RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New Jersey >> Somerset County >> Martinsville >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Martinsville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Martinsville 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 Martinsville:
    • 40.601214, -74.559045
    • 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 Martinsville
  • 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 Somerset County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Somerset County
    • Since Martinsville is near Middlesex County and also Morris County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Morris 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 Martinsville

Communities Also Named Martinsville ...

We found 21 communities that are also named Martinsville.

Within New Jersey, the name Martinsville is unique.

Beyond New Jersey, we know of 21 communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Clark County
      • This Martinsville is located in Clark County and lies 709 miles [1,141 km]<1> to the west of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Martinsville.
    • Indiana
      • Morgan County
      • This Martinsville is located in Morgan County and lies 632 miles [1,017.1 km]<1> to the west of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Martinsville.
    • Kentucky
      • Knott County
      • This Martinsville is located in Knott County and lies 498 miles [801.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knott County community of Martinsville.
      • Warren County
      • This Martinsville is located in Warren County and lies 676 miles [1,087.9 km] to the west southwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Martinsville.
    • Maine
      • Knox County
      • This Martinsville is located in Knox County and lies 356 miles [572.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Martinsville.
    • Michigan
      • Wayne County
      • This Martinsville is located in Wayne County and lies 473 miles [761.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Martinsville.
    • Mississippi
      • Copiah County
      • This Martinsville is located in Copiah County and lies 1,069 miles [1,720.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Copiah County community of Martinsville.
    • Missouri
      • Harrison County
      • This Martinsville is located in Harrison County and lies 1,027 miles [1,652.8 km]<1> to the west of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harrison County community of Martinsville.
    • Montana
      • Valley County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Valley County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Martinsville.
    • Nebraska
      • Hall County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Hall County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hall County community of Martinsville.
    • New York
      • Niagara County
      • This Martinsville is located in Niagara County and lies 277 miles [445.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Niagara County community of Martinsville.
      • Wyoming County
      • This Martinsville is located in Wyoming County and lies 235 miles [378.2 km] to the northwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming County community of Martinsville.
    • Ohio
      • Clinton County
      • This Martinsville is located in Clinton County and lies 497 miles [799.8 km]<1> to the west of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clinton County community of Martinsville.
      • Holmes County
      • This Martinsville is located in Holmes County and lies 383 miles [616.4 km] to the west of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holmes County community of Martinsville.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lancaster County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Martinsville [Lancaster County].
      • York County
      • This Martinsville is located in York County and lies 113 miles [181.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of Martinsville.
    • South Carolina
      • Spartanburg County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Martinsville [Spartanburg County].
    • Texas
      • Nacogdoches County
      • This Martinsville is located in Nacogdoches County and lies 1,264 miles [2,034.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nacogdoches County community of Martinsville.
    • Virginia
      • Henry County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Martinsville [Henry County].
      • Martinsville City
      • This Martinsville is located in Martinsville City and lies 393 miles [632.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Martinsville City community of Martinsville.
    • Wisconsin
      • Dane County
      • This Martinsville is located in Dane County and lies 791 miles [1,273 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Martinsville that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dane County community of Martinsville.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Martinsville ...

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.

  • Chimney Rock
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Chimney Rock is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Rock
  • Coontown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Coontown is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coontown
  • Fieldville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fieldville is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldville
  • Grandview
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Grandview is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Green Knoll
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Green Knoll is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Knoll
  • Liberty Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Liberty Corner is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Corner
  • Lyons
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Lyons is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
  • Mount Horeb
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Mount Horeb is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Horeb
  • Possumtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Possumtown is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possumtown
  • Round Top
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Round Top is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Top

How Far From Martinsville to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Martinsville to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Somerville, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Trenton, which is the State Capital of New Jersey, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Martinsville to Trenton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 176 miles [283.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,722 miles [9,208.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,428 miles [10,344.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,305 miles [6,928.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Martinsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Martinsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Martinsville 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.
<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 Martinsville 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 Martinsville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6012, Longitude: -74.5590       In this case, the coordinates for Martinsville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.283 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.885 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 302.954 degrees.