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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Clay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Clay 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 Clay:
    • 38.935353, -82.566828
    • 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 Clay
  • 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson County
    • Since Clay is near Lawrence County and also Gallia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lawrence County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gallia 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 Clay

Communities Also Named Clay ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Clay.

Within Ohio, the name Clay is unique.

Beyond Ohio, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Clay is located in Jefferson County and lies 425 miles [684 km]<1> to the southwest of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Clay.
    • Arkansas
      • White County
      • This Clay is located in White County and lies 562 miles [904.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Clay.
    • California
      • Sacramento County
      • This Clay is located in Sacramento County and lies 2,066 miles [3,324.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sacramento County community of Clay.
    • Colorado
      • Jefferson County
      • This Clay is located in Jefferson County and lies 1,209 miles [1,945.7 km]<1> to the west of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Clay.
    • Illinois
      • Livingston 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 Illinois community of Clay [Livingston County].
    • Iowa
      • Washington 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 Iowa community of Clay [Washington County].
    • Kentucky
      • Webster County
      • This Clay is located in Webster County and lies 302 miles [486 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Webster County community of Clay.
    • Louisiana
      • Jackson Parish
      • This Clay is located in Jackson Parish and lies 722 miles [1,161.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson Parish community of Clay.
    • Michigan
      • Eaton 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 Michigan community of Clay [Eaton County].
      • Lenawee County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Clay [Lenawee County].
    • Mississippi
      • Itawamba County
      • This Clay is located in Itawamba County and lies 453 miles [729 km]<1> to the southwest of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Itawamba County community of Clay.
    • Missouri
      • Adair 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 Missouri community of Clay [Adair County].
      • Clay 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 Missouri community of Clay [Clay County].
    • New York
      • Onondaga County
      • This Clay is located in Onondaga County and lies 443 miles [712.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onondaga County community of Clay.
    • North Carolina
      • Granville County
      • This Clay is located in Granville County and lies 286 miles [460.3 km]<1> to the southeast of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Granville County community of Clay.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lancaster County
      • This Clay is located in Lancaster County and lies 347 miles [558.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lancaster County community of Clay.
    • Tennessee
      • Shelby 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 Clay [Shelby County].
    • Texas
      • Burleson County
      • This Clay is located in Burleson County and lies 978 miles [1,573.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burleson County community of Clay.
    • Virginia
      • Bedford County
      • This Clay is located in Bedford County and lies 209 miles [336.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bedford County community of Clay.
      • Lynchburg City
      • 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 Virginia community of Clay [Lynchburg City].
    • West Virginia
      • Clay County
      • This Clay is located in Clay County and lies 86 miles [138.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Clay that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Clay.
    • Wyoming
      • Weston 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 Wyoming community of Clay [Weston County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Clay ...

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.

  • Centerpoint
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Centerpoint is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerpoint
  • Centerville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Centerville is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
  • Edna ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Edna is located in Gallia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
  • Firebrick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Firebrick is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firebrick
  • Four Mile
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Four Mile is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
  • Grahamsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Grahamsville is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamsville
  • Horeb
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Horeb is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horeb
  • Keystone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Keystone is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
  • Kitchen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Kitchen is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitchen
  • Limestone ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Limestone is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
  • Mabee Corner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Mabee Corner is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabee Corner
  • Rocky Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Hill is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Hill

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

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

  • Jackson, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 75 miles [120.7 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Clay to Columbus, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 297 miles [478 km] to the east (E). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,125 miles [9,857.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,843 miles [11,012.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,719 miles [7,594.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Clay) 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 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 Clay 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 Clay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Clay 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 Clay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9354, Longitude: -82.5668       In this case, the coordinates for Clay have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.223 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.24 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.085 degrees.