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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Retreat, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Retreat 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 Retreat:
    • 35.450661, -82.909023
    • 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 Retreat
  • 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 Haywood County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Haywood County
    • Since Retreat is near Buncombe County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Buncombe County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Retreat

Communities Also Named Retreat ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Retreat.

Within North Carolina, the name Retreat is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Monterey 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 California community of Retreat [Monterey County].
    • Georgia
      • Fayette County
      • This Retreat is located in Fayette County and lies 171 miles [275.2 km]<2> to the southwest of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Retreat.
      • Liberty County
      • This Retreat is located in Liberty County and lies 272 miles [437.7 km] to the south southeast of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Retreat.
    • Indiana
      • Jackson County
      • This Retreat is located in Jackson County and lies 283 miles [455.4 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Retreat.
    • Kansas
      • Hodgeman 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 Kansas community of Retreat [Hodgeman County].
    • Louisiana
      • West Feliciana Parish
      • This Retreat is located in West Feliciana Parish and lies 583 miles [938.2 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the West Feliciana Parish community of Retreat.
    • Mississippi
      • Calhoun County
      • This Retreat is located in Calhoun County and lies 387 miles [622.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calhoun County community of Retreat.
    • New Jersey
      • Burlington County
      • This Retreat is located in Burlington County and lies 543 miles [873.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burlington County community of Retreat.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Luzerne 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 Pennsylvania community of Retreat [Luzerne County].
    • South Carolina
      • Oconee County
      • This Retreat is located in Oconee County and lies 57 miles [91.7 km]<2> to the south of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oconee County community of Retreat.
    • Texas
      • Grimes County
      • Although located in Grimes County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grimes County community of Retreat.
      • Hill County
      • This Retreat is located in Hill County and lies 865 miles [1,392.1 km]<2> to the west of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hill County community of Retreat.
      • Navarro County
      • This Retreat is located in Navarro County and lies 812 miles [1,306.8 km] to the west southwest of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Navarro County community of Retreat.
    • Virginia
      • Franklin 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 Virginia community of Retreat [Franklin County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Vernon County
      • This Retreat is located in Vernon County and lies 702 miles [1,129.8 km]<2> to the northwest of the Retreat that is located in Haywood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vernon County community of Retreat.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Retreat ...

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.

  • Cecil ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cecil is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
  • Clark
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Clark is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
  • Clyde
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Clyde is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,308 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clyde <3>
  • Crabtree
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Crabtree is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabtree
  • Fibreville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fibreville is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fibreville
  • Iron Duff
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Iron Duff is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Duff
  • Ivy Hills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ivy Hills is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Hills
  • Jonathan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jonathan is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonathan
  • Maggie Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Silver Bluff
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Silver Bluff is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Bluff
  • Stony Fork
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Stony Fork is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork
  • Sunburst
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunburst is located in Haywood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunburst
  • Turnpike
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Turnpike is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnpike

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

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

  • Waynesville, which is the Seat of Haywood County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 240 miles [386.2 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Retreat to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 401 miles [645.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,298 miles [10,135.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,003 miles [11,270.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,881 miles [7,855.2 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Retreat 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Retreat) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Retreat 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 Retreat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.4507, Longitude: -82.9090       In this case, the coordinates for Retreat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.431 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.973 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.26 degrees.