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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sampson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sampson 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 Sampson:
    • 40.004772, -84.598287
    • 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 Sampson
  • 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 Darke County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Darke County
    • Since Sampson is near Preble County and also Miami County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Preble County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Miami 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 Sampson

Communities Also Named Sampson ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Sampson.

Within Ohio, the name Sampson is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Bradford County
      • This Sampson is located in Bradford County and lies 709 miles [1,141 km]<1> to the south of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bradford County community of Sampson.
      • Saint Johns County
      • This Sampson is located in Saint Johns County and lies 708 miles [1,139.4 km] to the south southeast of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Johns County community of Sampson.
    • Idaho
      • Idaho County
      • This Sampson is located in Idaho County and lies 1,626 miles [2,616.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Idaho County community of Sampson.
    • Kansas
      • Marion 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 Kansas community of Sampson [Marion County].
    • Kentucky
      • Harlan County
      • This Sampson is located in Harlan County and lies 237 miles [381.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harlan County community of Sampson.
    • Missouri
      • Webster County
      • This Sampson is located in Webster County and lies 477 miles [767.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Webster County community of Sampson.
    • New Mexico
      • Union County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Union County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Sampson.
    • New York
      • Seneca County
      • This Sampson is located in Seneca County and lies 440 miles [708.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Seneca County community of Sampson.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Erie County
      • This Sampson is located in Erie County and lies 276 miles [444.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Sampson.
      • Washington County
      • This Sampson is located in Washington County and lies 249 miles [400.7 km] to the east of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Sampson.
    • South Carolina
      • Greenville County
      • This Sampson is located in Greenville County and lies 374 miles [601.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenville County community of Sampson.
    • Tennessee
      • Bledsoe County
      • This Sampson is located in Bledsoe County and lies 301 miles [484.4 km]<1> to the south of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bledsoe County community of Sampson.
    • Virginia
      • Augusta County
      • This Sampson is located in Augusta County and lies 333 miles [535.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Augusta County community of Sampson.
    • Washington
      • Grays Harbor County
      • This Sampson is located in Grays Harbor County and lies 2,016 miles [3,244.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grays Harbor County community of Sampson.
    • Wisconsin
      • Oconto County
      • This Sampson is located in Oconto County and lies 376 miles [605.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Sampson that is located in Darke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oconto County community of Sampson.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sampson ...

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.

  • Clark
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Clark is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
  • Fourmans Corners
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Fourmans Corners is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmans Corners
  • Frys Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Frys Corners is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frys Corners
  • Georgetown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Georgetown is located in Preble County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
  • Gordon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gordon is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
  • Greenville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Ithaca
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ithaca is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithaca
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
  • Jaysville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jaysville is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaysville
  • Painter Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Painter Creek is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painter Creek
  • Poplar Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Poplar Ridge is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Ridge
  • Steel Point
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Steel Point is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel Point
  • Union Corners
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Union Corners is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Corners
  • Weavers
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Weavers is located in Darke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers

How Far From Sampson to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sampson to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Sampson once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Sampson and extending to:

  • Greenville, which is the Seat of Darke County, lies just to the North.
  • Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 84 miles [135.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Sampson to Columbus, with an average speed<5>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 410 miles [659.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 24 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,156 miles [9,907.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,883 miles [11,077.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,760 miles [7,660.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Sampson) 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 Sampson 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 Sampson, 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 Sampson 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 Sampson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0048, Longitude: -84.5983       In this case, the coordinates for Sampson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.48 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.831 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.672 degrees.