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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Platt, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Platt 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 Platt:
    • 31.414906, -94.608263
    • 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 Platt
  • 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 Angelina County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Angelina County
    • Since Platt is near Nacogdoches County and also San Augustine County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Nacogdoches County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for San Augustine 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 Platt

Communities Also Named Platt ...

We found six communities that are also named Platt.

Within Texas, the name Platt is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • DeSoto County
      • This Platt is located in DeSoto County and lies 815 miles [1,311.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Platt that is located in Angelina County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeSoto County community of Platt.
    • Idaho
      • Bingham 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 Idaho community of Platt [Bingham County].
    • Iowa
      • Clay 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 Iowa community of Platt [Clay County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cambria 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 Pennsylvania community of Platt [Cambria County].
    • South Carolina
      • Lexington 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 South Carolina community of Platt [Lexington County].
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Platt is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,147 miles [1,845.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Platt that is located in Angelina County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Platt.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Platt ...

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.

  • Cedar Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Central
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Central is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
  • Climax
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Climax is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
  • Homer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Homer is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
  • Lacyville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lacyville is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacyville
  • Plainview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Plainview is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
  • Poe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Poe is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poe
  • Rocky Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Rocky Springs is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
  • Woodlawn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Woodlawn is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn

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

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

  • Lufkin, which is the Seat of Angelina County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 202 miles [325.1 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Platt to Austin, 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 12 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,115 miles [1,794.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 44 days and walking would take 64 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,972 miles [11,220.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,696 miles [12,385.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,571 miles [8,965.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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- Platt) 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 Platt 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>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 Platt 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 Platt. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4149, Longitude: -94.6083       In this case, the coordinates for Platt have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.329 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.42 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.861 degrees.