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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Townsend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Townsend 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 Townsend:
    • 35.676401, -83.754733
    • 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 Townsend
  • 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 Blount County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount County
    • Since Townsend is near Sevier County and also Swain County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sevier County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Swain 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 Townsend

Communities Also Named Townsend ...

We found 23 communities that are also named Townsend.

There is one other community in Tennessee that is also named Townsend.

Beyond Tennessee, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, 21 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Tennessee ...
    • Henry County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Townsend [Henry County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Townsend lies 2,171 miles [3,493.9 km]<2> to the northwest of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
    • Colorado
      • Arapahoe County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Townsend [Arapahoe County].
      • Washington County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Washington County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Townsend.
    • Delaware
      • New Castle County
      • This Townsend is located in New Castle County and lies 510 miles [820.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the New Castle County community of Townsend.
    • Florida
      • Lafayette County
      • This Townsend is located in Lafayette County and lies 383 miles [616.4 km]<2> to the south of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafayette County community of Townsend.
    • Georgia
      • McIntosh County
      • This Townsend is located in McIntosh County and lies 313 miles [503.7 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McIntosh County community of Townsend.
    • Kansas
      • Cowley County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Townsend [Cowley County].
    • Massachusetts
      • Middlesex County
      • This Townsend is located in Middlesex County and lies 804 miles [1,293.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Townsend.
    • Mississippi
      • Kemper County
      • This Townsend is located in Kemper County and lies 339 miles [545.6 km]<2> to the southwest of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kemper County community of Townsend.
    • Montana
      • Broadwater County
      • This Townsend is located in Broadwater County and lies 1,611 miles [2,592.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Broadwater County community of Townsend.
    • New York
      • Schuyler County
      • This Townsend is located in Schuyler County and lies 587 miles [944.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuyler County community of Townsend.
    • Ohio
      • Allen County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Allen County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allen County community of Townsend.
      • Hamilton County
      • This community is historic and although located in Hamilton County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Townsend.
      • Sandusky County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Townsend [Sandusky County].
    • Ontario
      • This Townsend lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
    • Oregon
      • Marion County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oregon community of Townsend [Marion County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Chester County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Townsend [Chester County].
      • Westmoreland County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Townsend [Westmoreland County].
    • Texas
      • San Augustine County
      • This Townsend is located in San Augustine County and lies 676 miles [1,087.9 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Augustine County community of Townsend.
    • Utah
      • Utah County
      • This Townsend is located in Utah County and lies 1,552 miles [2,497.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Utah County community of Townsend.
    • Virginia
      • Northampton County
      • This Townsend is located in Northampton County and lies 445 miles [716.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Northampton County community of Townsend.
    • Wisconsin
      • Oconto County
      • This Townsend is located in Oconto County and lies 712 miles [1,145.9 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Townsend that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oconto County community of Townsend.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Townsend ...

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.

  • Cold Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cold Springs is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
  • Hatchertown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hatchertown is located in Sevier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchertown
  • Hornet
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hornet is located in Sevier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornet
  • Law Chapel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Law Chapel is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Law Chapel
  • Line Spring
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Line Spring is located in Sevier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Line Spring
  • Park Settlement
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Park Settlement is located in Sevier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Settlement
  • Red Bank
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Red Bank is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
  • Rocky Branch
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rocky Branch is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Branch
    • Estimated population in 2014: 5,427 people
  • Sunshine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Sunshine is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine

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

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

  • Maryville, which is the Seat of Blount County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Townsend to Maryville, with an average speed<4> 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 172 miles [276.8 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 430 miles [692 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,323 miles [10,175.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,032 miles [11,316.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,908 miles [7,898.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Townsend 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.
<2>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- Townsend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Townsend, 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 Townsend 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 Townsend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.6764, Longitude: -83.7547    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.938 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.588 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.543 degrees.