Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downs and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downs
- 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 Downs:
- 39.517584, -80.316196
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Downs
- 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 Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marion County
- Since Downs is near Harrison County and also Monongalia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Harrison County
- eBird sighting report for Monongalia 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Downs ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Downs.
Within West Virginia, the name Downs is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Macon County
- This Downs is located in Macon County and lies 586 miles [943.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Downs that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Downs.
- Tuscaloosa County
- This Downs is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 593 miles [954.3 km] to the southwest of the Downs that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Downs.
- Georgia
- Warren County
- This Downs is located in Warren County and lies 449 miles [722.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Downs that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Downs.
- Washington County
- This Downs is located in Washington County and lies 464 miles [746.7 km] to the south southwest of the Downs that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Downs.
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Salt Lake County
- This Downs is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,658 miles [2,668.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Downs that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Downs.
- Weber County
- This Downs is located in Weber County and lies 1,660 miles [2,671.5 km] to the west northwest of the Downs that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Downs.
- Washington
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downs ...
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 Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Big Run is located in Marion County
- Curtisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Curtisville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
- Curtisville is located in Marion County
- Deep Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Valley
- Deep Valley is located in Marion County
- Dixie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Enterprise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Harrison County
- Flyblow ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Four States
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four States have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four States
- Four States is located in Marion County
- Helens Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helens Run
- Helens Run is located in Marion County
- Highland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Homewood
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Joetown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Katy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katy
- Katy is located in Marion County
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Keystone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Long Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Oak Grove ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Stringtown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Marion County
- Wahoo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Keystone
How Far From Downs 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 Downs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Downs and extending to:
- Fairmont, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Downs to Fairmont, 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.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 107 miles [172.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 180 miles [289.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,007 miles [9,667.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,723 miles [10,819.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,598 miles [7,399.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Downs. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Marion County: www.marioncountywv.com/
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Downs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5176, Longitude: -80.3162 In this case, the coordinates for Downs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Downs 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> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <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 Downs to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.825 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.734 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.897 degrees. |