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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Mount Gilead, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mount Gilead 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 Mount Gilead:
    • 36.268179, -81.909005
    • 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 Mount Gilead
  • 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 Avery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Avery County
    • Since Mount Gilead is near Watauga County and also Johnson 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 Johnson 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 Mount Gilead

Communities Also Named Mount Gilead ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Mount Gilead.

There are two communities within North Carolina that are also named Mount Gilead.

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

  • Communities Located In North Carolina ...
    • Cabarrus 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 North Carolina community of Mount Gilead [Cabarrus County].
    • Montgomery County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Montgomery County and lies 129 miles [207.6 km]<2> to the southeast of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Mount Gilead.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Barbour County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Barbour County and lies 345 miles [555.2 km]<2> to the southwest of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barbour County community of Mount Gilead.
      • Calhoun County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Mount Gilead [Calhoun County].
    • Kentucky
      • Green County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Green County and lies 202 miles [325.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Green County community of Mount Gilead.
      • Mason County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Mason County and lies 183 miles [294.5 km] to the north northwest of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mason County community of Mount Gilead.
      • Monroe 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 Mount Gilead [Monroe County].
    • Ohio
      • Morrow County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Morrow County and lies 300 miles [482.8 km]<2> to the north of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morrow County community of Mount Gilead.
      • Seneca County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Seneca County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km] to the north of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Seneca County community of Mount Gilead.
    • South Carolina
      • Horry County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Horry County and lies 247 miles [397.5 km]<2> to the southeast of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Horry County community of Mount Gilead.
    • Tennessee
      • Cumberland County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Mount Gilead [Cumberland County].
      • Henderson County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Henderson County and lies 371 miles [597.1 km]<2> to the west of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henderson County community of Mount Gilead.
    • Virginia
      • Loudoun County
      • This Mount Gilead is located in Loudoun County and lies 301 miles [484.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Mount Gilead that is located in Avery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Loudoun County community of Mount Gilead.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mount Gilead ...

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.

  • Battleground
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Battleground is located in Avery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battleground
  • Casper ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Casper is located in Johnson County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casper
  • Dark Ridge ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dark Ridge is located in Avery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dark Ridge
  • Dry Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Dry Hill is located in Johnson County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Hill
  • Elk Mills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Elk Mills is located in Carter County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mills
  • Farmer Mill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Farmer Mill is located in Carter County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer Mill
  • Flat Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Flat Springs is located in Avery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Springs
  • Ironville ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ironville is located in Johnson County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
  • Lineback ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lineback is located in Carter County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineback
  • Stump Knob ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Stump Knob is located in Johnson County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stump Knob
  • Sweetwater
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Sweetwater is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater

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

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

  • Newland, which is the Seat of Avery County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Mount Gilead to Newland, with an average speed<4> 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 185 miles [297.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 322 miles [518.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,219 miles [10,008.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,925 miles [11,144.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,802 miles [7,728.1 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 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 Mount Gilead 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mount Gilead) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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 Mount Gilead, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Mount Gilead 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 Mount Gilead. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.2682, Longitude: -81.9090       In this case, the coordinates for Mount Gilead have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.846 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.42 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.621 degrees.