lies 1,214 miles [1,953.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davis County community of Stephens.
      • Weber County
      • This Stephens is located in Weber County and lies 1,226 miles [1,973.1 km] to the northwest of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Stephens.
    • Virginia
      • Spotsylvania 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 Virginia community of Stephens [Spotsylvania County].
      • Wise County
      • This Stephens is located in Wise County and lies 700 miles [1,126.5 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Stephens that is located in Natchitoches Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Stephens.
    • Washington
      • Spokane 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 Washington community of Stephens [Spokane County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Stephens ...

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.

  • Allen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Allen is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
  • Breedlove Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Breedlove Hills is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breedlove Hills
  • Clarence
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
  • Greenwood Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Greenwood Park is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Park
  • Knightville ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Knightville is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightville
  • Kraft
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Kraft is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kraft
  • Oak Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Oak Grove is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Provencal
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Shady Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Shady Grove is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove

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

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

  • Natchitoches, which is the Seat of Natchitoches Parish, lies just to the East.
  • Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 149 miles [239.8 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Stephens to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,030 miles [1,657.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 59 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,896 miles [11,098 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,617 miles [12,258.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,492 miles [8,838.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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 Stephens 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.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Stephens) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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 Stephens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Stephens 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 Stephens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.7688, Longitude: -93.1502       In this case, the coordinates for Stephens have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.439 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.425 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.201 degrees.