RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative Quarter for New York







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Billings, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Billings 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 Billings:
    • 41.671205, -73.763187
    • 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 Billings
  • 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 Billings ...

We found twelve communities that share the name Billings.

Within New York, the name Billings is unique.

Beyond New York, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, eight are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

In addition to the above occurrences of Billings, we know of two communities located outside of the United States and Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Apache County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arizona community of Billings [Apache County].
    • British Columbia
      • This Billings lies 2,183 miles [3,513.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Billings that is located in Dutchess County.
    • Michigan
      • Gladwin County
      • This Billings is located in Gladwin County and lies 556 miles [894.8 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Billings that is located in Dutchess County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gladwin County community of Billings.
    • Missouri
      • Christian County
      • This Billings is located in Christian County and lies 1,100 miles [1,770.3 km]<2> to the west of the Billings that is located in Dutchess County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Christian County community of Billings.
    • Montana
      • Yellowstone County
      • This Billings is located in Yellowstone County and lies 1,743 miles [2,805.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Billings that is located in Dutchess County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yellowstone County community of Billings.
    • New Mexico
      • Socorro County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Mexico community of Billings [Socorro County].
    • Ohio
      • Noble County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Noble County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Noble County community of Billings.
    • Oklahoma
      • Noble County
      • This Billings is located in Noble County and lies 1,312 miles [2,111.5 km]<2> to the west of the Billings that is located in Dutchess County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Noble County community of Billings.
    • Ontario
      • This Billings lies 510 miles [820.8 km]<2> to the northwest of the Billings that is located in Dutchess County.
    • West Virginia
      • Roane County
      • This Billings is located in Roane County and lies 446 miles [717.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Billings that is located in Dutchess County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roane County community of Billings.
  • Communities Beyond North America ...
    • Germany
      • Distance: 3,815 miles [6,139.6 km]<2> to the northeast
    • Russia
      • Distance: 3,984 miles [6,411.6 km]<2> to the north northwest

Curious and Interesting Names Near Billings ...

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.

  • Clove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clove
    • Clove is located in Dutchess County
  • Diddell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diddell have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diddell
    • Diddell is located in Dutchess County
  • Fishkill Plains
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishkill Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishkill Plains
    • Fishkill Plains is located in Dutchess County
  • Freedom Plains
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Plains
    • Freedom Plains is located in Dutchess County
  • Green Haven
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Haven
    • Green Haven is located in Dutchess County
  • Hickory Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
    • Hickory Hills is located in Dutchess County
  • Hillside Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillside Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Lake
    • Hillside Lake is located in Dutchess County
  • Hopewell Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
    • Pleasant Ridge is located in Dutchess County
  • Red Oaks Mill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Oaks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oaks Mill
    • Red Oaks Mill is located in Dutchess County
  • Shady Brook
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
    • Shady Brook is located in Dutchess County
  • Spackenkill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spackenkill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spackenkill
    • Spackenkill is located in Dutchess County
  • Stormville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Timothy Heights
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timothy Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy Heights
    • Timothy Heights is located in Dutchess County

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

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

  • Poughkeepsie, which is the Seat of Dutchess County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 68 miles [109.4 km]<2> to the north (N). If you could walk a straight line from Billings to Albany, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 257 miles [413.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,645 miles [9,084.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,354 miles [10,225.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,230 miles [6,807.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<10>

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

The official website for Dutchess County: www.dutchessny.gov/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Billings 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.
<2>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Billings) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Billings. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6712, Longitude: -73.7632       In this case, the coordinates for Billings have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Billings, 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>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 Billings to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.69 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.388 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 302.119 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024