RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Ohio >> Gallia County >> Bidwell >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bidwell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bidwell and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Bidwell:
    • 38.918689, -82.299040
    • 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 Bidwell
  • 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 Gallia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gallia County
    • Since Bidwell is near Meigs County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Meigs County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Bidwell

Communities Also Named Bidwell ...

We found seven communities that are also named Bidwell.

Within Ohio, the name Bidwell is unique.

Beyond Ohio, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Butte County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Bidwell [Butte County].
    • Iowa
      • Wapello County
      • This Bidwell is located in Wapello County and lies 560 miles [901.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Bidwell that is located in Gallia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wapello County community of Bidwell.
    • Missouri
      • Laclede County
      • This Bidwell is located in Laclede County and lies 567 miles [912.5 km]<2> to the west of the Bidwell that is located in Gallia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Laclede County community of Bidwell.
    • New York
      • Erie 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 New York community of Bidwell [Erie County].
    • Ontario
      • This Bidwell lies 475 miles [764.4 km]<2> to the north of the Bidwell that is located in Gallia County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Fayette County
      • This Bidwell is located in Fayette County and lies 166 miles [267.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Bidwell that is located in Gallia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Bidwell.
    • Tennessee
      • Lincoln County
      • This Bidwell is located in Lincoln County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km]<2> to the southwest of the Bidwell that is located in Gallia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Bidwell.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bidwell ...

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.

  • Alice
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Alice is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
  • Centerpoint
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerpoint is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerpoint
  • Centerville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Centerville is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
  • Danville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Danville is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
  • Edna ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Edna is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
  • Evans Heights
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Evans Heights is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Heights
  • Evergreen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Evergreen is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
  • Gage
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gage is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
  • Green Acres
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Green Acres is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Hanesville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanesville is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanesville
  • Harrisburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Harrisburg is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Hedgewood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hedgewood is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgewood
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Heights is located in Mason County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heights
    • Hideaway Acres
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Hideaway Acres is located in Gallia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway Acres
    • Lawnview
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lawnview is located in Gallia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawnview
    • Locust Lane ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Locust Lane is located in Mason County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lane
    • Mapleshade
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mapleshade is located in Gallia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleshade
    • Meadow Look
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Meadow Look is located in Gallia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Look
    • Orchard Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Orchard Hill is located in Gallia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hill
    • Spring Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Valley is located in Gallia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Willow Woods
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Willow Woods is located in Gallia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Woods

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

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

  • Gallipolis, which is the Seat of Gallia County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bidwell to Gallipolis, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 81 miles [130.4 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 282 miles [453.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,115 miles [9,841.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,833 miles [10,996.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,708 miles [7,576.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Bidwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bidwell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bidwell 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 Bidwell 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 Bidwell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9187, Longitude: -82.2990       In this case, the coordinates for Bidwell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.058 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.05 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.972 degrees.