RoadsideThoughts
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 Thurston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thurston 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 Thurston:
    • 42.222851, -77.264144
    • 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 Thurston
  • 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 Steuben County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Steuben County
    • Since Thurston is near Schuyler County and also Chemung County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Schuyler County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chemung 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 Thurston

Communities Also Named Thurston ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Thurston.

Within New York, the name Thurston is unique.

Beyond New York, we know of twelve communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Geneva County
      • This Thurston is located in Geneva County and lies 905 miles [1,456.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Thurston that is located in Steuben County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Geneva County community of Thurston.
    • Florida
      • Bradford 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 Florida community of Thurston [Bradford County].
    • Georgia
      • Greene County
      • This Thurston is located in Greene County and lies 680 miles [1,094.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Thurston that is located in Steuben County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Thurston.
    • Maryland
      • Frederick County
      • This Thurston is located in Frederick County and lies 203 miles [326.7 km]<1> to the south of the Thurston that is located in Steuben County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Frederick County community of Thurston.
    • Nebraska
      • Douglas County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Douglas County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Thurston.
      • Thurston County
      • This Thurston is located in Thurston County and lies 992 miles [1,596.5 km]<1> to the west of the Thurston that is located in Steuben County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Thurston County community of Thurston.
    • North Carolina
      • Alexander 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 Thurston [Alexander County].
    • Ohio
      • Fairfield County
      • This Thurston is located in Fairfield County and lies 320 miles [515 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Thurston that is located in Steuben County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Thurston.
    • Oklahoma
      • Canadian 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 Oklahoma community of Thurston [Canadian County].
    • Oregon
      • Lane County
      • This Thurston is located in Lane County and lies 2,274 miles [3,659.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Thurston that is located in Steuben County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lane County community of Thurston.
    • Texas
      • Pecos 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 Thurston [Pecos County].
    • Virginia
      • Albemarle County
      • This Thurston is located in Albemarle County and lies 295 miles [474.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Thurston that is located in Steuben County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albemarle County community of Thurston.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Thurston ...

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.

  • Bath
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Bath is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,407 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <4>
  • Bonny Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bonny Hill is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonny Hill
  • Buck Settlement
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Buck Settlement is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Settlement
  • Cold Springs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cold Springs is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
  • Erwins
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Erwins is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwins
  • Gang Mills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Gang Mills is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gang Mills
  • Hedgesville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hedgesville is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgesville
  • Hermitage
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hermitage is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
  • Meads Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Meads Creek is located in Schuyler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meads Creek
  • Painted Post
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Rathbone
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rathbone is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathbone
  • Risingville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Risingville is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risingville
  • Unionville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Unionville is located in Steuben County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville

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

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

  • Bath, which is the Seat of Steuben County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 180 miles [289.7 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Thurston to Albany, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 229 miles [368.5 km] to the south (S). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,766 miles [9,279.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,485 miles [10,436.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,361 miles [7,018.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>'

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thurston) 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 Thurston 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 Thurston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Thurston 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 Thurston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2229, Longitude: -77.2641       In this case, the coordinates for Thurston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.772 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.826 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.472 degrees.