RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Albemarle County >> Ashcroft >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ashcroft, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ashcroft 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 Ashcroft:
    • 38.031250, -78.435844
    • 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 Ashcroft
  • 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 Albemarle County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Albemarle County
    • Since Ashcroft is near Charlottesville City and also Fluvanna County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Charlottesville City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fluvanna 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 Ashcroft

Communities Also Named Ashcroft ...

We found seven communities that are also named Ashcroft.

Within Virginia, the name Ashcroft is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Ashcroft lies 2,249 miles [3,619.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ashcroft that is located in Albemarle County.
    • Colorado
      • Pitkin County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Ashcroft [Pitkin County].
    • Kansas
      • Jefferson County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ashcroft [Jefferson County].
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Ashcroft is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 124 miles [199.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Ashcroft that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Ashcroft.
    • Massachusetts
      • Norfolk County
      • This Ashcroft is located in Norfolk County and lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Ashcroft that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Norfolk County community of Ashcroft.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Clearfield County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Ashcroft [Clearfield County].
    • South Dakota
      • Harding County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Dakota community of Ashcroft [Harding County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ashcroft ...

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.

  • Branchland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Branchland is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchland
  • Chapel Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Chapel Hills is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hills
  • Charlottesville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Everettsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Everettsville is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everettsville
  • Fieldbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Fieldbrook is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldbrook
  • Franklin
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Franklin is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
  • Greenfields
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Greenfields is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfields
  • Hunters Hall
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Hunters Hall is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Hall
  • Locust Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Pen Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pen Park is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Park
  • Raintree
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Raintree is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree
  • Riverrun
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverrun is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverrun
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Rockbrook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rockbrook is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockbrook
    • Rose Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Rose Hill is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
    • Squire Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Squire Hill is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squire Hill
    • Village Square
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Village Square is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Square
    • Vinegar Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Vinegar Hill is located in Charlottesville City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinegar Hill
    • Wildwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wildwood is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Willow Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Willow Heights is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Heights

How Far From Ashcroft to ...

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

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

  • Charlottesville, which is the Seat of Albemarle County, lies just to the West.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 64 miles [103 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could walk a straight line from Ashcroft to Richmond, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 96 miles [154.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,994 miles [9,646.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,699 miles [10,781 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,576 miles [7,364.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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- Ashcroft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Ashcroft, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Ashcroft 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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Ashcroft 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 Ashcroft. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0312, Longitude: -78.4358       In this case, the coordinates for Ashcroft have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.76 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.297 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.619 degrees.