RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Franklin County >> Old Salem >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Old Salem, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Old Salem 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 Old Salem:
    • 35.083974, -86.250543
    • 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 Old Salem
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Since Old Salem is near Lincoln County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Old Salem

Communities Also Named Old Salem ...

We found four communities that are also named Old Salem.

Within Tennessee, the name Old Salem is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Monroe County
      • This Old Salem is located in Monroe County and lies 253 miles [407.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Old Salem that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Old Salem.
    • North Carolina
      • Mecklenburg County
      • This Old Salem is located in Mecklenburg County and lies 308 miles [495.7 km]<1> to the east of the Old Salem that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mecklenburg County community of Old Salem.
    • Texas
      • Bowie County
      • This Old Salem is located in Bowie County and lies 485 miles [780.5 km]<1> to the west of the Old Salem that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bowie County community of Old Salem.
      • Newton County
      • This Old Salem is located in Newton County and lies 536 miles [862.6 km] to the west southwest of the Old Salem that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newton County community of Old Salem.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Old Salem ...

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.

  • Branchville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Branchville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
  • Coptown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Coptown is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coptown
  • Falls Mill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Falls Mill is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
  • Gum Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Gum Springs is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
  • Hickory Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickory Grove is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
  • Huntland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Keith Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Keith Springs is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith Springs
  • Liberty
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Estimated population in 2014: 318 people
  • Liberty Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty Hill is located in Moore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Maxwell
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Maxwell is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
  • Shady Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Shady Grove is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
  • Sycamore Swamp
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore Swamp is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Swamp
  • Three Forks
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Three Forks is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Forks
  • Walnut Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Walnut Grove is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove

How Far From Old Salem to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Old Salem to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Winchester, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Old Salem to Winchester, with an average speed<3> 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 80 miles [128.7 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 most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 571 miles [918.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,454 miles [10,386.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,167 miles [11,534.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,043 miles [8,115.9 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Old Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Old Salem 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 Old Salem. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.0840, Longitude: -86.2505       In this case, the coordinates for Old Salem have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.425 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.215 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.721 degrees.