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.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oldtown
- 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Galax City
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Oldtown ...
We found ten communities that share the name Oldtown.
Within Virginia, the name Oldtown is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Ohio
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
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)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Carsonville is located in Grayson County
- Cliffview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Fries
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fries
- Fries is located in Grayson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fries <5>
- Fries Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fries Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fries Junction
- Fries Junction is located in Carroll County
- Hebron
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Hickory Flat
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Flat
- Hickory Flat is located in Carroll County
- Hilltown
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Low Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Moore Ferry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Ferry
- Moore Ferry is located in Grayson County
- Peach Bottom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Bottom have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
- Peach Bottom is located in Grayson County
- Pipers Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Providence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Providence is located in Grayson County
- Wolf Glade
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Glade have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Glade
- Wolf Glade is located in Carroll County
How Far From Oldtown 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 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<6> 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<7> 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).<8>
- 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).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,744 miles [7,634.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Oldtown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oldtown) to Point B.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). |
| <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> | 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 Oldtown 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 310.283 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.831 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.116 degrees. |