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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Oak Forest, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oak Forest 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 Oak Forest:
    • 39.842020, -80.238957
    • 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 Oak Forest
  • 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 Oak Forest is near Monongalia County and also Fayette 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 Fayette 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 Oak Forest

Communities Also Named Oak Forest ...

We found 26 communities that are also named Oak Forest.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Oak Forest is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of 26 communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Jefferson County and lies 562 miles [904.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Oak Forest.
    • Arkansas
      • Lee County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Lee County and lies 680 miles [1,094.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Oak Forest.
      • Lonoke County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Lonoke County and lies 725 miles [1,166.8 km] to the west southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Oak Forest.
      • Phillips County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Phillips County and lies 677 miles [1,089.5 km] to the west southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Oak Forest.
      • Pulaski County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Pulaski County and lies 750 miles [1,207 km] to the west southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pulaski County community of Oak Forest.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Hillsborough County and lies 825 miles [1,327.7 km]<1> to the south of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Oak Forest.
    • Georgia
      • Chatham County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Chatham County and lies 542 miles [872.3 km]<1> to the south of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chatham County community of Oak Forest.
      • Clayton County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Clayton County and lies 486 miles [782.1 km] to the south southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clayton County community of Oak Forest.
    • Illinois
      • Cook County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Cook County and lies 411 miles [661.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of Oak Forest.
    • Indiana
      • Franklin County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Franklin County and lies 259 miles [416.8 km]<1> to the west of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Oak Forest.
    • Kentucky
      • Allen County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Allen County and lies 383 miles [616.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allen County community of Oak Forest.
    • Louisiana
      • East Baton Rouge Parish
      • This Oak Forest is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 888 miles [1,429.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of Oak Forest.
      • Terrebonne Parish
      • This Oak Forest is located in Terrebonne Parish and lies 928 miles [1,493.5 km] to the southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Terrebonne Parish community of Oak Forest.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Baltimore County and lies 190 miles [305.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Oak Forest.
    • North Carolina
      • Buncombe County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Buncombe County and lies 325 miles [523 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buncombe County community of Oak Forest.
      • Iredell 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 North Carolina community of Oak Forest [Iredell County].
      • Johnston County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Johnston County and lies 325 miles [523 km] to the south southeast of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnston County community of Oak Forest.
      • Wayne County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Wayne County and lies 334 miles [537.5 km] to the south southeast of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Oak Forest.
    • South Carolina
      • Charleston County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Charleston County and lies 487 miles [783.8 km]<1> to the south of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charleston County community of Oak Forest.
      • Florence County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Florence County and lies 391 miles [629.3 km] to the south of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Florence County community of Oak Forest.
      • Spartanburg County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Spartanburg County and lies 353 miles [568.1 km] to the south southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spartanburg County community of Oak Forest.
    • Texas
      • Gonzales County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Gonzales County and lies 1,213 miles [1,952.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gonzales County community of Oak Forest.
      • Harris County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Harris County and lies 1,102 miles [1,773.5 km] to the southwest of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harris County community of Oak Forest.
    • Virginia
      • Chesterfield County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Chesterfield County and lies 233 miles [375 km]<1> to the southeast of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chesterfield County community of Oak Forest.
      • Cumberland County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Cumberland County and lies 193 miles [310.6 km] to the southeast of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Oak Forest.
      • Hanover County
      • This Oak Forest is located in Hanover County and lies 215 miles [346 km] to the southeast of the Oak Forest that is located in Greene County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hanover County community of Oak Forest.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oak Forest ...

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
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bluff is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff
  • Brave
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Brave is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brave
  • Buzz
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Buzz is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzz
  • Gump
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gump is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gump
  • Kirby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Kirby is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby
  • Pine Bank
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Bank is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bank
  • Rogersville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rogersville is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
  • Rush Crossroads
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rush Crossroads is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Crossroads
  • Shamrock
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Shamrock is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
  • Triumph
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Triumph is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triumph

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

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

  • Waynesburg, which is the Seat of Greene County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 180 miles [289.7 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Oak Forest to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 182 miles [292.9 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,990 miles [9,640 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,706 miles [10,792.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,581 miles [7,372.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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- Oak Forest) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Oak Forest 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>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 Oak Forest 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 Oak Forest. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8420, Longitude: -80.2390       In this case, the coordinates for Oak Forest have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.764 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.714 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.749 degrees.