RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Laclede County >> Smith Ford >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Smith Ford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Smith Ford 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 Smith Ford:
    • 37.832259, -92.848239
    • 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 Smith Ford
  • 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 Laclede County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Laclede County
    • Since Smith Ford is near Dallas County and also Camden County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dallas County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Camden 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 Smith Ford

Communities Also Named Smith Ford ...

We found three communities that are also named Smith Ford.

There is one other community in Missouri that is also named Smith Ford.

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

  • Communities Located In Missouri ...
    • Barry County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Barry County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barry County community of Smith Ford.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Caldwell County
      • This Smith Ford is located in Caldwell County and lies 275 miles [442.6 km]<2> to the east of the Smith Ford that is located in Laclede County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caldwell County community of Smith Ford.
    • South Carolina
      • Cherokee County
      • This Smith Ford is located in Cherokee County and lies 660 miles [1,062.2 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Smith Ford that is located in Laclede County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cherokee County community of Smith Ford.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Smith Ford ...

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.

  • Case
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Case is located in Laclede County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Case
  • Celt
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Celt is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celt
  • Corkery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Corkery is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corkery
  • Grace
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Grace is located in Laclede County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
  • Ira
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ira is located in Laclede County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
  • Miller Ford ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Miller Ford is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller Ford
  • Ralphwhite Ford ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Ralphwhite Ford is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralphwhite Ford
  • Sweet Hollow Ford ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Sweet Hollow Ford is located in Laclede County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Hollow Ford
  • Tom Hollow Ford ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Tom Hollow Ford is located in Laclede County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tom Hollow Ford

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Smith Ford once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Smith Ford and extending to:

  • Lebanon, which is the Seat of Laclede County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Smith Ford to Lebanon, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 63 miles [101.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 858 miles [1,380.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> 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).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,313 miles [11,769.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,196 miles [8,362.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Smith Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Smith Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Smith Ford 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 Smith Ford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8323, Longitude: -92.8482       In this case, the coordinates for Smith Ford have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.785 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.624 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.069 degrees.