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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Samuel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Samuel 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 Samuel:
    • 36.492880, -82.451256
    • 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 Samuel
  • 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 Sullivan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sullivan County
    • Since Samuel is near Washington County and also Hawkins County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hawkins 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 Samuel

Communities Also Named Samuel ...

We found two communities that are also named Samuel.

Within Tennessee, the name Samuel is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Quebec
      • This Samuel lies 976 miles [1,570.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Samuel that is located in Sullivan County.
    • Texas
      • Washington County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Samuel [Washington County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Samuel ...

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.

  • Applewalk Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Applewalk Park is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewalk Park
  • Boring
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Boring is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boring
  • Eden Ridge ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eden Ridge is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Ridge
  • Fordtown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fordtown is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordtown
  • Fox Fire
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fox Fire is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Fire
  • Fox Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox Run is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
  • Green Acres
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Acres is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Gunnings
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Gunnings is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunnings
  • Hall Ford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hall Ford is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Ford
  • Hemlock
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hemlock is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
  • Hemlock Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Hemlock Park is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Park
  • Hillcrest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillcrest is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Historic Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Historic Hills is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Historic Hills
    • Holiday Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Holiday Hills is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
    • Indian Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Hills is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
    • Lake Crest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Lake Crest is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crest
    • Mystic Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Mystic Valley is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic Valley
    • Pettyjohn Mill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Pettyjohn Mill is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettyjohn Mill
    • Quail Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Quail Creek is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Creek
    • Royal Pines
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Royal Pines is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
    • Scenic Woods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Scenic Woods is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Woods
    • Summer Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Summer Hills is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Hills
    • Summersville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Summersville is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
    • Sunnyside
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Sunnyside is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Sunrise Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunrise Valley is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Valley
    • Sunset Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Sunset Hills is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
    • Wahoo ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Wahoo is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo

How Far From Samuel 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 Samuel 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<3> community of Samuel once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Samuel and extending to:

  • Blountville, which is the Seat of Sullivan County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 241 miles [387.9 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Samuel to Nashville, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 339 miles [545.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,231 miles [10,027.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,940 miles [11,168.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,816 miles [7,750.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Samuel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 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 Samuel 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 Samuel, 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 Samuel 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 Samuel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4929, Longitude: -82.4513       In this case, the coordinates for Samuel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.169 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.823 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.778 degrees.