RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Mississippi >> Jones County >> Matthews >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Matthews, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Matthews 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 Matthews:
    • 31.795992, -89.218114
    • 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 Matthews
  • 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 Jones County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jones County
    • Since Matthews is near Jasper County and also Smith County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jasper County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Smith 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 Matthews

Communities Also Named Matthews ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Matthews.

There are two communities within Mississippi that are also named Matthews.

Beyond Mississippi, we know of fifteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these fifteen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Mississippi ...
    • Calhoun 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 Mississippi community of Matthews [Calhoun County].
    • Pontotoc County
      • This Matthews is located in Pontotoc County and lies 158 miles [254.3 km]<2> to the north of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pontotoc County community of Matthews.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Montgomery County
      • This Matthews is located in Montgomery County and lies 190 miles [305.8 km]<2> to the east of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Matthews.
    • Colorado
      • Weld County
      • This Matthews is located in Weld County and lies 1,039 miles [1,672.1 km]<2> to the northwest of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weld County community of Matthews.
    • Georgia
      • Jefferson County
      • This Matthews is located in Jefferson County and lies 413 miles [664.7 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Matthews.
    • Illinois
      • Perry County
      • This Matthews is located in Perry County and lies 426 miles [685.6 km]<2> to the north of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Perry County community of Matthews.
    • Indiana
      • Grant County
      • This Matthews is located in Grant County and lies 628 miles [1,010.7 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Matthews.
    • Kentucky
      • Breckinridge 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 Kentucky community of Matthews [Breckinridge County].
    • Maryland
      • Talbot County
      • This Matthews is located in Talbot County and lies 889 miles [1,430.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Talbot County community of Matthews.
    • Michigan
      • Berrien 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 Matthews [Berrien County].
    • Missouri
      • New Madrid County
      • This Matthews is located in New Madrid County and lies 343 miles [552 km]<2> to the north of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the New Madrid County community of Matthews.
    • Montana
      • Gallatin County
      • This Matthews is located in Gallatin County and lies 1,507 miles [2,425.3 km]<2> to the northwest of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallatin County community of Matthews.
    • New Brunswick
      • This Matthews lies 1,613 miles [2,595.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
    • New Jersey
      • Monmouth County
      • This Matthews is located in Monmouth County and lies 1,013 miles [1,630.3 km]<2> to the northeast of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monmouth County community of Matthews.
    • North Carolina
      • Mecklenburg County
      • This Matthews is located in Mecklenburg County and lies 540 miles [869 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mecklenburg County community of Matthews.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Chester County
      • This Matthews is located in Chester County and lies 948 miles [1,525.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chester County community of Matthews.
    • Texas
      • Colorado County
      • This Matthews is located in Colorado County and lies 450 miles [724.2 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Matthews that is located in Jones County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colorado County community of Matthews.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Matthews ...

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.

  • Hawkes
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hawkes is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkes
  • Hebron
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hebron is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
  • Pleasant Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Ridge is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
  • Powers
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Powers is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
  • Queensburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Queensburg is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queensburg
  • Sandersville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Sandersville is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
  • Service
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Service is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Service
  • Shady Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Shady Grove is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
  • Stringer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Summerland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Summerland is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerland

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

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

  • Laurel, which is the Seat of Jones County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 66 miles [106.2 km]<2> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Matthews to Jackson, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 842 miles [1,355.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,735 miles [10,838.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,444 miles [11,980 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,321 miles [8,563.3 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 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 Matthews 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>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 from Point A (ie- Matthews) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Matthews 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 Matthews. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.7960, Longitude: -89.2181       In this case, the coordinates for Matthews have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.001 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.587 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.592 degrees.