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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Old Providence, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Old Providence 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 Old Providence:
    • 35.130423, -80.787293
    • 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 Old Providence
  • 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 Mecklenburg County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg County
    • Since Old Providence is near Union County and also Lancaster County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Union County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lancaster 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 Old Providence

Communities Also Named Old Providence ...

We found one communities that are also named Old Providence.

Within North Carolina, the name Old Providence is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, there is another community also named Old Providence in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Tallapoosa County
      • This Old Providence is located in Tallapoosa County and lies 325 miles [523 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Old Providence that is located in Mecklenburg County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tallapoosa County community of Old Providence.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Old Providence ...

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.

  • Bishops Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Bishops Ridge is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishops Ridge
  • Fairmeadows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Fairmeadows is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmeadows
  • Fox Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fox Run is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
  • Kingswood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Kingswood is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingswood
  • Landsdowne
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Landsdowne is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landsdowne
  • Mountain Brook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Mountain Brook is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Brook
  • Olde Heritage
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Olde Heritage is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olde Heritage
  • Providence ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Providence is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Providence Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Providence Park is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Park
  • Providence Woods
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Providence Woods is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Woods
  • Quail Hollow
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Quail Hollow is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hollow
  • Queens Grant
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Queens Grant is located in Mecklenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens Grant
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Raintree
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Raintree is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree
    • Robinson Woods
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Robinson Woods is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Woods
    • Settlers Landing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Settlers Landing is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Settlers Landing
    • Singing Springs
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Singing Springs is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singing Springs
    • Southpark
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Southpark is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southpark
    • Spring Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Spring Valley is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Stonehaven
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Stonehaven is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonehaven
    • Tuckaway Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Tuckaway Park is located in Mecklenburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckaway Park

How Far From Old Providence to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Old Providence to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Charlotte, which is the Seat of Mecklenburg County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 128 miles [206 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Old Providence to Raleigh, with an average speed<2>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 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 332 miles [534.3 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,222 miles [10,013.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,920 miles [11,136.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,800 miles [7,724.9 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 from Point A (ie- Old Providence) 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 Old Providence 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 Old Providence. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.1304, Longitude: -80.7873       In this case, the coordinates for Old Providence have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.19 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.502 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.511 degrees.