RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Carolina >> Sumter County >> Sumter >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sumter, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sumter 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 Sumter:
    • 33.920313, -80.340142
    • 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 Sumter
  • 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 Sumter County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sumter County
    • Since Sumter is near Lee County and also Clarendon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lee County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clarendon 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 Sumter

Communities Also Named Sumter ...

We found four communities that are also named Sumter.

Within South Carolina, the name Sumter is unique.

Beyond South Carolina, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Sumter is located in Jefferson County and lies 392 miles [630.9 km]<1> to the west of the Sumter that is located in Sumter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Sumter.
    • Georgia
      • Sumter County
      • This Sumter is located in Sumter County and lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Sumter that is located in Sumter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of Sumter.
    • Minnesota
      • McLeod County
      • This Sumter is located in McLeod County and lies 1,051 miles [1,691.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sumter that is located in Sumter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLeod County community of Sumter.
    • Nebraska
      • Valley County
      • This Sumter is located in Valley County and lies 1,134 miles [1,825 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sumter that is located in Sumter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Sumter.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sumter ...

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.

  • Burns Down
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Burns Down is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Down
  • Edgewater
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Edgewater is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
  • Flowers Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Flowers Heights is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowers Heights
  • Green Acres
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Acres is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Greenwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenwood is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
  • Iris Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Iris Heights is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iris Heights
  • Kingman Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Kingman Heights is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingman Heights
  • Mulberry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Mulberry is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
  • Richwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Richwood is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
  • Shady Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Shady Grove is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
  • Tiller Circle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Tiller Circle is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiller Circle
  • Walnut Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Walnut Hills is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hills

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

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

  • Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 40 miles [64.4 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could walk a straight line from Sumter to Columbia, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 389 miles [626 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,256 miles [10,068.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,948 miles [11,181.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,831 miles [7,774.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sumter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Sumter 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 Sumter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9203, Longitude: -80.3401    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.929 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.028 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.694 degrees.