RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Washington County >> Ringgold >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ringgold, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ringgold 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 Ringgold:
    • 39.709539, -77.566657
    • 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 Ringgold
  • 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Ringgold is near Franklin County and also Frederick County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick 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 Ringgold

Communities Also Named Ringgold ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Ringgold.

Within Maryland, the name Ringgold is unique.

Beyond Maryland, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Cherokee County
      • This Ringgold is located in Cherokee County and lies 575 miles [925.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cherokee County community of Ringgold.
    • Florida
      • Hernando 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 Florida community of Ringgold [Hernando County].
    • Georgia
      • Catoosa County
      • This Ringgold is located in Catoosa County and lies 530 miles [853 km]<1> to the southwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Catoosa County community of Ringgold.
    • Iowa
      • Ringgold 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 Iowa community of Ringgold [Ringgold County].
    • Kentucky
      • Pulaski County
      • This Ringgold is located in Pulaski County and lies 423 miles [680.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pulaski County community of Ringgold.
    • Louisiana
      • Bienville Parish
      • This Ringgold is located in Bienville Parish and lies 1,012 miles [1,628.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bienville Parish community of Ringgold.
    • Missouri
      • Platte County
      • Although located in Platte County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Platte County community of Ringgold.
    • Nebraska
      • Dawson 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 Nebraska community of Ringgold [Dawson County].
      • McPherson County
      • This Ringgold is located in McPherson County and lies 1,220 miles [1,963.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McPherson County community of Ringgold.
    • Ohio
      • Morgan County
      • This Ringgold is located in Morgan County and lies 234 miles [376.6 km]<1> to the west of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Ringgold.
      • Pickaway 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 Ohio community of Ringgold [Pickaway County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Jefferson County
      • This Ringgold is located in Jefferson County and lies 122 miles [196.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Ringgold.
    • Tennessee
      • Montgomery County
      • This Ringgold is located in Montgomery County and lies 576 miles [927 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Ringgold.
    • Texas
      • Montague County
      • This Ringgold is located in Montague County and lies 1,194 miles [1,921.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montague County community of Ringgold.
    • Virginia
      • Pittsylvania County
      • This Ringgold is located in Pittsylvania County and lies 233 miles [375 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pittsylvania County community of Ringgold.
    • West Virginia
      • Monongalia County
      • This Ringgold is located in Monongalia County and lies 126 miles [202.8 km]<1> to the west of the Ringgold that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monongalia County community of Ringgold.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ringgold ...

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.

  • Beartown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Beartown is located in Franklin County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
  • Browns Store ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Browns Store is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Store
  • Cascade
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Cascade is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
  • Cavetown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cavetown is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
  • Chewsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chewsville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
  • Greenvale Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Greenvale Village is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
  • Havenwood Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Havenwood Hills is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenwood Hills
  • Highfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Highfield is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield
  • Highfield - Cascade
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
  • Holiday Farms
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Holiday Farms is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Farms
  • Roadside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Roadside is located in Franklin County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadside
  • Rocky Forge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Rocky Forge is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Forge
  • Tomstown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Tomstown is located in Franklin County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomstown

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

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

  • Hagerstown, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ringgold to Hagerstown, with an average speed<4> 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.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 76 miles [122.3 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 62 miles [99.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,885 miles [9,471 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,595 miles [10,613.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,471 miles [7,195.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Ringgold) 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 Ringgold, 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 Ringgold 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.
<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 Ringgold 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 Ringgold. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7095, Longitude: -77.5667       In this case, the coordinates for Ringgold have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.152 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.862 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.626 degrees.