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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Gilroy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gilroy 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 Gilroy:
    • 36.004229, -86.626663
    • 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 Gilroy
  • 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 Davidson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Davidson County
    • Since Gilroy is near Rutherford County and also Williamson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Rutherford County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Williamson 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 Gilroy

Communities Also Named Gilroy ...

We found two communities that are also named Gilroy.

Within Tennessee, the name Gilroy is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Santa Clara County
      • This Gilroy is located in Santa Clara County and lies 1,929 miles [3,104.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Gilroy that is located in Davidson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Clara County community of Gilroy.
    • Montana
      • Gallatin County
      • This Gilroy is located in Gallatin County and lies 1,436 miles [2,311 km]<1> to the northwest of the Gilroy that is located in Davidson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallatin County community of Gilroy.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gilroy ...

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 Hills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Cherry Hills is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hills
  • Fair Oaks
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fair Oaks is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
  • Four Corners ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Four Corners is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Hilltop
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hilltop is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
  • Loafers Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Loafers Corner is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loafers Corner
  • Owl Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Owl Creek is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl Creek
  • Pebble Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Pebble Creek is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble Creek
  • Ponderosa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ponderosa is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponderosa
  • Rocksprings
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rocksprings is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocksprings
  • Rocky Fork
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rocky Fork is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Fork
  • Rural Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Rural Hill is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,007 people
  • Sandhill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Sandhill is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandhill
  • Stonebrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Stonebrook is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonebrook
  • Walnut Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Walnut Ridge is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Ridge

How Far From Gilroy 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 Gilroy 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<2> community of Gilroy once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Gilroy and extending to:

  • Nashville, which is the Seat of Davidson County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Gilroy to Nashville, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest (NW). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take 6 hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 562 miles [904.5 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 32 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,426 miles [10,341.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,143 miles [11,495.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,019 miles [8,077.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Gilroy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Gilroy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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.
<4>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 Gilroy 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 Gilroy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0042, Longitude: -86.6267       In this case, the coordinates for Gilroy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.694 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.653 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.661 degrees.