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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Middlesex, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Middlesex 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 Middlesex:
    • 37.579299, -75.836876
    • 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 Middlesex
  • 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 Accomack County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Accomack County
    • Since Middlesex is near Northampton County and also Mathews County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Northampton County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mathews 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 Middlesex

Communities Also Named Middlesex ...

We found nine communities that are also named Middlesex.

Within Virginia, the name Middlesex is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of nine communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these nine communities, eight are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Middlesex is located in Baltimore County and lies 125 miles [201.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Middlesex that is located in Accomack County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Middlesex.
    • Massachusetts
      • Middlesex 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 Massachusetts community of Middlesex [Middlesex County].
    • New Brunswick
      • This Middlesex lies 802 miles [1,290.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Middlesex that is located in Accomack County.
    • New Jersey
      • Middlesex 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 New Jersey community of Middlesex [Middlesex County].
    • New York
      • Yates County
      • This Middlesex is located in Yates County and lies 361 miles [581 km]<1> to the north of the Middlesex that is located in Accomack County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yates County community of Middlesex.
    • North Carolina
      • Nash County
      • This Middlesex is located in Nash County and lies 180 miles [289.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Middlesex that is located in Accomack County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nash County community of Middlesex.
    • Ohio
      • Ashtabula County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Ashtabula County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ashtabula County community of Middlesex.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cumberland County
      • This Middlesex is located in Cumberland County and lies 196 miles [315.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Middlesex that is located in Accomack County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Middlesex.
    • Vermont
      • Washington County
      • This Middlesex is located in Washington County and lies 491 miles [790.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Middlesex that is located in Accomack County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Middlesex.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Middlesex ...

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.

  • Bacon Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Bacon Hill is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacon Hill
  • Boston
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Boston is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
  • Cats Bridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cats Bridge is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cats Bridge
  • Cedar View
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar View is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar View
  • Clearview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Clearview is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearview
  • Coal Kiln Crossing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Coal Kiln Crossing is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Kiln Crossing
  • Mappsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Mappsburg is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mappsburg
  • Painter
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Pennyville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Pennyville is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennyville
  • Red Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Red Hill is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
  • Savage Town
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Savage Town is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Town
  • Shields
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Shields is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields

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

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

  • Accomac, which is the Seat of Accomack County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Middlesex to Accomac, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 87 miles [140 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 111 miles [178.6 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,901 miles [9,496.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,597 miles [10,616.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,478 miles [7,206.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Middlesex) 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex, 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5793, Longitude: -75.8369       In this case, the coordinates for Middlesex have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.276 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.538 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.732 degrees.