Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vassar, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vassar and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vassar
- 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 Vassar:
- 33.837057, -88.425041
- 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 Vassar
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- Since Vassar is near Lowndes County and also Lamar County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lowndes County
- eBird sighting report for Lamar 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Vassar ...
We found five communities that share the name Vassar.
Within Mississippi, the name Vassar is unique.
Beyond Mississippi, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Manitoba
- This Vassar lies 1,120 miles [1,802.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Vassar that is located in Monroe County.
- Michigan
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vassar ...
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.
- Buttahatchie ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buttahatchie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttahatchie
- Buttahatchie is located in Monroe County
- Evergreen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Green Acres
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Monroe County
- Grubb Springs ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grubb Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubb Springs
- Grubb Springs is located in Monroe County
- Hillcrest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Mormon Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mormon Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Springs
- Mormon Springs is located in Monroe County
- Piney Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- Piney Grove is located in Monroe County
- Tanglewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tanglewood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
- Tanglewood is located in Monroe County
- Temperence Hill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temperence Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temperence Hill
- Temperence Hill is located in Monroe County
- Tucker Place
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tucker Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Place
- Tucker Place is located in Monroe County
- Wise Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Vassar to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Vassar 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<4> community of Vassar once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Vassar and extending to:
- Aberdeen, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies just to the West.
- Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 146 miles [235 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Vassar to Jackson, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 722 miles [1,161.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,603 miles [10,626.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,318 miles [11,777.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,193 miles [8,357.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Monroe County: www.monroecountyms.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- Vassar) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vassar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8371, Longitude: -88.4250 In this case, the coordinates for Vassar have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Vassar 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Vassar, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Vassar to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.684 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.497 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.892 degrees. |