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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Washington Square, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Washington Square 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 Washington Square:
    • 35.785985, -78.615003
    • 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 Washington Square
  • 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 Wake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wake County
    • Since Washington Square is near Chatham County and also Johnston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chatham County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Johnston 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 Washington Square

Communities Also Named Washington Square ...

We found six communities that are also named Washington Square.

Within North Carolina, the name Washington Square is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Washington Square is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 541 miles [870.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Washington Square that is located in Wake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Washington Square.
    • Connecticut
      • New London County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Connecticut community of Washington Square [New London County].
    • Georgia
      • Peach County
      • This Washington Square is located in Peach County and lies 377 miles [606.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Washington Square that is located in Wake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Peach County community of Washington Square.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Montgomery County
      • This Washington Square is located in Montgomery County and lies 350 miles [563.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Washington Square that is located in Wake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Washington Square.
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Washington Square is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,824 miles [2,935.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Washington Square that is located in Wake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Washington Square.
    • West Virginia
      • Cabell County
      • This Washington Square is located in Cabell County and lies 277 miles [445.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Washington Square that is located in Wake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cabell County community of Washington Square.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Washington Square ...

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
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Hill is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
  • Chestnut Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hills is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hills
  • Cloverdale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cloverdale is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Eagle Chase
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Eagle Chase is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Chase
  • Georgetown
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Georgetown is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
  • Golden Forest
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Golden Forest is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Forest
  • Hearthstone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hearthstone is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearthstone
  • Heatherbrook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Heatherbrook is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatherbrook
  • Hickory Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Hills is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
  • Hickory Hollow
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Hollow is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hollow
  • Hickory Meadows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickory Meadows is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Meadows
  • Isle Forest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Isle Forest is located in Wake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Forest
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Little Lake Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Little Lake Hill is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake Hill
    • Longview
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Longview is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
    • Maplewood Forest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Maplewood Forest is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood Forest
    • Markwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Markwood is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markwood
    • Method
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Method is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
    • Quail Hollow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Quail Hollow is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hollow
    • Quail Meadow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Quail Meadow is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Meadow
    • Quail Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Quail Ridge is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Ridge
    • Rollingwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Rollingwood is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
    • Scarsdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Scarsdale is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarsdale
    • Skycrest Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Skycrest Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skycrest Village
    • Summit Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Summit Ridge is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Ridge
    • Timberlake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Timberlake is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
    • Waco Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Waco Heights is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco Heights
    • Winter Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Winter Park is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Park
    • Woods Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Woods Creek is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Creek

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

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

  • Raleigh, which is the Seat of Wake County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies just to the west southwest (WSW).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 231 miles [371.8 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from Washington Square to White House, with an average speed<3>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 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,099 miles [9,815.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,794 miles [10,933.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,675 miles [7,523.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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- Washington Square) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Washington Square 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.
<3>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.
<4>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 Washington Square 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 Washington Square. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7860, Longitude: -78.6150       In this case, the coordinates for Washington Square have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.938 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.164 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.462 degrees.