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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Franconia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Franconia 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 Franconia:
    • 38.782058, -77.146369
    • 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 Franconia
  • 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 Fairfax County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax County
    • Since Franconia is near Alexandria City and also Arlington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alexandria City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Arlington 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 Franconia

Communities Also Named Franconia ...

We found seven communities that are also named Franconia.

Within Virginia, the name Franconia 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 ...
    • Alabama
      • Pickens 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 Franconia [Pickens County].
    • Arizona
      • Mohave County
      • This Franconia is located in Mohave County and lies 2,058 miles [3,312 km]<2> to the west of the Franconia that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mohave County community of Franconia.
    • Minnesota
      • Chisago County
      • This Franconia is located in Chisago County and lies 915 miles [1,472.5 km]<2> to the northwest of the Franconia that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chisago County community of Franconia.
    • New Hampshire
      • Grafton County
      • This Franconia is located in Grafton County and lies 468 miles [753.2 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Franconia that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grafton County community of Franconia.
    • Ohio
      • Putnam 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 Ohio community of Franconia [Putnam County].
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Franconia.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Montgomery County
      • This Franconia is located in Montgomery County and lies 142 miles [228.5 km]<2> to the northeast of the Franconia that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Franconia.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Franconia ...

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.

  • Cannon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cannon is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
  • College Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • College Park is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
  • Delta
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Delta is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
  • Duke Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Duke Gardens is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Gardens
  • Fair Haven
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fair Haven is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
  • Governors Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Governors Grove is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Governors Grove
  • Hayfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Hayfield is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
  • Hillbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillbrook is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillbrook
  • Indian Run Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Indian Run Park is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Run Park
  • Indian Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian Springs is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
  • Memorial Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Memorial Heights is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Heights
  • Mount Pleasant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Piney Court
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Piney Court is located in Alexandria City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Court
    • Ridgeview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Ridgeview is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeview
    • Rose Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Rose Hill is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
    • Seminary Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Seminary Valley is located in Alexandria City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Valley
    • Silver Springs
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Silver Springs is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
    • Spring Bank
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Spring Bank is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bank
    • Varsity Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Varsity Park is located in Alexandria City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varsity Park
    • Virginia Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Virginia Hills is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Hills
    • Willow Run
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Willow Run is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Run

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 87 miles [140 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Franconia 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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast (NE). The buggy would take a little over three hours and walking would take four to five hours.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,907 miles [9,506.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,612 miles [10,641 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,489 miles [7,224.3 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 Franconia 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Franconia) 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 Franconia, 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 Franconia 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 Franconia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7821, Longitude: -77.1464       In this case, the coordinates for Franconia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.961 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.502 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.804 degrees.