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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Cochran, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cochran 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 Cochran:
    • 36.843203, -77.904997
    • 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 Cochran
  • 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 Brunswick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Brunswick County
    • Since Cochran is near Lunenburg County and also Mecklenburg County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lunenburg County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg 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 Cochran

Communities Also Named Cochran ...

We found ten communities that are also named Cochran.

Within Virginia, the name Cochran is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Barbour 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 Cochran [Barbour County].
    • Arizona
      • Pinal 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 Arizona community of Cochran [Pinal County].
    • Georgia
      • Bleckley County
      • This Cochran is located in Bleckley County and lies 436 miles [701.7 km]<3> to the southwest of the Cochran that is located in Brunswick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bleckley County community of Cochran.
      • Pulaski 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 Georgia community of Cochran [Pulaski County].
    • Indiana
      • Dearborn County
      • This Cochran is located in Dearborn County and lies 411 miles [661.4 km]<3> to the west northwest of the Cochran that is located in Brunswick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dearborn County community of Cochran.
    • Ohio
      • Putnam County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Putnam County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Cochran.
    • Oregon
      • Washington County
      • This Cochran is located in Washington County and lies 2,404 miles [3,868.9 km]<3> to the west northwest of the Cochran that is located in Brunswick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Cochran.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny 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 Cochran [Allegheny County].
    • Tennessee
      • Marshall County
      • This Cochran is located in Marshall County and lies 505 miles [812.7 km]<3> to the west of the Cochran that is located in Brunswick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Cochran.
    • Texas
      • Austin County
      • This Cochran is located in Austin County and lies 1,148 miles [1,847.5 km]<3> to the west southwest of the Cochran that is located in Brunswick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Austin County community of Cochran.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Cochran ...

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.

  • Alberta
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Alberta is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 265 people
  • Cool Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Cool Spring is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Spring
  • Danieltown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Danieltown is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danieltown
  • Dolphin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Dolphin is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolphin
  • Edmunds Store
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Edmunds Store is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmunds Store
  • Gills Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Gills Corner is located in Lunenburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gills Corner
  • Octagon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Octagon is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octagon
  • Price Mill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Price Mill is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price Mill
  • Rocky Ford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Rocky Ford is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford
  • Sturgeonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sturgeonville is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgeonville
  • Tobacco
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tobacco is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tobacco
  • Vote
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Vote is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vote

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

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

  • Lawrenceville, which is the Seat of Brunswick County, lies just to the South Southeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<3> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Cochran 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 149 miles [239.8 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 6,022 miles [9,691.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,720 miles [10,814.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,600 miles [7,403 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 Cochran 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>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 Cochran, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Cochran) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Cochran 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 Cochran. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8432, Longitude: -77.9050       In this case, the coordinates for Cochran have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.499 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.821 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.824 degrees.