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:
34.627876, -83.056818
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.
We found fifteen communities that share the name Retreat.
Within South Carolina, the name Retreat is unique.
Beyond South Carolina, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout 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 121 miles [194.7 km]<2> to the southwest of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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 223 miles [358.9 km] to the south southeast of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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 328 miles [527.9 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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 550 miles [885.1 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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 369 miles [593.8 km]<2> to the west of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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 585 miles [941.5 km]<2> to the northeast of the Retreat that is located in Oconee County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burlington County community of Retreat.
North Carolina
Haywood County
This Retreat is located in Haywood County and lies 57 miles [91.7 km]<2> to the north of the Retreat that is located in Oconee County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Haywood 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].
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 848 miles [1,364.7 km]<2> to the west of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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 793 miles [1,276.2 km] to the west of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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 744 miles [1,197.4 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Retreat that is located in Oconee 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.
Bent Tree (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bent Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 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:
Walhalla, which is the Seat of Oconee County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Retreat to Walhalla, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 123 miles [197.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 444 miles [714.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,342 miles [10,206.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,044 miles [11,336.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,922 miles [7,921.2 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 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Retreat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Retreat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6279, Longitude: -83.0568 In this case, the coordinates for Retreat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>
The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>
An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Retreat to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.502 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.937 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.541 degrees.