RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Ripley County >> Martinsburg >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Martinsburg, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Martinsburg 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 Martinsburg:
    • 36.587836, -90.690673
    • 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 Martinsburg
  • 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 Ripley County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ripley County
    • Since Martinsburg is near Butler County and also Clay County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Butler County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clay 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 Martinsburg

Communities Also Named Martinsburg ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Martinsburg.

There is one other community in Missouri that is also named Martinsburg.

Beyond Missouri, we know of fifteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Missouri ...
    • Audrain County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Audrain County and lies 181 miles [291.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Audrain County community of Martinsburg.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Pike County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Pike County and lies 202 miles [325.1 km]<1> to the north of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Martinsburg.
    • Indiana
      • Washington County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Washington County and lies 285 miles [458.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Martinsburg.
    • Iowa
      • Keokuk County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County and lies 327 miles [526.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Keokuk County community of Martinsburg.
    • Kansas
      • Atchison 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 Martinsburg [Atchison County].
      • Leavenworth 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 Martinsburg [Leavenworth County].
    • Kentucky
      • Elliott 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 Kentucky community of Martinsburg [Elliott County].
      • Monroe County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Monroe County and lies 288 miles [463.5 km]<1> to the east of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Martinsburg.
    • Maryland
      • Montgomery County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Montgomery County and lies 741 miles [1,192.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Martinsburg.
    • Nebraska
      • Dixon County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Dixon County and lies 523 miles [841.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dixon County community of Martinsburg.
    • New York
      • Lewis County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Lewis County and lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Martinsburg.
    • Ohio
      • Columbiana County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Columbiana County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbiana County community of Martinsburg.
      • Knox County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Knox County and lies 517 miles [832 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Martinsburg.
      • Meigs County
      • This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Martinsburg [Meigs County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Blair County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Blair County and lies 715 miles [1,150.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Blair County community of Martinsburg.
    • West Virginia
      • Berkeley County
      • This Martinsburg is located in Berkeley County and lies 719 miles [1,157.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Martinsburg that is located in Ripley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berkeley County community of Martinsburg.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Martinsburg ...

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.

  • Current View
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Current View is located in Clay County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current View
  • Fairdealing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairdealing is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdealing
  • Flatwoods
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Flatwoods is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
  • Glenn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Glenn is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn
  • Hill Top
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hill Top is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Top
  • Kingbee ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Kingbee is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingbee
  • Parks
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Parks is located in Butler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parks
  • Success
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Success is located in Clay County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
  • Torch
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Torch is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Martinsburg once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Martinsburg and extending to:

  • Doniphan, which is the Seat of Ripley County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 159 miles [255.9 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Martinsburg to Jefferson City, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 761 miles [1,224.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,557 miles [10,552.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,287 miles [11,727.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,164 miles [8,310.7 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Martinsburg) 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 Martinsburg 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 Martinsburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Martinsburg 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 Martinsburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5878, Longitude: -90.6907       In this case, the coordinates for Martinsburg have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.292 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.731 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.318 degrees.