RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Orkney Springs ...

Orkney Springs is located in Shenandoah County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Orkney Springs, you might consider that their post office opened in 1853.

A typical abbreviation for Orkney Springs: Orkney Spgs. (or less commonly used: Orkney Spngs. or Orkney Sprngs.)

Orkney Springs is 1,480 feet [451 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Orkney Springs lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Orkney Springs: 540 & 826<3>

The ZIP code for Orkney Springs: 22845<4>

Communities near Orkney Springs ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Orkney Springs.

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Orkney Springs. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Orkney Springs.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Orkney Springs. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orkney Springs.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Orkney Springs. See our Newspapers Page for Orkney Springs.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Orkney Springs ...

Looking for more information about Orkney Springs? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Orkney Springs, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Orkney Springs.

Adding Orkney Springs to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Orkney Springs in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Orkney Springs was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Orkney Springs post office opened in 1853.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Orkney Springs.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Shenandoah, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Orkney Springs - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 540 code has been Overlayed with the 826 area code. New phone numbers in the Orkney Springs area will be assigned with one of these codes: 540 or 826. As a result, placing a call in the Orkney Springs area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Orkney Springs). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Orkney Springs or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/