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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ridgefield, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ridgefield 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 Ridgefield:
    • 35.927366, -79.023344
    • 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 Ridgefield
  • 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 Orange County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Orange County
    • Since Ridgefield is near Durham County and also Chatham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Durham County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chatham 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 Ridgefield

Communities Also Named Ridgefield ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Ridgefield.

There is one other community in North Carolina that is also named Ridgefield.

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

  • Communities Located In North Carolina ...
    • Guilford 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 Ridgefield [Guilford County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Montgomery County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Montgomery County and lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Ridgefield.
    • Connecticut
      • Fairfield County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Fairfield County and lies 475 miles [764.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Ridgefield.
    • Georgia
      • Fayette County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Fayette County and lies 360 miles [579.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Ridgefield.
    • Illinois
      • McHenry County
      • This Ridgefield is located in McHenry County and lies 664 miles [1,068.6 km]<2> to the northwest of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McHenry County community of Ridgefield.
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 254 miles [408.8 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Ridgefield.
    • New Jersey
      • Bergen 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 New Jersey community of Ridgefield [Bergen County].
    • North Dakota
      • Cavalier 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 Dakota community of Ridgefield [Cavalier County].
    • Ohio
      • Muskingum County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Muskingum County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Ridgefield.
    • Pennsylvania
      • York County
      • This Ridgefield is located in York County and lies 302 miles [486 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of Ridgefield.
    • Tennessee
      • Rutherford County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Rutherford County and lies 415 miles [667.9 km]<2> to the west of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Ridgefield.
      • Sullivan County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Sullivan County and lies 179 miles [288.1 km] to the west northwest of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Ridgefield.
    • Virginia
      • Radford City
      • This Ridgefield is located in Radford City and lies 118 miles [189.9 km]<2> to the northwest of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Radford City community of Ridgefield.
    • Washington
      • Clark County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Clark County and lies 2,350 miles [3,782 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Ridgefield that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Ridgefield.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ridgefield ...

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.

  • Cedar Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
  • Chapel Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Colony Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Colony Park is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony Park
  • Coventry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Coventry is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
  • Davie Circle
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Davie Circle is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davie Circle
  • Falconbridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Falconbridge is located in Durham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falconbridge
  • Five Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Five Oaks is located in Durham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
  • Greenwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Greenwood is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
  • Hickory Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hickory Oaks is located in Durham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Oaks
  • Hidden Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Hidden Hills is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Hills
  • High Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • High Park is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Park
  • Ironwoods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Ironwoods is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironwoods
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Lake Ellen
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Ellen is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ellen
    • Pine Knob
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Pine Knob is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Knob
    • Quail Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Quail Run is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Run
    • Spring Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Spring Valley is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Wildwood Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Wildwood Springs is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Springs

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

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

  • Hillsborough, which is the Seat of Orange County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ridgefield to Hillsborough, with an average speed<5> 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 23 miles [37 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 232 miles [373.4 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 9 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,110 miles [9,833.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,807 miles [10,954.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,688 miles [7,544.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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 Ridgefield 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ridgefield) 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 Ridgefield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Ridgefield 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 Ridgefield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9274, Longitude: -79.0233       In this case, the coordinates for Ridgefield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.168 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.449 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.575 degrees.