RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Martinsville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Martinsville 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 Martinsville:
    • 36.690941, -79.873183
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Martinsville
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Martinsville ...

We found 21 communities that share the name Martinsville.

There is one other community in Virginia which is also named Martinsville.

Beyond Virginia, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Henry 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 Martinsville [Henry County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Clark County
      • This Martinsville is located in Clark County and lies 472 miles [759.6 km]<2> to the west northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Martinsville.
    • Indiana
      • Morgan County
      • This Martinsville is located in Morgan County and lies 402 miles [647 km]<2> to the west northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Martinsville.
    • Kentucky
      • Knott County
      • This Martinsville is located in Knott County and lies 167 miles [268.8 km]<2> to the west northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knott County community of Martinsville.
      • Warren County
      • This Martinsville is located in Warren County and lies 350 miles [563.3 km] to the west.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Martinsville.
    • Maine
      • Knox County
      • This Martinsville is located in Knox County and lies 750 miles [1,207 km]<2> to the northeast.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Martinsville.
    • Michigan
      • Wayne County
      • This Martinsville is located in Wayne County and lies 422 miles [679.1 km]<2> to the north northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Martinsville.
    • Mississippi
      • Copiah County
      • This Martinsville is located in Copiah County and lies 689 miles [1,108.8 km]<2> to the west southwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Copiah County community of Martinsville.
    • Missouri
      • Harrison County
      • This Martinsville is located in Harrison County and lies 810 miles [1,303.6 km]<2> to the west northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harrison County community of Martinsville.
    • Montana
      • Valley County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Valley County, we don't know where within the .
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Martinsville.
    • Nebraska
      • Hall County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Hall County, we don't know where within the .
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hall County community of Martinsville.
    • New Jersey
      • Somerset County
      • This Martinsville is located in Somerset County and lies 393 miles [632.5 km]<2> to the northeast.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Martinsville.
    • New York
      • Niagara County
      • This Martinsville is located in Niagara County and lies 442 miles [711.3 km]<2> to the north.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Niagara County community of Martinsville.
      • Wyoming County
      • This Martinsville is located in Wyoming County and lies 426 miles [685.6 km] to the north.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming County community of Martinsville.
    • Ohio
      • Clinton County
      • This Martinsville is located in Clinton County and lies 280 miles [450.6 km]<2> to the northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clinton County community of Martinsville.
      • Holmes County
      • This Martinsville is located in Holmes County and lies 291 miles [468.3 km] to the north northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holmes County community of Martinsville.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lancaster 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 Pennsylvania community of Martinsville [Lancaster County].
      • York County
      • This Martinsville is located in York County and lies 288 miles [463.5 km]<2> to the northeast.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of Martinsville.
    • South Carolina
      • Spartanburg 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 South Carolina community of Martinsville [Spartanburg County].
    • Texas
      • Nacogdoches County
      • This Martinsville is located in Nacogdoches County and lies 899 miles [1,446.8 km]<2> to the west southwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nacogdoches County community of Martinsville.
    • Wisconsin
      • Dane County
      • This Martinsville is located in Dane County and lies 681 miles [1,096 km]<2> to the northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dane County community of Martinsville.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Martinsville ...

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 Knob
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Knob have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Knob
    • Chestnut Knob is located in Henry County
  • Figsboro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Figsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Figsboro
    • Figsboro is located in Henry County
  • Grassy Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grassy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
    • Grassy Creek is located in Henry County
  • Hill Top
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill Top have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Top
    • Hill Top is located in Martinsville City
  • Horse Pasture
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jones Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Creek
    • Jones Creek is located in Martinsville City
  • Laurel Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
    • Laurel Park is located in Henry County
  • Marrowbone Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marrowbone Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone Heights
    • Marrowbone Heights is located in Henry County
  • Old Liberty
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Liberty have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Liberty
    • Old Liberty is located in Henry County
  • Reed Creek Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reed Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
    • Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
  • Rock Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
    • Rock Run is located in Henry County
  • Stanleytown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanleytown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanleytown
    • Stanleytown is located in Henry County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanleytown <5>

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 146 miles [235 km]<2> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Martinsville to Richmond, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 217 miles [349.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,113 miles [9,837.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,816 miles [10,969.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,694 miles [7,554.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

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 Martinsville 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 . 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Martinsville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Martinsville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6909, Longitude: -79.8732    
<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 Martinsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>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 Martinsville to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.645 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.107 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.664 degrees.