RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Decatur County >> Bliss >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bliss, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bliss 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 Bliss:
    • 35.791176, -88.095592
    • 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 Bliss
  • 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 Decatur County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Decatur County
    • Since Bliss is near Benton County and also Henderson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Benton County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henderson 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 Bliss

Communities Also Named Bliss ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Bliss.

Within Tennessee, the name Bliss is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • White County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Bliss [White County].
    • California
      • Yuba County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Bliss [Yuba County].
    • Georgia
      • Bulloch 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 Georgia community of Bliss [Bulloch County].
    • Idaho
      • Gooding County
      • This Bliss is located in Gooding County and lies 1,508 miles [2,426.9 km]<3> to the west northwest of the Bliss that is located in Decatur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gooding County community of Bliss.
    • Kentucky
      • Adair County
      • This Bliss is located in Adair County and lies 175 miles [281.6 km]<3> to the east northeast of the Bliss that is located in Decatur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adair County community of Bliss.
    • Michigan
      • Emmet County
      • This Bliss is located in Emmet County and lies 703 miles [1,131.4 km]<3> to the north northeast of the Bliss that is located in Decatur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Emmet County community of Bliss.
    • Missouri
      • Washington County
      • This Bliss is located in Washington County and lies 215 miles [346 km]<3> to the northwest of the Bliss that is located in Decatur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Bliss.
    • Nebraska
      • Holt 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 Nebraska community of Bliss [Holt County].
    • Nevada
      • Humboldt County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Bliss [Humboldt County].
      • Ormsby County
      • This community is historic and although located in Ormsby County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ormsby County community of Bliss.
    • New York
      • Wyoming County
      • This Bliss is located in Wyoming County and lies 704 miles [1,133 km]<3> to the northeast of the Bliss that is located in Decatur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming County community of Bliss.
    • North Carolina
      • Surry 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 North Carolina community of Bliss [Surry County].
    • Ohio
      • Pickaway 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 Ohio community of Bliss [Pickaway County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Osage 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 Oklahoma community of Bliss [Osage County].
    • West Virginia
      • Braxton 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 Bliss [Braxton County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bliss ...

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.

  • Bible Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bible Hill is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bible Hill
  • Chaseville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Chaseville is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseville
  • Cherokee Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cherokee Heights is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Heights
  • Christian Chapel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Christian Chapel is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Chapel
  • Hydro
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hydro is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydro
  • Poplar Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Poplar Springs is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Springs
  • Sugar Tree
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sugar Tree is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Tree
  • Sulphur Springs ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
  • Toms Creek ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Toms Creek is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms Creek
  • Yellow Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Yellow Springs is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Springs

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Bliss once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Bliss and extending to:

  • Decaturville, which is the Seat of Decatur County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Bliss to Decaturville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 643 miles [1,034.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,495 miles [10,452.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,216 miles [11,613 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,091 miles [8,193.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Bliss, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Bliss 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bliss) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bliss 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 Bliss. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7912, Longitude: -88.0956       In this case, the coordinates for Bliss have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.598 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.665 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.341 degrees.