RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Caldwell County >> Finley >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Finley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Finley 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 Finley:
    • 36.074297, -81.591768
    • 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 Finley
  • 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 Caldwell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
    • Since Finley is near Watauga County and also Wilkes County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilkes 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 Finley

Communities Also Named Finley ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Finley.

Within North Carolina, the name Finley is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Chambers County
      • This Finley is located in Chambers County and lies 295 miles [474.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chambers County community of Finley.
    • California
      • Lake County
      • This Finley is located in Lake County and lies 2,250 miles [3,621 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Finley.
    • Kansas
      • Linn County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Finley [Linn County].
    • Kentucky
      • Clay County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Finley [Clay County].
      • Taylor County
      • This Finley is located in Taylor County and lies 228 miles [366.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Taylor County community of Finley.
    • New Jersey
      • Cumberland County
      • This Finley is located in Cumberland County and lies 420 miles [675.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Finley.
    • North Dakota
      • Steele County
      • This Finley is located in Steele County and lies 1,145 miles [1,842.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Steele County community of Finley.
    • Oklahoma
      • Pushmataha County
      • This Finley is located in Pushmataha County and lies 792 miles [1,274.6 km]<1> to the west of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pushmataha County community of Finley.
    • Tennessee
      • Dyer County
      • This Finley is located in Dyer County and lies 440 miles [708.1 km]<1> to the west of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dyer County community of Finley.
    • Texas
      • Fannin County
      • This Finley is located in Fannin County and lies 841 miles [1,353.5 km]<1> to the west of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fannin County community of Finley.
    • Washington
      • Benton County
      • This Finley is located in Benton County and lies 2,046 miles [3,292.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Finley.
    • West Virginia
      • Kanawha County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Finley [Kanawha County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Juneau County
      • This Finley is located in Juneau County and lies 719 miles [1,157.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Finley that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Juneau County community of Finley.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Finley ...

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.

  • Apple Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Apple Ridge is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Ridge
  • Buffalo Cove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo Cove is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Cove
  • Echo Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Echo Park is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Park
  • Falcon Crest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Falcon Crest is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon Crest
  • Fort Defiance
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fort Defiance is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Defiance
  • Globe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Globe is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
  • Green Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Hill is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
  • Happy Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Happy Valley is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
  • Indian Hills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Hills is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Jones ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jones is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
  • Laurel Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Laurel Park is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
  • Mulberry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Powderhorn Mountain
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Powderhorn Mountain is located in Watauga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powderhorn Mountain
    • Rufus
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rufus is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
    • Ski Mountain
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ski Mountain is located in Watauga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ski Mountain
    • Tranquil Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Tranquil Hill is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tranquil Hill
    • Warrior
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Warrior is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior

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

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

  • Lenoir, which is the Seat of Caldwell County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Finley to Lenoir, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 166 miles [267.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 316 miles [508.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,214 miles [10,000.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,919 miles [11,135.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,796 miles [7,718.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Finley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 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 Finley 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>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 Finley 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 Finley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0743, Longitude: -81.5918       In this case, the coordinates for Finley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.659 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.177 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.55 degrees.