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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Highland Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Highland Acres 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 Highland Acres:
    • 35.050164, -78.851135
    • 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 Highland Acres
  • 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 Cumberland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cumberland County
    • Since Highland Acres is near Sampson County and also Hoke County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sampson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hoke 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 Highland Acres

Communities Also Named Highland Acres ...

We found ten communities that are also named Highland Acres.

There is one other community in North Carolina that is also named Highland Acres.

Beyond North Carolina, we know of nine communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these nine communities, nine are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In North Carolina ...
    • Lee County
      • This Highland Acres is located in Lee County and lies 37 miles [59.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Highland Acres.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Delaware
      • Kent County
      • This Highland Acres is located in Kent County and lies 335 miles [539.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Highland Acres.
      • Sussex County
      • This Highland Acres is located in Sussex County and lies 327 miles [526.3 km] to the northeast of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Highland Acres.
    • Louisiana
      • Jefferson Parish
      • 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 Louisiana community of Highland Acres [Jefferson Parish].
      • Natchitoches Parish
      • This Highland Acres is located in Natchitoches Parish and lies 853 miles [1,372.8 km]<1> to the west of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Natchitoches Parish community of Highland Acres.
    • Maryland
      • Howard County
      • This Highland Acres is located in Howard County and lies 302 miles [486 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Howard County community of Highland Acres.
    • Nova Scotia
      • 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 Nova Scotia community of Highland Acres.
    • South Carolina
      • Anderson County
      • This Highland Acres is located in Anderson County and lies 216 miles [347.6 km]<1> to the west of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Highland Acres.
    • Tennessee
      • Blount County
      • This Highland Acres is located in Blount County and lies 293 miles [471.5 km]<1> to the west of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Blount County community of Highland Acres.
      • Sumner County
      • This Highland Acres is located in Sumner County and lies 445 miles [716.2 km] to the west northwest of the Highland Acres that is located in Cumberland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumner County community of Highland Acres.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Highland Acres ...

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.

  • Beard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Beard is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beard
  • Bordeaux
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bordeaux is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
  • Crossgates
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Crossgates is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossgates
  • Decker Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Decker Heights is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker Heights
  • Haymount
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Haymount is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymount
  • Heritage Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Heritage Heights is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Heights
  • Hillendale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillendale is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillendale
  • Holiday Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Holiday Park is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Park
  • Holly Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Holly Springs is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
  • Lakecrest
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakecrest is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakecrest
  • Legion Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Legion Park is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legion Park
  • Phoenician Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Phoenician Woods is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenician Woods
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Sadie Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sadie Heights is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sadie Heights
    • Scotty Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Scotty Hills is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotty Hills
    • Summertime
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Summertime is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summertime
    • University Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • University Hills is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Hills
    • Vanstory Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Vanstory Hills is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanstory Hills
    • Vineland Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Vineland Park is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineland Park
    • Williams Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Williams Village is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Village

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

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

  • Fayetteville, which is the Seat of Cumberland County, lies just to the West.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 51 miles [82.1 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Highland Acres to Raleigh, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 283 miles [455.4 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,141 miles [9,883 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,834 miles [10,998.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,716 miles [7,589.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Highland Acres) 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 Highland Acres 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 Highland Acres 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 Highland Acres. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.0502, Longitude: -78.8511       In this case, the coordinates for Highland Acres have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.085 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.225 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.791 degrees.