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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Swift, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swift 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 Swift:
    • 35.343966, -88.141145
    • 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 Swift
  • 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 Hardin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hardin County
    • Since Swift is near Decatur County and also Wayne County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Decatur County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne 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 Swift

Communities Also Named Swift ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Swift.

Within Tennessee, the name Swift is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Baldwin County
      • This Swift is located in Baldwin County and lies 344 miles [553.6 km]<1> to the south of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baldwin County community of Swift.
    • British Columbia
      • This Swift lies 2,017 miles [3,246 km]<1> to the northwest of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
    • Florida
      • Polk 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 Florida community of Swift [Polk County].
    • Illinois
      • DuPage County
      • This Swift is located in DuPage County and lies 454 miles [730.6 km]<1> to the north of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the DuPage County community of Swift.
    • Kansas
      • Nemaha County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Nemaha County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nemaha County community of Swift.
    • Louisiana
      • Webster Parish
      • This Swift is located in Webster Parish and lies 354 miles [569.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Webster Parish community of Swift.
    • Michigan
      • Mackinac 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 Michigan community of Swift [Mackinac County].
    • Minnesota
      • Roseau County
      • This Swift is located in Roseau County and lies 999 miles [1,607.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roseau County community of Swift.
    • Missouri
      • Pemiscot County
      • This Swift is located in Pemiscot County and lies 113 miles [181.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pemiscot County community of Swift.
    • Montana
      • Cascade 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 Montana community of Swift [Cascade County].
    • Nebraska
      • Otoe 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 Nebraska community of Swift [Otoe County].
    • Ohio
      • Washington County
      • This Swift is located in Washington County and lies 456 miles [733.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Swift.
    • Texas
      • Nacogdoches County
      • This Swift is located in Nacogdoches County and lies 446 miles [717.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nacogdoches County community of Swift.
    • Washington
      • Whitman County
      • This Swift is located in Whitman County and lies 1,708 miles [2,748.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Swift that is located in Hardin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Whitman County community of Swift.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Swift ...

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.

  • Bucktown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bucktown is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
  • Centerview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerview is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
    • Estimated population in 2014: 244 people
  • Crossroads
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Crossroads is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
  • Farmers Union Landing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Grandview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Grandview is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Havana
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Havana is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
  • Hookers Bend
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Hookers Bend is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookers Bend
  • James Ferry
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • James Ferry is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Ferry
  • Lott Landing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lott Landing is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lott Landing
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • New Harmony
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • New Harmony is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Harmony
    • Piney Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Piney Grove is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
    • Pleasant Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • Point Pleasant
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Point Pleasant is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Pleasant
    • Stringtown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Stringtown is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Unity
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Unity is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity

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

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

  • Savannah, which is the Seat of Hardin County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Swift to Savannah, with an average speed<4> 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 94 miles [151.3 km] to the northeast (NE). 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 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 658 miles [1,058.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,518 miles [10,489.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,238 miles [11,648.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,113 miles [8,228.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Swift) 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Swift 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 Swift, 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 Swift 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 Swift. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.3440, Longitude: -88.1411       In this case, the coordinates for Swift have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.602 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.609 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.459 degrees.