RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Greene County >> Hero >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hero, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hero 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 Hero:
    • 39.724247, -80.348130
    • 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 Hero
  • 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 Greene County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Greene County
    • Since Hero is near Monongalia County and also Wetzel County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Monongalia County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wetzel 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 Hero

Communities Also Named Hero ...

We found two communities that are also named Hero.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Hero is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Nassau County
      • This Hero is located in Nassau County and lies 633 miles [1,018.7 km]<1> to the south of the Hero that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nassau County community of Hero.
    • Mississippi
      • Jasper County
      • Although located in Jasper County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Hero.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hero ...

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.

  • Bluff
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Bluff is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff
  • Brave
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Brave is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brave
  • Buzz
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Buzz is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzz
  • Crossroads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Crossroads is located in Monongalia County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
  • Hunting Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hunting Hills is located in Monongalia County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Hills
  • Jollytown
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jollytown is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollytown
  • Maple
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Maple is located in Monongalia County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple
  • Miracle Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Miracle Run is located in Monongalia County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle Run
  • New Freeport
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • New Freeport is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Freeport
  • Pine Bank
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Bank is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bank
  • Round Bottom
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Round Bottom is located in Wetzel County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
  • Sandrock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sandrock is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandrock
  • Shamrock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Shamrock is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
  • Triumph
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Triumph is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triumph

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

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

  • Waynesburg, which is the Seat of Greene County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Hero to Waynesburg, 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.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 187 miles [300.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 185 miles [297.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,999 miles [9,654.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,716 miles [10,808.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,591 miles [7,388.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hero) 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 Hero 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 Hero. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7242, Longitude: -80.3481       In this case, the coordinates for Hero have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.836 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.778 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.839 degrees.