RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Texas County >> Simmons >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Simmons, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Simmons 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 Simmons:
    • 37.231046, -92.015244
    • 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 Simmons
  • 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 Texas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Texas County
    • Since Simmons is near Howell County and also Wright County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Howell County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wright 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 Simmons

Communities Also Named Simmons ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Simmons.

Within Missouri, the name Simmons is unique.

Beyond Missouri, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Shelby 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 Simmons [Shelby County].
    • Arizona
      • Yavapai County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Yavapai County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yavapai County community of Simmons.
    • Arkansas
      • Independence County
      • This Simmons is located in Independence County and lies 99 miles [159.3 km]<3> to the south of the Simmons that is located in Texas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Independence County community of Simmons.
      • Woodruff 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 Arkansas community of Simmons [Woodruff County].
    • Kentucky
      • Ohio County
      • This Simmons is located in Ohio County and lies 278 miles [447.4 km]<3> to the east of the Simmons that is located in Texas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ohio County community of Simmons.
    • Louisiana
      • Calcasieu Parish
      • 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 Louisiana community of Simmons [Calcasieu Parish].
    • Michigan
      • Mackinac 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 Michigan community of Simmons [Mackinac County].
    • Ohio
      • Lawrence County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Lawrence County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Simmons.
    • South Carolina
      • Greenwood County
      • This Simmons is located in Greenwood County and lies 581 miles [935 km]<3> to the east southeast of the Simmons that is located in Texas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenwood County community of Simmons.
    • Texas
      • Live Oak County
      • This Simmons is located in Live Oak County and lies 709 miles [1,141 km]<3> to the south southwest of the Simmons that is located in Texas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Live Oak County community of Simmons.
    • Utah
      • Davis County
      • This Simmons is located in Davis County and lies 1,098 miles [1,767.1 km]<3> to the west northwest of the Simmons that is located in Texas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davis County community of Simmons.
      • Weber County
      • This Simmons is located in Weber County and lies 1,099 miles [1,768.7 km] to the west northwest of the Simmons that is located in Texas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Simmons.
    • West Virginia
      • Mercer County
      • This Simmons is located in Mercer County and lies 588 miles [946.3 km]<3> to the east of the Simmons that is located in Texas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mercer County community of Simmons.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Simmons ...

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.

  • Alice
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Alice is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
  • Big Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Big Creek is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
  • Cedar Bluff
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Bluff is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
  • Clara
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Clara is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara
  • Elk Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Gravel Point ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Gravel Point is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Point
  • Mineral Springs City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mineral Springs City is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs City
  • Plum Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Plum Valley is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Valley
  • Solo
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Solo is located in Texas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solo

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

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

  • Houston, which is the Seat of Texas County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 93 miles [149.7 km]<3> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Simmons to Jefferson City, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 821 miles [1,321.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,575 miles [10,581.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,310 miles [11,764.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,190 miles [8,352.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 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 Simmons 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>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 Simmons, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Simmons) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Simmons 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 Simmons. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2310, Longitude: -92.0152    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.196 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.863 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.796 degrees.