RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Grainger County >> Smith Ferry >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Smith Ferry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Smith Ferry 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 Smith Ferry:
    • 36.179254, -83.536011
    • 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 Smith Ferry
  • 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 Grainger County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grainger County
    • Since Smith Ferry is near Jefferson County and also Hamblen County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hamblen 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 Smith Ferry

Communities Also Named Smith Ferry ...

We found five communities that are also named Smith Ferry.

Within Tennessee, the name Smith Ferry is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Ashley County
      • This Smith Ferry is located in Ashley County and lies 504 miles [811.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Smith Ferry that is located in Grainger County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ashley County community of Smith Ferry.
    • Georgia
      • Butts County
      • This Smith Ferry is located in Butts County and lies 202 miles [325.1 km]<1> to the south of the Smith Ferry that is located in Grainger County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butts County community of Smith Ferry.
      • Douglas County
      • This Smith Ferry is located in Douglas County and lies 189 miles [304.2 km] to the south southwest of the Smith Ferry that is located in Grainger County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Smith Ferry.
    • Oregon
      • Douglas County
      • This Smith Ferry is located in Douglas County and lies 2,162 miles [3,479.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smith Ferry that is located in Grainger County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Smith Ferry.
    • Texas
      • Tyler County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Tyler County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tyler County community of Smith Ferry.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Smith Ferry ...

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.

  • Agreeable ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Agreeable is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agreeable
  • Buffalo Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo Springs is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
  • Cherokee
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherokee is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
  • Hammer Store
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hammer Store is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammer Store
  • Indian Cave Ferry
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Indian Cave Ferry is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Cave Ferry
  • Joppa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Joppa is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
  • Lulaville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lulaville is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville
  • May Springs ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • May Springs is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May Springs
  • Oars Ferry
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Oars Ferry is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oars Ferry
  • Point Seven
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Point Seven is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Seven
  • Rock Town
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock Town is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Town
  • Sunset
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunset is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
  • Sycamore Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Sycamore Spring is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Spring
  • Wilderness Shores
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Wilderness Shores is located in Hamblen County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderness Shores

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

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

  • Rutledge, which is the Seat of Grainger County, lies just to the North.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 180 miles [289.7 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Smith Ferry to Nashville, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 402 miles [647 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,291 miles [10,124.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,001 miles [11,267 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,877 miles [7,848.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Smith Ferry) 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 Smith Ferry, 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 Smith Ferry 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 Smith Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1793, Longitude: -83.5360       In this case, the coordinates for Smith Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.816 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.519 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.316 degrees.