RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Knox County >> Black Oak >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Black Oak, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Black Oak 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 Black Oak:
    • 36.018693, -83.972409
    • 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 Black Oak
  • 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 Knox County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Knox County
    • Since Black Oak is near Anderson County and also Hamilton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Anderson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hamilton 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 Black Oak

Communities Also Named Black Oak ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Black Oak.

There are two communities within Tennessee that are also named Black Oak.

Beyond Tennessee, we know of twelve communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Tennessee ...
    • Scott County
      • This Black Oak is located in Scott County and lies 48 miles [77.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Black Oak.
    • White County
      • This Black Oak is located in White County and lies 86 miles [138.4 km]<1> to the west of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Black Oak.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • DeKalb 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 Alabama community of Black Oak [DeKalb County].
    • Arkansas
      • Craighead County
      • This Black Oak is located in Craighead County and lies 357 miles [574.5 km]<1> to the west of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Craighead County community of Black Oak.
      • Poinsett County
      • This Black Oak is located in Poinsett County and lies 363 miles [584.2 km] to the west of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Poinsett County community of Black Oak.
      • Washington County
      • This Black Oak is located in Washington County and lies 564 miles [907.7 km] to the west of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Black Oak.
    • California
      • Tuolumne 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 California community of Black Oak [Tuolumne County].
    • Indiana
      • Davies's County
      • This Black Oak is located in Davies's County and lies 249 miles [400.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davies's County community of Black Oak.
      • Lake County
      • This Black Oak is located in Lake County and lies 424 miles [682.4 km] to the north northwest of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Black Oak.
    • Maryland
      • Allegany County
      • This Black Oak is located in Allegany County and lies 365 miles [587.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Black Oak.
    • Missouri
      • Caldwell County
      • This Black Oak is located in Caldwell County and lies 590 miles [949.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caldwell County community of Black Oak.
    • Ohio
      • Belmont County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Belmont County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Belmont County community of Black Oak.
    • Texas
      • Hopkins County
      • This Black Oak is located in Hopkins County and lies 684 miles [1,100.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Black Oak that is located in Knox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hopkins County community of Black Oak.
    • West Virginia
      • Mineral 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 West Virginia community of Black Oak [Mineral County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Black Oak ...

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 Flats
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Flats is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Flats
  • Cherokee Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Cherokee Ridge is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Ridge
  • Cherrybrook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Cherrybrook is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrybrook
  • Deep Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Deep Creek is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Creek
  • Dry Gap
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Dry Gap is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Gap
  • Fieldview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Fieldview is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldview
  • Fountain City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fountain City is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain City
  • Greenway
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Greenway is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
  • Lincoln Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lincoln Park is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
  • Pleasant Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Hills is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
  • Pleasant Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Ridge is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
  • Ridgedale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgedale is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgedale
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Shadow Wood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Shadow Wood is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Wood
    • Third Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Third Creek is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Third Creek
    • Whispering Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Whispering Hills is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Hills
    • Whittle Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Whittle Springs is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittle Springs

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

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

  • Knoxville, which is the Seat of Knox County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 156 miles [251.1 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Black Oak to Nashville, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 428 miles [688.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,316 miles [10,164.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,027 miles [11,308.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,903 miles [7,890.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Black Oak) 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 Black Oak 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>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 Black Oak, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Black Oak 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 Black Oak. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0187, Longitude: -83.9724       In this case, the coordinates for Black Oak have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.076 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.794 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.541 degrees.