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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bright, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bright 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 Bright:
    • 36.281204, -83.238225
    • 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 Bright
  • 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 Hamblen County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hamblen County
    • Since Bright is near Grainger County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grainger County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Bright

Communities Also Named Bright ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Bright.

Within Tennessee, the name Bright is unique.

Beyond Tennessee, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Cullman 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 Alabama community of Bright [Cullman County].
    • Arkansas
      • Columbia County
      • This Bright is located in Columbia County and lies 604 miles [972 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Bright that is located in Hamblen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Bright.
    • Florida
      • Bright #
      • 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 Florida community of Bright.
    • Georgia
      • Dawson 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 Georgia community of Bright [Dawson County].
    • Indiana
      • Dearborn County
      • This Bright is located in Dearborn County and lies 221 miles [355.7 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Bright that is located in Hamblen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dearborn County community of Bright.
    • Kansas
      • Ness 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 Bright [Ness County].
    • Mississippi
      • DeSoto County
      • This Bright is located in DeSoto County and lies 388 miles [624.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Bright that is located in Hamblen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeSoto County community of Bright.
    • Ohio
      • Franklin County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Bright [Franklin County].
    • Ontario
      • This Bright lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Bright that is located in Hamblen County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Northumberland 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 Bright [Northumberland County].
    • South Dakota
      • Spink 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 South Dakota community of Bright [Spink County].
    • West Virginia
      • Roane County
      • This Bright is located in Roane County and lies 195 miles [313.8 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Bright that is located in Hamblen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roane County community of Bright.
    • Wisconsin
      • Clark County
      • This Bright is located in Clark County and lies 705 miles [1,134.6 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Bright that is located in Hamblen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Bright.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bright ...

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.

  • Bright Ferry
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Bright Ferry is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Ferry
  • Cheeks Crossroads
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cheeks Crossroads is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks Crossroads
  • Cherokee Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Cherokee Park is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Park
  • Dover
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Dover is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
  • Gaby Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gaby Hills is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaby Hills
  • Indian Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Indian Hills is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Jaybird
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jaybird is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaybird
  • Kentucky Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Kentucky Heights is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Heights
  • Liberty Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Liberty Heights is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Heights
  • Long Ferry
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Long Ferry is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Ferry
  • Mountain View Meadows
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Needmore
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Needmore is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
  • Rocky Summit ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Rocky Summit is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Summit

How Far From Bright 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 Bright 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 Bright once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Bright and extending to:

  • Morristown, which is the Seat of Hamblen County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 197 miles [317 km]<2> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Bright to Nashville, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 12 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 384 miles [618 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,274 miles [10,097 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,984 miles [11,239.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,860 miles [7,821.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Bright 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 '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- Bright) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bright, 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 Bright 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 Bright. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.2812, Longitude: -83.2382       In this case, the coordinates for Bright have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.639 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.33 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.164 degrees.