RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> McMinn County >> Zion Hill >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Zion Hill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Zion Hill 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 Zion Hill:
    • 35.398129, -84.521042
    • 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 Zion Hill
  • 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 McMinn County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McMinn County
    • Since Zion Hill is near Monroe County and also Polk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Monroe County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Polk 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 Zion Hill

Communities Also Named Zion Hill ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Zion Hill.

There is one other community in Tennessee that is also named Zion Hill.

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

  • Communities Located In Tennessee ...
    • Hawkins County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Hawkins County and lies 118 miles [189.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hawkins County community of Zion Hill.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Sumter County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Sumter County and lies 284 miles [457.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of Zion Hill.
    • Arkansas
      • Pulaski County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Pulaski County and lies 431 miles [693.6 km]<1> to the west of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pulaski County community of Zion Hill.
      • Van Buren County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Van Buren County and lies 465 miles [748.3 km] to the west of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Buren County community of Zion Hill.
    • Florida
      • Leon County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Leon County and lies 339 miles [545.6 km]<1> to the south of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leon County community of Zion Hill.
    • Kentucky
      • Scott County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Scott County and lies 188 miles [302.6 km]<1> to the north of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Zion Hill.
    • Louisiana
      • Winn Parish
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Zion Hill [Winn Parish].
    • Mississippi
      • Amite County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Amite County and lies 459 miles [738.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Amite County community of Zion Hill.
      • Simpson County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Simpson County and lies 386 miles [621.2 km] to the southwest of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Simpson County community of Zion Hill.
      • Smith County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Smith County and lies 380 miles [611.6 km] to the southwest of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Smith County community of Zion Hill.
    • Missouri
      • Phelps County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Zion Hill [Phelps County].
    • Ontario
      • This Zion Hill lies 719 miles [1,157.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Clarion County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Clarion County and lies 480 miles [772.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clarion County community of Zion Hill.
    • South Carolina
      • Spartanburg County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Spartanburg County and lies 152 miles [244.6 km]<1> to the east of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spartanburg County community of Zion Hill.
    • Texas
      • Guadalupe County
      • Although located in Guadalupe County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Guadalupe County community of Zion Hill.
      • Jasper County
      • This Zion Hill is located in Jasper County and lies 630 miles [1,013.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Zion Hill that is located in McMinn County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Zion Hill.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Zion Hill ...

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.

  • Balltown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Balltown is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
  • Burger
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Burger is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burger
  • Cedar Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Springs is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
  • Goodsprings
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
  • Goosetown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Goosetown is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goosetown
  • Grady
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Grady is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
  • Heritage Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Heritage Park is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Park
  • Liberty Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Liberty Hill is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Manila
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Manila is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manila
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Mashburn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Mashburn is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashburn
    • Piney Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Piney Grove is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
    • Poplar Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Poplar Hill is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
    • Prospect
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Prospect is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
    • Seven Cedars
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Seven Cedars is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Cedars
    • Sunset View
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunset View is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset View

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

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

  • Athens, which is the Seat of McMinn County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 136 miles [218.9 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could drive a straight line from Zion Hill to Nashville, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 477 miles [767.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 28 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,368 miles [10,248.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,078 miles [11,390.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,954 miles [7,972.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Zion Hill) 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 Zion Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Zion Hill 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.
<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 Zion Hill 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 Zion Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.3981, Longitude: -84.5210       In this case, the coordinates for Zion Hill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.391 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.068 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.93 degrees.