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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Woodward, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Woodward 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 Woodward:
    • 40.898504, -77.354293
    • 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 Woodward
  • 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 Centre County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Centre County
    • Since Woodward is near Union County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Union County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clinton 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 Woodward

Communities Also Named Woodward ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Woodward.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Woodward is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Calhoun County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Woodward [Calhoun County].
      • Jefferson County
      • This Woodward is located in Jefferson County and lies 713 miles [1,147.5 km]<2> to the southwest of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Woodward.
    • California
      • Solano County
      • This Woodward is located in Solano County and lies 2,337 miles [3,761 km]<2> to the west of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Solano County community of Woodward.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Woodward is located in Hillsborough County and lies 942 miles [1,516 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Woodward.
    • Georgia
      • Fulton County
      • This Woodward is located in Fulton County and lies 624 miles [1,004.2 km]<2> to the southwest of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fulton County community of Woodward.
    • Iowa
      • Dallas County
      • This Woodward is located in Dallas County and lies 859 miles [1,382.4 km]<2> to the west of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dallas County community of Woodward.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Woodward is located in Baltimore County and lies 107 miles [172.2 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Woodward.
    • Michigan
      • Lenawee County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Woodward [Lenawee County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Woodward County
      • This Woodward is located in Woodward County and lies 1,223 miles [1,968.2 km]<2> to the west of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Woodward County community of Woodward.
    • Ontario
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Woodward.
    • South Carolina
      • Barnwell County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Woodward [Barnwell County].
      • Fairfield County
      • This Woodward is located in Fairfield County and lies 486 miles [782.1 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Woodward that is located in Centre County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Woodward.
    • Texas
      • La Salle County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Woodward [La Salle County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Woodward ...

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.

  • Beaverdam
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Beaverdam is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdam
  • Cherry Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Glen Iron
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Green Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Green Grove is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Grove
  • Laurel Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Laurel Park is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
  • Middle Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Pardee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pardee is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee
  • Poe Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Poe Mills is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poe Mills
  • Rockville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockville is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
  • Spring Bank
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Spring Bank is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bank
  • Wolfs Store
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Wolfs Store is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfs Store

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

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

  • Bellefonte, which is the Seat of Centre County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Woodward to Bellefonte, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 49 miles [78.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 139 miles [223.7 km] to the south (S). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,826 miles [9,376 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,540 miles [10,525.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,415 miles [7,105.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Woodward 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.
<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- Woodward) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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 Woodward, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>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 Woodward 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 Woodward. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8985, Longitude: -77.3543    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.939 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.805 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.061 degrees.