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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Oldtown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oldtown and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Oldtown:
    • 36.655127, -80.958413
    • 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 Oldtown
  • 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 Grayson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grayson County
    • Since Oldtown is near Galax City and also Carroll County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Galax City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll 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 Oldtown

Communities Also Named Oldtown ...

We found ten communities that are also named Oldtown.

Within Virginia, the name Oldtown is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Idaho
      • Bonner County
      • This Oldtown is located in Bonner County and lies 1,980 miles [3,186.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Oldtown that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bonner County community of Oldtown.
    • Illinois
      • Saline County
      • This Oldtown is located in Saline County and lies 430 miles [692 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oldtown that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saline County community of Oldtown.
    • Indiana
      • Dearborn County
      • This Oldtown is located in Dearborn County and lies 270 miles [434.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Oldtown that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dearborn County community of Oldtown.
    • Kentucky
      • Greenup County
      • This Oldtown is located in Greenup County and lies 162 miles [260.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Oldtown that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenup County community of Oldtown.
    • Maryland
      • Allegany County
      • This Oldtown is located in Allegany County and lies 236 miles [379.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Oldtown that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Oldtown.
    • Massachusetts
      • Bristol 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 Oldtown [Bristol County].
    • Ohio
      • Greene County
      • This Oldtown is located in Greene County and lies 266 miles [428.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Oldtown that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Oldtown.
    • South Carolina
      • Newberry 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 Oldtown [Newberry County].
    • Tennessee
      • Cocke County
      • This Oldtown is located in Cocke County and lies 131 miles [210.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Oldtown that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cocke County community of Oldtown.
    • West Virginia
      • Mason 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 West Virginia community of Oldtown [Mason County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oldtown ...

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.

  • Carsonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Carsonville is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
  • Cliffview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cliffview is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffview
  • Fries
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Fries Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fries Junction is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fries Junction
  • Hebron
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hebron is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
  • Hickory Flat
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hickory Flat is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Flat
  • Hilltown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hilltown is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltown
  • Low Gap
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Low Gap is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
  • Moore Ferry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Moore Ferry is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Ferry
  • Peach Bottom
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Peach Bottom is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
  • Pipers Gap
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
  • Providence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Providence is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Wolf Glade
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wolf Glade is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Glade

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

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

  • Independence, which is the Seat of Grayson County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Oldtown to Independence, with an average speed<5> 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 203 miles [326.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 264 miles [424.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,161 miles [9,915.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,866 miles [11,049.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,744 miles [7,634.7 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- Oldtown) 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 Oldtown 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 Oldtown, 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 Oldtown 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 Oldtown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6551, Longitude: -80.9584       In this case, the coordinates for Oldtown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.283 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.831 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.116 degrees.