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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Oliver, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oliver 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 Oliver:
    • 35.493494, -78.259165
    • 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 Oliver
  • 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 Johnston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Johnston County
    • Since Oliver is near Wayne County and also Wilson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilson 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 Oliver

Communities Also Named Oliver ...

We found 25 communities that are also named Oliver.

Within North Carolina, the name Oliver is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, we know of 25 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 25 communities, 22 are located in the United States and five are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Lauderdale County
      • This Oliver is located in Lauderdale County and lies 509 miles [819.2 km]<1> to the west of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lauderdale County community of Oliver.
    • Arkansas
      • Scott County
      • This Oliver is located in Scott County and lies 902 miles [1,451.6 km]<1> to the west of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Oliver.
    • British Columbia
      • This Oliver lies 2,274 miles [3,659.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
    • California
      • Yuba County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Oliver [Yuba County].
    • Colorado
      • Gunnison County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Oliver [Gunnison County].
    • Georgia
      • Screven County
      • This Oliver is located in Screven County and lies 277 miles [445.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Screven County community of Oliver.
    • Illinois
      • Edgar County
      • This Oliver is located in Edgar County and lies 584 miles [939.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Edgar County community of Oliver.
      • Whiteside County
      • This Oliver is located in Whiteside County and lies 770 miles [1,239.2 km] to the northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Whiteside County community of Oliver.
    • Indiana
      • Posey County
      • This Oliver is located in Posey County and lies 558 miles [898 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Posey County community of Oliver.
    • Kansas
      • Haskell County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Oliver [Haskell County].
    • Kentucky
      • Greenup County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Oliver [Greenup County].
    • Louisiana
      • Iberia Parish
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Oliver [Iberia Parish].
      • Ouachita Parish
      • This Oliver is located in Ouachita Parish and lies 814 miles [1,310 km]<1> to the west of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ouachita Parish community of Oliver.
      • Saint Bernard Parish
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Oliver [Saint Bernard Parish].
      • Tangipahoa Parish
      • This Oliver is located in Tangipahoa Parish and lies 785 miles [1,263.3 km] to the west southwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tangipahoa Parish community of Oliver.
    • Michigan
      • Huron County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Oliver [Huron County].
    • Missouri
      • Macon County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Oliver [Macon County].
    • Nebraska
      • Kimball County
      • This Oliver is located in Kimball County and lies 1,431 miles [2,303 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kimball County community of Oliver.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Oliver lies 1,048 miles [1,686.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
    • Ontario
      • This Oliver lies 530 miles [853 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Oliver [Allegheny County].
      • Fayette County
      • This Oliver is located in Fayette County and lies 315 miles [506.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Oliver.
    • South Carolina
      • Charleston County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Oliver [Charleston County].
    • Virginia
      • Hanover County
      • This Oliver is located in Hanover County and lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hanover County community of Oliver.
    • Wisconsin
      • Douglas County
      • This Oliver is located in Douglas County and lies 1,054 miles [1,696.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Oliver that is located in Johnston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Oliver.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oliver ...

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.

  • Castlehaven
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Castlehaven is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castlehaven
  • Crumplers Crossroads
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Crumplers Crossroads is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumplers Crossroads
  • Eden Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Eden Woods is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Woods
  • Four Oaks
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hickory Crossroads
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hickory Crossroads is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Crossroads
  • Hollands Crossroads
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Hollands Crossroads is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollands Crossroads
  • Micro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Micro is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
  • Noble Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Noble Hills is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble Hills
  • Pine Level
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Rains Crossroads
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Rains Crossroads is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains Crossroads
  • Shoeheel
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Shoeheel is located in Johnston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoeheel

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

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

  • Smithfield, which is the Seat of Johnston County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 29 miles [46.7 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Oliver to Raleigh, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 244 miles [392.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,096 miles [9,810.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,789 miles [10,925.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,671 miles [7,517.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oliver) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Oliver, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Oliver 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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Oliver 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 Oliver. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.4935, Longitude: -78.2592       In this case, the coordinates for Oliver have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.742 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.897 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.422 degrees.