Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Buncombe, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Buncombe and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Buncombe
- 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 Buncombe:
- 35.325080, -86.083319
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Buncombe
- 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- Since Buncombe is near Coffee County and also Grundy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Coffee County
- eBird sighting report for Grundy 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Buncombe ...
We found six communities that share the name Buncombe.
There is one other community in Tennessee which is also named Buncombe.
Beyond Tennessee, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Tennessee ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Buncombe ...
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.
- Asia
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Black Jack
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Jack have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Black Jack is located in Coffee County
- Bobs Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bobs Cross Roads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bobs Cross Roads
- Bobs Cross Roads is located in Coffee County
- Calls
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Dixie ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Gum Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Johnstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Oak Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Plainview Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview Heights
- Plainview Heights is located in Coffee County
- Pleasant Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Franklin County
- Prairie Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Plains
- Prairie Plains is located in Coffee County
- Ruthledge Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruthledge Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthledge Ford
- Ruthledge Ford is located in Coffee County
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,116 people
- Shady Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Franklin County
How Far From Buncombe 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 Buncombe 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 Buncombe once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Buncombe and extending to:
- Winchester, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Buncombe to Winchester, 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.
- Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 69 miles [111 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 555 miles [893.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 32 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,436 miles [10,357.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,150 miles [11,506.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,025 miles [8,087 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Franklin County: www.franklincotn.us/
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.gov/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Buncombe) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Buncombe. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.3251, Longitude: -86.0833 In this case, the coordinates for Buncombe have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Buncombe 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 Buncombe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Buncombe 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 313.334 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.143 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.594 degrees. |