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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Elliston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elliston 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 Elliston:
    • 37.216965, -80.231427
    • 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 Elliston
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Elliston is near Roanoke County and also Salem City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Roanoke County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Salem City
  • 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 Elliston

Communities Also Named Elliston ...

We found eight communities that are also named Elliston.

Within Virginia, the name Elliston is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Citrus 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 Florida community of Elliston [Citrus County].
    • Indiana
      • Greene County
      • This Elliston is located in Greene County and lies 386 miles [621.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Elliston that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Elliston.
    • Kentucky
      • Grant County
      • This Elliston is located in Grant County and lies 267 miles [429.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Elliston that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Elliston.
      • Madison County
      • This Elliston is located in Madison County and lies 218 miles [350.8 km] to the west of the Elliston that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Elliston.
    • Montana
      • Powell County
      • This Elliston is located in Powell County and lies 1,761 miles [2,834.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Elliston that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Powell County community of Elliston.
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
      • This Elliston lies 1,572 miles [2,529.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Elliston that is located in Montgomery County.
    • Ohio
      • Hamilton County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Hamilton County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Elliston.
      • Ottawa County
      • This Elliston is located in Ottawa County and lies 340 miles [547.2 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Elliston that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ottawa County community of Elliston.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Elliston ...

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.

  • Airpoint
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Airpoint is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airpoint
  • Bear Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Bear Rock is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rock
  • Cherokee Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherokee Hills is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Hills
  • Crockett Spring ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Crockett Spring is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Spring
  • Glen Forest
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Glen Forest is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Forest
  • Green Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Hill is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
  • Jones
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jones is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
  • Kings Forest
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Kings Forest is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Forest
  • Lee - Mitchell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lee - Mitchell is located in Salem City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee - Mitchell
  • Lewis Place
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lewis Place is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Place
  • Luther Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Luther Park is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther Park
  • Mitchell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mitchell is located in Salem City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Quail Crossing
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Quail Crossing is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Crossing
    • Rainbow Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Rainbow Ridge is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Ridge
    • Robin Hood Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Robin Hood Park is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robin Hood Park
    • Rolling Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Rolling Hills is located in Salem City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
    • Talking Leaves
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Talking Leaves is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talking Leaves
    • Vermont Heights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Vermont Heights is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermont Heights

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

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

  • Christiansburg, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Elliston to Christiansburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 155 miles [249.4 km] to the east (E). 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 White House (Washington, DC) is 208 miles [334.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,105 miles [9,825 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,811 miles [10,961.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,688 miles [7,544.6 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 Elliston 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- Elliston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Elliston, 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 Elliston 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 Elliston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2170, Longitude: -80.2314    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.845 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.413 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.639 degrees.