RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Westmoreland County >> Laurel Grove >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Laurel Grove, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laurel Grove 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 Laurel Grove:
    • 38.198742, -76.962471
    • 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 Laurel Grove
  • 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 Westmoreland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
    • Since Laurel Grove is near King George County and also Charles County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for King George County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Charles 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 Laurel Grove

Communities Also Named Laurel Grove ...

We found eleven communities that are also named Laurel Grove.

There are three communities within Virginia that are also named Laurel Grove.

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

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Fairfax 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 Virginia community of Laurel Grove [Fairfax County].
    • Pittsylvania County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Pittsylvania County and lies 161 miles [259.1 km]<2> to the southwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pittsylvania County community of Laurel Grove.
    • Wise County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Wise County and lies 322 miles [518.2 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Laurel Grove.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Clay County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Clay County and lies 617 miles [993 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Laurel Grove.
    • Georgia
      • Fulton County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Fulton County and lies 494 miles [795 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fulton County community of Laurel Grove.
    • Kentucky
      • Menifee County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Menifee County and lies 360 miles [579.4 km]<2> to the west of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Menifee County community of Laurel Grove.
    • Louisiana
      • Lafourche Parish
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Lafourche Parish and lies 982 miles [1,580.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafourche Parish community of Laurel Grove.
    • Maryland
      • Saint Mary's County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Saint Mary's County and lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> to the northeast of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Mary's County community of Laurel Grove.
    • Oregon
      • Coos County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Coos County and lies 2,476 miles [3,984.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coos County community of Laurel Grove.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Franklin County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Franklin County and lies 140 miles [225.3 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Laurel Grove.
    • Tennessee
      • Anderson County
      • This Laurel Grove is located in Anderson County and lies 425 miles [684 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Laurel Grove that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Laurel Grove.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurel Grove ...

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.

  • Anchorage Anchors
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Anchorage Anchors is located in Charles County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage Anchors
  • China Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • China Hill is located in Richmond County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Hill
  • Flat Iron
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Flat Iron is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Iron
  • Harts ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Harts is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harts
  • Iraville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Iraville is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iraville
  • Leesville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Leesville is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
  • Lone Holly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lone Holly is located in Charles County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Holly
  • Maple Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Maple Grove is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
  • Mount Pleasant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Oak Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Rock Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rock Point is located in Charles County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Point
  • Welcome
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Welcome is located in King George County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
  • Woodland Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodland Point is located in Charles County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Point
  • Yellow Bank
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Yellow Bank is located in Saint Mary's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Bank

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

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

  • Montross, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Laurel Grove to Montross, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 52 miles [83.7 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 48 miles [77.2 km] to the north (N). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two 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 5,924 miles [9,533.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,626 miles [10,663.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,504 miles [7,248.5 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 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 Laurel Grove 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- Laurel Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Laurel Grove 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 Laurel Grove. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1987, Longitude: -76.9625       In this case, the coordinates for Laurel Grove have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.888 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.33 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.95 degrees.