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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Excelsior, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Excelsior 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 Excelsior:
    • 38.955654, -80.139558
    • 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 Excelsior
  • 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 Excelsior ...

We found 21 communities that share the name Excelsior.

There are two communities within West Virginia that are also named Excelsior.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of another nineteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Located In West Virginia ...
    • McDowell County
      • This Excelsior is located in McDowell County and lies 141 miles [226.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McDowell County community of Excelsior.
    • Webster County
      • This Excelsior is located in Webster County and lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Webster County community of Excelsior.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Sebastian County
      • This Excelsior is located in Sebastian County and lies 821 miles [1,321.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sebastian County community of Excelsior.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Excelsior is located in Hillsborough County and lies 770 miles [1,239.2 km]<1> to the south of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Excelsior.
    • Georgia
      • Bulloch 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 Georgia community of Excelsior [Bulloch County].
      • Candler County
      • This Excelsior is located in Candler County and lies 469 miles [754.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Candler County community of Excelsior.
      • Tift County
      • This Excelsior is located in Tift County and lies 556 miles [894.8 km] to the south southwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tift County community of Excelsior.
    • Iowa
      • Mahaska County
      • This Excelsior is located in Mahaska County and lies 671 miles [1,079.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mahaska County community of Excelsior.
    • Kansas
      • Douglas 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 Kansas community of Excelsior [Douglas County].
      • Mitchell 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 Kansas community of Excelsior [Mitchell County].
      • Pawnee 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 Kansas community of Excelsior [Pawnee County].
    • Michigan
      • Kalkaska 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 Michigan community of Excelsior [Kalkaska County].
    • Minnesota
      • Hennepin County
      • This Excelsior is located in Hennepin County and lies 801 miles [1,289.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hennepin County community of Excelsior.
    • Missouri
      • Atchison County
      • Although located in Atchison County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Atchison County community of Excelsior.
      • Morgan County
      • This Excelsior is located in Morgan County and lies 678 miles [1,091.1 km]<1> to the west of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Excelsior.
    • Nevada
      • Elko County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Excelsior [Elko County].
    • North Carolina
      • Brunswick 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 North Carolina community of Excelsior [Brunswick County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Northumberland County
      • This Excelsior is located in Northumberland County and lies 230 miles [370.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Northumberland County community of Excelsior.
    • South Carolina
      • Chesterfield County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Excelsior [Chesterfield County].
    • Washington
      • Pierce County
      • This Excelsior is located in Pierce County and lies 2,179 miles [3,506.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pierce County community of Excelsior.
    • Wisconsin
      • Richland County
      • This Excelsior is located in Richland County and lies 620 miles [997.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Excelsior that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Excelsior.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Excelsior ...

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.

  • Deanville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deanville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
    • Deanville is located in Upshur County
  • Five Forks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
    • Five Forks is located in Upshur County
  • Gale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gale
    • Gale is located in Upshur County
  • Heavener Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heavener Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heavener Grove
    • Heavener Grove is located in Upshur County
  • Heavner ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heavner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heavner
    • Heavner is located in Upshur County
  • Ivy
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivy have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
    • Ivy is located in Upshur County
  • Kingsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsville
    • Kingsville is located in Randolph County
  • Sand Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
    • Sand Run is located in Upshur County
  • Swamp Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swamp Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swamp Run
    • Swamp Run is located in Upshur County
  • Vegan
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vegan have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vegan
    • Vegan is located in Upshur County

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

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

  • Buckhannon, which is the Seat of Upshur County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Excelsior to Charleston, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 166 miles [267.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,025 miles [9,696.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,738 miles [10,843.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,613 miles [7,423.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Excelsior. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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' (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- Excelsior) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Excelsior. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9557, Longitude: -80.1396    
<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 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 Excelsior 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>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 Excelsior, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 Excelsior to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.739 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.552 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.016 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024