RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
South Dakota


The Commemorative Quarter for South Dakota







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in James, we use the following websites to find information relevant to James 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 James:
    • 45.464374, -98.206181
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on James
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named James ...

We found seventeen communities that share the name James.

Within South Dakota, the name James is unique.

Beyond South Dakota, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Bullock 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 James [Bullock County].
      • Colbert County
      • This James is located in Colbert County and lies 928 miles [1,493.5 km]<2> to the southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colbert County community of James.
      • Lee County
      • This James is located in Lee County and lies 1,111 miles [1,788 km] to the southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of James.
    • Arkansas
      • Independence 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 Arkansas community of James [Independence County].
    • California
      • Butte County
      • This James is located in Butte County and lies 1,247 miles [2,006.9 km]<2> to the west of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butte County community of James.
    • Georgia
      • Jones County
      • This James is located in Jones County and lies 1,164 miles [1,873.3 km]<2> to the southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jones County community of James.
    • Iowa
      • Plymouth County
      • This James is located in Plymouth County and lies 220 miles [354.1 km]<2> to the south southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Plymouth County community of James.
    • Kansas
      • Edwards 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 Kansas community of James [Edwards County].
    • Maryland
      • Dorchester County
      • This James is located in Dorchester County and lies 1,216 miles [1,957 km]<2> to the east southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dorchester County community of James.
    • Mississippi
      • Washington County
      • This James is located in Washington County and lies 927 miles [1,491.9 km]<2> to the south southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of James.
    • Nebraska
      • Scotts Bluff County
      • This James is located in Scotts Bluff County and lies 362 miles [582.6 km]<2> to the southwest of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scotts Bluff County community of James.
    • Ontario
      • This James lies 450 miles [724.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Huntingdon 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 Pennsylvania community of James [Huntingdon County].
    • Texas
      • Houston 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 Texas community of James [Houston County].
      • Shelby County
      • This James is located in Shelby County and lies 964 miles [1,551.4 km]<2> to the south southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of James.
      • Upshur County
      • This James is located in Upshur County and lies 900 miles [1,448.4 km] to the south southeast of the James that is located in Brown County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Upshur County community of James.
    • Virginia
      • Chesterfield 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 Virginia community of James [Chesterfield County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near James ...

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.

  • Bath
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Butler
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butler have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
    • Butler is located in Day County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
  • Frederick
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Frisby ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frisby have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisby
    • Frisby is located in Clark County
  • Randolph
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randolph have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
    • Randolph is located in Brown County
  • Rudolph
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rudolph have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
    • Rudolph is located in Brown County
  • Spain
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spain have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
    • Spain is located in Marshall County
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 989 people

How Far From James to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as James to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Aberdeen, which is the Seat of Brown County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from James to Aberdeen, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 128 miles [206 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,169 miles [1,881.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 67 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,351 miles [10,220.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,112 miles [11,445.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,042 miles [8,114.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for James. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Brown County: www.brown.sd.us/

The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/

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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 James 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- James) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in James. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4644, Longitude: -98.2062       In this case, the coordinates for James have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>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.
<6>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 James to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 321.859 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 320.29 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.27 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024