Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gratis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gratis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gratis
- 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 Gratis:
- 39.648403, -84.528499
- 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 Gratis
- 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 Preble County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Preble County
- Since Gratis is near Montgomery County and also Butler County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- eBird sighting report for Butler 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Gratis ...
We found two communities that share the name Gratis.
Within Ohio, the name Gratis is unique.
Beyond Ohio, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gratis ...
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.
- County Line
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for County Line have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- County Line is located in Preble County
- Dadsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Enterprise
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Preble County
- Farmersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
- Farmersville is located in Montgomery County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,005 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <3>
- Greenbush
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Johnsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
- Johnsville is located in Montgomery County
- Mudlick
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Muttonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muttonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muttonville
- Muttonville is located in Preble County
- Ransom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Sampleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sampleville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampleville
- Sampleville is located in Preble County
- Wheatville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatville
- Wheatville is located in Preble County
How Far From Gratis 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 village such as Gratis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Gratis and extending to:
- Eaton, which is the Seat of Preble County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 84 miles [135.2 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Gratis 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 403 miles [648.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,170 miles [9,929.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,896 miles [11,098 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,772 miles [7,679.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gratis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Ohio: https://ohio.gov/
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- Gratis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gratis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6484, Longitude: -84.5285 In this case, the coordinates for Gratis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Gratis to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.439 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.733 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.748 degrees. |