RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Henderson County >> Pickens >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Pickens, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Pickens 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 Pickens:
    • 32.254037, -95.922745
    • 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 Pickens
  • 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 Henderson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henderson County
    • Since Pickens is near Van Zandt County and also Kaufman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Van Zandt County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kaufman 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 Pickens

Communities Also Named Pickens ...

We found six communities that are also named Pickens.

Within Texas, the name Pickens is unique.

Beyond Texas, we know of six communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Desha County
      • This Pickens is located in Desha County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Pickens that is located in Henderson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Desha County community of Pickens.
      • White County
      • This Pickens is located in White County and lies 315 miles [506.9 km] to the northeast of the Pickens that is located in Henderson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Pickens.
    • Mississippi
      • Holmes County
      • This Pickens is located in Holmes County and lies 349 miles [561.7 km]<1> to the east of the Pickens that is located in Henderson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holmes County community of Pickens.
    • Oklahoma
      • McCurtain County
      • This Pickens is located in McCurtain County and lies 156 miles [251.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Pickens that is located in Henderson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McCurtain County community of Pickens.
    • South Carolina
      • Pickens County
      • This Pickens is located in Pickens County and lies 781 miles [1,256.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Pickens that is located in Henderson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pickens County community of Pickens.
    • West Virginia
      • Randolph County
      • This Pickens is located in Randolph County and lies 986 miles [1,586.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Pickens that is located in Henderson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Randolph County community of Pickens.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Pickens ...

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.

  • Big Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Big Rock is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
  • Crescent Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Crescent Heights is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Heights
  • Cross Roads
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cross Roads is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
  • Enchanted Oaks
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Enchanted Oaks is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Oaks
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
  • Gun Barrel City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Log Cabin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Log Cabin is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Log Cabin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 785 people
  • Mars
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mars is located in Van Zandt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars
  • Martins Mill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Martins Mill is located in Van Zandt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Mill
  • Shady Oaks
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Shady Oaks is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Oaks
  • Star Harbor
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Star Harbor is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Harbor
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
  • Tool
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Tool is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tool
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,335 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tool <2>
  • Tundra
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
  • Virginia Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Virginia Hill is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Hill

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

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

  • Athens, which is the Seat of Henderson County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 174 miles [280 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Pickens to Austin, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,152 miles [1,854 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 45 days and walking would take 66 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,979 miles [11,231.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,709 miles [12,406.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,586 miles [8,989.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Pickens) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Pickens 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 Pickens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2540, Longitude: -95.9227       In this case, the coordinates for Pickens have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.294 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.66 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.331 degrees.