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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Mansefield, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mansefield 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 Mansefield:
    • 38.400600, -77.570600
    • 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 Mansefield
  • 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 Stafford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stafford County
    • Since Mansefield is near Spotsylvania County and also Fauquier County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Spotsylvania County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fauquier 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 Mansefield

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mansefield ...

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.

  • Brandy Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Brandy Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Hills
  • Cool River
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Cool River is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool River
  • Diamond Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Diamond Park is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Park
  • England Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • England Run is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for England Run
  • English Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • English Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Hills
  • Heartland Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Heartland Ridge is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartland Ridge
  • Holly Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Holly Corner is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Corner
  • Holly Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Holly Corners is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Corners
  • Kings Grant
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kings Grant is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
  • Long Branch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Long Branch is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
  • Mine Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Mine Ridge is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mine Ridge
  • Old Banks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Old Banks is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Banks
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Peach Lawn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Peach Lawn is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Lawn
    • Peacock Station
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Peacock Station is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock Station
    • Scenic Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Scenic Ridge is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Ridge
    • Seven Lakes
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Seven Lakes is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Lakes
    • Summerset Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Summerset Ridge is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerset Ridge
    • Walnut Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Mansefield and extending to:

  • Stafford, which is the Seat of Stafford County, lies just to the East.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 59 miles [95 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Mansefield to Richmond, with an average speed<2> 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 about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 44 miles [70.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,941 miles [9,561.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,645 miles [10,694.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,523 miles [7,279.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Mansefield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Mansefield 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 Mansefield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4006, Longitude: -77.5706       In this case, the coordinates for Mansefield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.233 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.753 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.126 degrees.