RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Plain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plain 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 Plain:
    • 32.231815, -90.161754
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Plain
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Plain ...

We found eight communities that share the name Plain.

Within Mississippi, the name Plain is unique.

Beyond Mississippi, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Massachusetts
      • Middlesex County
      • This Plain is located in Middlesex County and lies 1,246 miles [2,005.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Plain that is located in Rankin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Plain.
    • New Mexico
      • Quay 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 New Mexico community of Plain [Quay County].
    • North Carolina
      • Guilford 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 North Carolina community of Plain [Guilford County].
    • Ohio
      • Stark County
      • This Plain is located in Stark County and lies 769 miles [1,237.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Plain that is located in Rankin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Plain.
      • Wayne 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 Plain [Wayne County].
    • Texas
      • Houston County
      • This Plain is located in Houston County and lies 295 miles [474.8 km]<1> to the west of the Plain that is located in Rankin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Houston County community of Plain.
    • Washington
      • Chelan County
      • This Plain is located in Chelan County and lies 1,917 miles [3,085.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Plain that is located in Rankin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chelan County community of Plain.
    • Wisconsin
      • Sauk County
      • This Plain is located in Sauk County and lies 762 miles [1,226.3 km]<1> to the north of the Plain that is located in Rankin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sauk County community of Plain.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Plain ...

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.

  • Cedar Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
    • Cedar Point is located in Rankin County
  • Choctaw Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Choctaw Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Village
    • Choctaw Village is located in Hinds County
  • Cooks Ferry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Ferry
    • Cooks Ferry is located in Hinds County
  • Elton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
    • Elton is located in Hinds County
  • Elton Place
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elton Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton Place
    • Elton Place is located in Hinds County
  • Florence
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Florence is located in Rankin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,531 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <5>
  • Garden Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Park
    • Garden Park is located in Hinds County
  • Hickory Glen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Glen
    • Hickory Glen is located in Rankin County
  • Kings Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Heights
    • Kings Heights is located in Rankin County
  • Lost Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Lake
    • Lost Lake is located in Hinds County
  • Pearl
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
    • Pearl is located in Rankin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,560 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pearl <5>
  • Plainview
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
    • Plainview is located in Rankin County
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Raintree Place
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raintree Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Place
      • Raintree Place is located in Hinds County
    • Randall Place
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randall Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall Place
      • Randall Place is located in Rankin County
    • Red Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
      • Red Hill is located in Hinds County
    • Skyway Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skyway Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyway Hills
      • Skyway Hills is located in Rankin County
    • Sunkist
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunkist have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunkist
      • Sunkist is located in Hinds County

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

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

  • Brandon, which is the Seat of Rankin County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Plain to Brandon, with an average speed<6> 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.
  • Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies just to the north (N).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 867 miles [1,395.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 50 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,752 miles [10,866.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,466 miles [12,015.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,342 miles [8,597.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Plain. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Rankin County: www.rankincounty.org/

The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Plain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2318, Longitude: -90.1618       In this case, the coordinates for Plain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Plain, 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Plain 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>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>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 Plain to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.619 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.364 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.898 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025