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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Shay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shay 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 Shay:
    • 39.510352, -81.217058
    • 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 Shay
  • 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Shay is near Monroe County and also Pleasants County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Monroe County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pleasants 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 Shay

Communities Also Named Shay ...

We found three communities that are also named Shay.

Within Ohio, the name Shay is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Montana
      • Petroleum 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 Montana community of Shay [Petroleum County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Marshall County
      • This Shay is located in Marshall County and lies 941 miles [1,514.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Shay that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Shay.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Armstrong County
      • This Shay is located in Armstrong County and lies 125 miles [201.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Shay that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Armstrong County community of Shay.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Shay ...

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.

  • Archers Fork
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Archers Fork is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archers Fork
  • Beavertown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Beavertown is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beavertown
  • Bens Run
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bens Run is located in Tyler County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bens Run
  • Carter ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Carter is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carter
  • Cow Run
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cow Run is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cow Run
  • Cross Keys ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Cross Keys is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
  • Dart
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dart is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dart
  • Fay
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fay is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fay
  • Gasville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Gasville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gasville
  • Glass
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Glass is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass
  • Gracey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Gracey is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gracey
  • Grape Island
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Grape Island is located in Pleasants County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Island
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Long Reach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Long Reach is located in Tyler County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Reach
    • Moss Run
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Moss Run is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
    • Murphy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Murphy is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
    • Quarry ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Quarry is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry
    • Raven Rock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Raven Rock is located in Pleasants County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Rock
    • Spring Run
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Run is located in Pleasants County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Run
    • Steel Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Steel Run is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel Run

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

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

  • Marietta, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Shay to Marietta, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 99 miles [159.3 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 227 miles [365.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,044 miles [9,726.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,762 miles [10,882.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,637 miles [7,462.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 Shay, 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 from Point A (ie- Shay) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Shay 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 Shay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5104, Longitude: -81.2171       In this case, the coordinates for Shay have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.377 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.362 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.298 degrees.