RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New York >> Erie County >> Williamsville >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Williamsville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Williamsville 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 Williamsville:
    • 42.962353, -78.741679
    • 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 Williamsville
  • 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 Erie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Erie County
    • Since Williamsville is near Genesee County and also Niagara County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Genesee County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Niagara 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 Williamsville

Communities Also Named Williamsville ...

We found 21 communities that are also named Williamsville.

Within New York, the name Williamsville is unique.

Beyond New York, we know of 21 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, twenty are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Delaware
      • Kent County
      • This Williamsville is located in Kent County and lies 327 miles [526.3 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Williamsville.
      • Sussex County
      • This Williamsville is located in Sussex County and lies 363 miles [584.2 km] to the south southeast of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Williamsville.
    • Illinois
      • Sangamon County
      • This Williamsville is located in Sangamon County and lies 596 miles [959.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sangamon County community of Williamsville.
    • Massachusetts
      • Berkshire County
      • This Williamsville is located in Berkshire County and lies 276 miles [444.2 km]<1> to the east of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berkshire County community of Williamsville.
      • Worcester County
      • This Williamsville is located in Worcester County and lies 339 miles [545.6 km] to the east of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worcester County community of Williamsville.
    • Michigan
      • Cass County
      • This Williamsville is located in Cass County and lies 370 miles [595.5 km]<1> to the west of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cass County community of Williamsville.
      • Livingston County
      • This Williamsville is located in Livingston County and lies 274 miles [441 km] to the west of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Williamsville.
    • Mississippi
      • Attala County
      • This Williamsville is located in Attala County and lies 902 miles [1,451.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Attala County community of Williamsville.
      • Grenada 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 Mississippi community of Williamsville [Grenada County].
      • Neshoba County
      • This Williamsville is located in Neshoba County and lies 902 miles [1,451.6 km] to the southwest of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Neshoba County community of Williamsville.
    • Missouri
      • Wayne County
      • This Williamsville is located in Wayne County and lies 748 miles [1,203.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Williamsville.
    • Nebraska
      • Richardson County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nebraska community of Williamsville [Richardson County].
    • Nevada
      • Clark County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Clark County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Williamsville.
    • North Carolina
      • Person County
      • This Williamsville is located in Person County and lies 450 miles [724.2 km]<1> to the south of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Person County community of Williamsville.
    • Ohio
      • Delaware County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Williamsville [Delaware County].
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Williamsville.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Elk County
      • This Williamsville is located in Elk County and lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<1> to the south of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elk County community of Williamsville.
    • Tennessee
      • Dickson County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Williamsville [Dickson County].
    • Vermont
      • Windham County
      • This Williamsville is located in Windham County and lies 306 miles [492.5 km]<1> to the east of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windham County community of Williamsville.
    • Virginia
      • Bath County
      • This Williamsville is located in Bath County and lies 332 miles [534.3 km]<1> to the south of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bath County community of Williamsville.
      • Shenandoah County
      • This Williamsville is located in Shenandoah County and lies 292 miles [469.9 km] to the south of the Williamsville that is located in Erie County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shenandoah County community of Williamsville.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Williamsville ...

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.

  • Blossom
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Blossom is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossom
  • Buffalo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Clarence
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Forks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Forks is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks
  • Gardenville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Gardenville is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
  • Green Acres Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Acres Valley is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres Valley
  • Harris Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Harris Hill is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Hill
  • Looneyville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Looneyville is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looneyville
  • Martinsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Martinsville is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
  • Soldiers Place
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Soldiers Place is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Place
  • Woodstream Farms
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Woodstream Farms is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstream Farms

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

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

  • Buffalo, which is the Seat of Erie County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 253 miles [407.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Williamsville to Albany, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 15 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 294 miles [473.1 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,793 miles [9,322.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,518 miles [10,489.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,395 miles [7,073.1 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- Williamsville) 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 Williamsville 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 Williamsville, 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 Williamsville 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 Williamsville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9624, Longitude: -78.7417       In this case, the coordinates for Williamsville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.634 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.915 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.862 degrees.