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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Butterfield, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Butterfield 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 Butterfield:
    • 38.372600, -77.486000
    • 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 Butterfield
  • 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 Stafford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stafford County
    • Since Butterfield is near Fredericksburg City and also Spotsylvania County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fredericksburg City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Spotsylvania 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 Butterfield

Communities Also Named Butterfield ...

We found ten communities that are also named Butterfield.

Within Virginia, the name Butterfield is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Hot Spring County
      • This Butterfield is located in Hot Spring County and lies 893 miles [1,437.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Butterfield that is located in Stafford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hot Spring County community of Butterfield.
    • Illinois
      • DuPage 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 Illinois community of Butterfield [DuPage County].
    • Maine
      • Franklin 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 Maine community of Butterfield [Franklin County].
    • Maryland
      • Frederick County
      • This Butterfield is located in Frederick County and lies 69 miles [111 km]<1> to the north of the Butterfield that is located in Stafford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Frederick County community of Butterfield.
    • Michigan
      • Missaukee County
      • This Butterfield is located in Missaukee County and lies 561 miles [902.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Butterfield that is located in Stafford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Missaukee County community of Butterfield.
    • Minnesota
      • Watonwan County
      • This Butterfield is located in Watonwan County and lies 976 miles [1,570.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Butterfield that is located in Stafford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Watonwan County community of Butterfield.
    • Missouri
      • Barry County
      • This Butterfield is located in Barry County and lies 904 miles [1,454.8 km]<1> to the west of the Butterfield that is located in Stafford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barry County community of Butterfield.
    • New York
      • Oneida 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 New York community of Butterfield [Oneida County].
    • Oregon
      • Clatsop County
      • This Butterfield is located in Clatsop County and lies 2,397 miles [3,857.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Butterfield that is located in Stafford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clatsop County community of Butterfield.
    • Texas
      • El Paso County
      • This Butterfield is located in El Paso County and lies 1,670 miles [2,687.6 km]<1> to the west of the Butterfield that is located in Stafford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the El Paso County community of Butterfield.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Butterfield ...

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.

  • Chapel View
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Chapel View is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel View
  • Cranes Corner
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cranes Corner is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranes Corner
  • Cranewood
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Cranewood is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranewood
  • Deacon Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Deacon Woods is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deacon Woods
  • England Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • England Run is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for England Run
  • English Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • English Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Hills
  • Fall Run Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Fall Run Park is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Run Park
  • Heartland Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Heartland Ridge is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartland Ridge
  • Heather Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Heather Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Hills
  • Heritage Commons
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Heritage Commons is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Commons
  • Hickory Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickory Ridge is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
  • High School Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • High School Heights is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High School Heights
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Locust Knolls
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Locust Knolls is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Knolls
    • Misty Forest
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Misty Forest is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misty Forest
    • Peach Lawn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Peach Lawn is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Lawn
    • Peacock Station
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Peacock Station is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock Station
    • Rolling Meadows
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Rolling Meadows is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
    • Spring Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Valley is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Walnut Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
    • Walnut Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill

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

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

  • Stafford, which is the Seat of Stafford County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 57 miles [91.7 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Butterfield to Richmond, with an average speed<4> 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 over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 43 miles [69.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,939 miles [9,557.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,643 miles [10,690.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,520 miles [7,274.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Butterfield) 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 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 Butterfield 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 Butterfield, 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 Butterfield 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 Butterfield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3726, Longitude: -77.4860       In this case, the coordinates for Butterfield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.185 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.694 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.101 degrees.