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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Oak City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oak City 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 Oak City:
    • 35.961523, -77.303894
    • 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 Oak City
  • 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 Martin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Martin County
    • Since Oak City is near Edgecombe County and also Halifax County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Edgecombe County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Halifax 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 Oak City

Communities Also Named Oak City ...

We found two communities that are also named Oak City.

Within North Carolina, the name Oak City is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Tennessee
      • Sevier County
      • This Oak City is located in Sevier County and lies 357 miles [574.5 km]<1> to the west of the Oak City that is located in Martin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sevier County community of Oak City.
    • Utah
      • Millard County
      • This Oak City is located in Millard County and lies 1,917 miles [3,085.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oak City that is located in Martin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Millard County community of Oak City.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oak City ...

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.

  • Edwards Fork
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Edwards Fork is located in Halifax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Fork
  • Everetts
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Everetts is located in Martin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everetts
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
  • Fountain Fork
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fountain Fork is located in Edgecombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Fork
  • Gold Point
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gold Point is located in Martin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Point
  • Hobgood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hobgood is located in Halifax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobgood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
  • Hope Lodge
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Hope Lodge is located in Edgecombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Lodge
  • Mayos Crossroads
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mayos Crossroads is located in Edgecombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayos Crossroads
  • Mount Pilgrim
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Pilgrim is located in Martin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pilgrim
  • Piney Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Piney Grove is located in Edgecombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
  • Speed
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Speed is located in Edgecombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speed
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people

How Far From Oak City 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 town such as Oak City to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Williamston, which is the Seat of Martin County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Oak City to Williamston, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 75 miles [120.7 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 203 miles [326.7 km] to the north (N). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,034 miles [9,710.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,726 miles [10,824.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,609 miles [7,417.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Oak City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Oak City 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 Oak City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9615, Longitude: -77.3039       In this case, the coordinates for Oak City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.189 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.334 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.898 degrees.