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Miscellaneous Information


So far, we found very little information about Bell Road. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Bell Road to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bell Road, please Contact Us.


Various Identification Codes ...

GNIS Codes ...

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) was created to address the problems caused by spelling and naming variations. The BGN will usually recognize an existing name or, when necessary, chose a new name for a geographic feature (such as a mountain, lake, river, stream, city, town, village, dam, bridge, etc).

The BGN names are kept in a database called the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and it is the official Federal repository. The GNIS is operated and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A unique and permanent identification number has been assigned for each name in the GNIS database. These names and identifiers are definitive and it is intended that they are to be used by all departments of the Federal Government:

GNIS ID for Bell Road: 1197577

GNIS ID for Philadelphia County: 1209187

GNIS ID for Pennsylvania: 1779798

FIPS Codes ...

In a past effort, various federal agencies worked together to create a set of codes with a purpose similar to the GNIS codes. These codes are called the Federal Information Processing Standard (or the FIPS 55 codes). Although they are still used by some organizations, the FIPS codes are obsolete and will ultimately be replaced by the GNIS codes.

The following FIPS codes apply to Bell Road:

Place (Community) Code:  05344
State Code:  42 (Pennsylvania)
County Code:  101 (Philadelphia County)

Since the Place and County FIPS codes are not unique and can be repeated in other States, it's necessary to combine the State code with the Place and County FIPS codes to uniquely identify them - for example:

State/Place Code:  42/05344
State/County Code:  42/101

As already mentioned, the FIPS codes are to be replaced by the GNIS codes. The following reflect those changes:

 FIPS Code
translates to    
GNIS Code
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:    42   1779798
Philadelphia County:    42/101   1209187
Bell Road:    42/05344   1197577

GPS Location - GNIS Coordinates ...

An important aspect of the GNIS code is that it assigns a GPS location (the latitude/longitude) to the geographic feature. This location is simply a point on the map and does not represent the size or shape of the feature. In the case of Bell Road, it is a point within Bell Road that might be a post office, the city hall or simply an intersection - the point should really be considered arbitrary and only indicating a general location.

For Bell Road, the GNIS GPS location is given as:

Lat:   39° 54' 24"   (or 39.91°)

Lon:   -75° 14' 1"   (or -75.23°)  

Regional Codes ...

For statistical purposes, the US Census Bureau has divided the country into four Regions. Bell Road would have been located in Region #1 (the Northeast Region).

In turn, the US Census Bureau has further divided each Region into Divisions. Bell Road would have been located in Division #2 (the Middle Atlantic Division).

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has created ten Federal Regions. Bell Road would have been located in Region III (Region 3).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created ten Management Regions. Bell Road would have been located in Region III (Region 3).

Referenced GNIS Records ...

GNIS ID #1197577   (Name of Record: Bell Road (historical))

Class: populated place

A place or area having clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent population (such as a city, settlement, town or village). The boundaries may or may not coincide with the perceived population.

A 'populated place' record may have a corresponding 'census' or 'civil' record. The information contained in the 'populated place' record applies only to the class and should not be confused with either the 'census' and 'civil' classes.

County: Philadelphia

Map Name: Philadelphia

Lat: 39.9067797       Lon: -75.233793  

Elev: 5 ft.

Referenced FIPS Records ...

FIPS Code: 42/05344   (Place Name: Bell Road)

County: Philadelphia     (FIPS State/County: 42/101)

Class: U4

Identifies a populated place (ie- Bell Road) which is wholly or substantially located within the boundaries of an incorporated place with a different name. The Part of Code identifies the incorporated place.

Part-of-Code: 60000

MSA Code: 6160

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/


The official website of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN)

The official website of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

The official website of the U.S. Census Bureau

The official website of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

The official website of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

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 Bell Road, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Mar 2025