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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Browntown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Browntown 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 Browntown:
    • 37.627916, -79.171695
    • 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 Browntown
  • 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 Amherst County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Amherst County
    • Since Browntown is near Bedford County and also Nelson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bedford County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Nelson 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 Browntown

Communities Also Named Browntown ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Browntown.

There are three communities within Virginia that are also named Browntown.

Beyond Virginia, we know of nineteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Albemarle County
      • This Browntown is located in Albemarle County and lies 36 miles [57.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albemarle County community of Browntown.
    • Campbell County
      • This Browntown is located in Campbell County and lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Campbell County community of Browntown.
    • Warren County
      • This Browntown is located in Warren County and lies 96 miles [154.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Browntown.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Autauga County
      • This Browntown is located in Autauga County and lies 543 miles [873.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Autauga County community of Browntown.
      • Jackson County
      • This Browntown is located in Jackson County and lies 425 miles [684 km] to the west southwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Browntown.
      • Walker County
      • This Browntown is located in Walker County and lies 536 miles [862.6 km] to the west southwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Walker County community of Browntown.
    • Florida
      • Jackson County
      • This Browntown is located in Jackson County and lies 582 miles [936.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Browntown.
    • Georgia
      • Brantley County
      • This Browntown is located in Brantley County and lies 458 miles [737.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brantley County community of Browntown.
      • Glynn 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 Georgia community of Browntown [Glynn County].
    • New Jersey
      • Middlesex County
      • This Browntown is located in Middlesex County and lies 323 miles [519.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Browntown.
    • New York
      • Steuben County
      • This Browntown is located in Steuben County and lies 323 miles [519.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Steuben County community of Browntown.
    • Ohio
      • Brown 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 Ohio community of Browntown [Brown County].
      • Meigs County
      • This Browntown is located in Meigs County and lies 182 miles [292.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meigs County community of Browntown.
    • Oregon
      • Josephine 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 Oregon community of Browntown [Josephine County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Bradford County
      • This Browntown is located in Bradford County and lies 318 miles [511.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bradford County community of Browntown.
      • Luzerne County
      • This Browntown is located in Luzerne County and lies 311 miles [500.5 km] to the north northeast of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Luzerne County community of Browntown.
      • Northampton County
      • This Browntown is located in Northampton County and lies 297 miles [478 km] to the northeast of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Northampton County community of Browntown.
      • Washington County
      • This Browntown is located in Washington County and lies 195 miles [313.8 km] to the north northwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Browntown.
      • Westmoreland County
      • This Browntown is located in Westmoreland County and lies 189 miles [304.2 km] to the north of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of Browntown.
    • Tennessee
      • Cumberland County
      • This Browntown is located in Cumberland County and lies 352 miles [566.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Browntown.
      • Wayne 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 Tennessee community of Browntown [Wayne County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Green County
      • This Browntown is located in Green County and lies 656 miles [1,055.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Browntown that is located in Amherst County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Green County community of Browntown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Browntown ...

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.

  • Coolwell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Coolwell is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
  • Fancy Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fancy Hill is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
  • Five Forks
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Five Forks is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
  • Forks of Buffalo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
  • Monitor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Monitor is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
  • Piney River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Piney River is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney River
  • Pleasant View
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
  • Salt Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
  • Sweet Briar Station
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
  • Union Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Union Hill is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • Willow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Willow is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow

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

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

  • Amherst, which is the Seat of Amherst County, lies just to the East Southeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 95 miles [152.9 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Browntown to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 145 miles [233.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,043 miles [9,725.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,747 miles [10,858.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,625 miles [7,443.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Browntown) 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 Browntown 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>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 Browntown, 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 Browntown 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 Browntown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6279, Longitude: -79.1717       In this case, the coordinates for Browntown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.208 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.748 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.065 degrees.