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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Gillespie, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gillespie 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 Gillespie:
    • 37.214033, -79.432250
    • 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 Gillespie
  • 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 Bedford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bedford County
    • Since Gillespie is near Campbell County and also Bedford City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Campbell County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bedford 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 Gillespie

Communities Also Named Gillespie ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Gillespie.

There is one other community in Virginia that is also named Gillespie.

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

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Tazewell County
      • This Gillespie is located in Tazewell County and lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<1> to the west of the Gillespie that is located in Bedford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tazewell County community of Gillespie.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Maricopa County
      • This Gillespie is located in Maricopa County and lies 1,901 miles [3,059.4 km]<1> to the west of the Gillespie that is located in Bedford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Gillespie.
    • California
      • San Joaquin 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 California community of Gillespie [San Joaquin County].
    • Colorado
      • Jefferson 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 Colorado community of Gillespie [Jefferson County].
    • Illinois
      • Macoupin County
      • This Gillespie is located in Macoupin County and lies 578 miles [930.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Gillespie that is located in Bedford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macoupin County community of Gillespie.
    • Iowa
      • Benton 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 Iowa community of Gillespie [Benton County].
    • Kansas
      • Cloud 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 Kansas community of Gillespie [Cloud County].
      • Finney County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Gillespie [Finney County].
    • Michigan
      • Marquette 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 Michigan community of Gillespie [Marquette County].
    • New Jersey
      • Middlesex County
      • This Gillespie is located in Middlesex County and lies 352 miles [566.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Gillespie that is located in Bedford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Gillespie.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Fayette County
      • This Gillespie is located in Fayette County and lies 199 miles [320.3 km]<1> to the north of the Gillespie that is located in Bedford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Gillespie.
    • South Carolina
      • Chesterfield 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 South Carolina community of Gillespie [Chesterfield County].
    • West Virginia
      • Braxton County
      • This Gillespie is located in Braxton County and lies 119 miles [191.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Gillespie that is located in Bedford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Braxton County community of Gillespie.
      • Pocahontas 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 West Virginia community of Gillespie [Pocahontas County].
    • Wyoming
      • Fremont County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Fremont County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fremont County community of Gillespie.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gillespie ...

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.

  • Chestnut Fork
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Chestnut Fork is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Fork
  • Dundee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dundee is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
  • Fancy Grove ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fancy Grove is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Grove
  • Five Forks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Five Forks is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
  • Goode
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Joppa Mill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
  • Leesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Leesville is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
  • Lynch Station
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
  • Otter Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Otter Hill is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Hill
  • Otter View ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Otter View is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter View
  • Tanglewood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Tanglewood is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
  • Wildwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wildwood is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 111 miles [178.6 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Gillespie to Richmond, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 174 miles [280 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,072 miles [9,771.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,775 miles [10,903.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,653 miles [7,488.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Gillespie) 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Gillespie 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 Gillespie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Gillespie 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 Gillespie. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2140, Longitude: -79.4322       In this case, the coordinates for Gillespie have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.374 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.875 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.312 degrees.