RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Ohio >> Wayne County >> West Salem >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 West Salem:
    • 40.971625, -82.109643
    • 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 West Salem
  • 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 Wayne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne County
    • Since West Salem is near Ashland County and also Medina County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ashland County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Medina 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 West Salem

Communities Also Named West Salem ...

We found four communities that are also named West Salem.

Within Ohio, the name West Salem is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Edwards County
      • This West Salem is located in Edwards County and lies 355 miles [571.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the West Salem that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Edwards County community of West Salem.
    • North Carolina
      • Forsyth County
      • This West Salem is located in Forsyth County and lies 352 miles [566.5 km]<1> to the south southeast of the West Salem that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Forsyth County community of West Salem.
    • Oregon
      • Polk County
      • This West Salem is located in Polk County and lies 2,065 miles [3,323.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the West Salem that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of West Salem.
    • Wisconsin
      • La Crosse County
      • This West Salem is located in La Crosse County and lies 499 miles [803.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the West Salem that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the La Crosse County community of West Salem.

Curious and Interesting Names Near West Salem ...

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.

  • Cedar Valley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Valley is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
  • Centerville ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Centerville is located in Medina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Congress
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Eight Square ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Eight Square is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eight Square
  • Friendsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Garden Isle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Garden Isle is located in Medina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Isle
  • Golden Corners
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Golden Corners is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Corners
  • Homer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Homerville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Homerville is located in Medina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homerville
  • Pleasant Home
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Home is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Home
  • Polk
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Polk is located in Ashland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
  • Rowsburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

How Far From West Salem 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 village such as West Salem to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Wooster, which is the Seat of Wayne County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from West Salem to Wooster, with an average speed<2> 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 83 miles [133.6 km] to the southwest (SW). 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 304 miles [489.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,014 miles [9,678.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,739 miles [10,845.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,615 miles [7,427.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 West Salem 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 West Salem. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9716, Longitude: -82.1096    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.881 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.154 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.204 degrees.