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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Cottontown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cottontown 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 Cottontown:
    • 36.451667, -86.537953
    • 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 Cottontown
  • 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 Sumner County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sumner County
    • Since Cottontown is near Robertson County and also Wilson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Robertson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilson 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 Cottontown

Communities Also Named Cottontown ...

We found two communities that are also named Cottontown.

Within Tennessee, the name Cottontown is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Colbert County
      • This Cottontown is located in Colbert County and lies 134 miles [215.7 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Cottontown that is located in Sumner County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colbert County community of Cottontown.
    • West Virginia
      • Wetzel County
      • This Cottontown is located in Wetzel County and lies 399 miles [642.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Cottontown that is located in Sumner County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wetzel County community of Cottontown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Cottontown ...

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.

  • Cherry Mount ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherry Mount is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Mount
  • Chestnut Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Chestnut Grove is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
  • Fountain Head
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Graball
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Graball is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graball
  • Hall Town
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Hall Town is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Town
    • Estimated population in 2014: 2,202 people
  • Kansas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Kansas is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas
  • Phosphate ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Phosphate is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phosphate
  • Pipers Chapel
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Pipers Chapel is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Chapel
  • Rival ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Rival is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rival
  • Shackle Island
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Shackle Island is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shackle Island
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,844 people
  • Station Camp ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Station Camp is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Station Camp
  • Two Chestnut
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Two Chestnut is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Chestnut
  • Walnut Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Walnut Grove is located in Sumner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove

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

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

  • Gallatin, which is the Seat of Sumner County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Cottontown to Nashville, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 545 miles [877.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 31 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,401 miles [10,301.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,120 miles [11,458.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,995 miles [8,038.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- Cottontown) 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 Cottontown 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 Cottontown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4517, Longitude: -86.5380    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.656 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.671 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.514 degrees.