RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Baltimore County >> Rayville >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rayville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rayville 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 Rayville:
    • 39.649271, -76.700806
    • 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 Rayville
  • 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 Baltimore County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Since Rayville is near Carroll County and also York County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York 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 Rayville

Communities Also Named Rayville ...

We found nine communities that are also named Rayville.

Within Maryland, the name Rayville is unique.

Beyond Maryland, we know of nine communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Vermilion County
      • This Rayville is located in Vermilion County and lies 581 miles [935 km]<1> to the west of the Rayville that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vermilion County community of Rayville.
    • Kansas
      • Bourbon 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 Rayville [Bourbon County].
      • Norton 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 Rayville [Norton County].
    • Louisiana
      • Richland Parish
      • This Rayville is located in Richland Parish and lies 973 miles [1,565.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rayville that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland Parish community of Rayville.
    • Maine
      • Cumberland County
      • This Rayville is located in Cumberland County and lies 440 miles [708.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Rayville that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Rayville.
    • Missouri
      • Ray County
      • This Rayville is located in Ray County and lies 923 miles [1,485.4 km]<1> to the west of the Rayville that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ray County community of Rayville.
    • New York
      • Columbia County
      • This Rayville is located in Columbia County and lies 254 miles [408.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Rayville that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Rayville.
    • Texas
      • Parker 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 Texas community of Rayville [Parker County].
    • Washington
      • Grays Harbor County
      • This Rayville is located in Grays Harbor County and lies 2,359 miles [3,796.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rayville that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grays Harbor County community of Rayville.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rayville ...

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.

  • Beetree
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Beetree is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beetree
  • Brandy Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Brandy Springs is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Springs
  • Cedar Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Coachmans Field
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Coachmans Field is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coachmans Field
  • Five Forks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Five Forks is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
  • Flickerwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Flickerwood is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flickerwood
  • Freeland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Freeland Farms
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Freeland Farms is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland Farms
  • Gores Mill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Gores Mill is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gores Mill
  • Graystone
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Graystone is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graystone
  • Hamlet Farms
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Hamlet Farms is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet Farms
  • Hope Meadows
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hope Meadows is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Meadows
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Hunter Green
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Hunter Green is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Green
    • Hunters Mill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Hunters Mill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Mill
    • Prettyboy
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Prettyboy is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prettyboy
    • Prettyboy Garth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Prettyboy Garth is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prettyboy Garth
    • Prettyboy Trails
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Prettyboy Trails is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prettyboy Trails
    • Spook Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Spook Hill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spook Hill
    • Steeplechase
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Steeplechase is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeplechase
    • Sunset View
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Sunset View is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset View
    • Valley Mill
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Valley Mill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Mill
    • Windtree Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Windtree Valley is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windtree Valley

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

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

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rayville to Towson, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 47 miles [75.6 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 54 miles [86.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,851 miles [9,416.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,559 miles [10,555.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,435 miles [7,137.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rayville) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Rayville 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Rayville 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 Rayville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6493, Longitude: -76.7008       In this case, the coordinates for Rayville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.639 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.271 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.277 degrees.