Welcome to Ray ...
Ray is located in Pittsylvania County<1>.
The location of Ray has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Ray, you might consider that their post office opened in 1881.
Ray is 630 feet [192 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Ray lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Ray: (434)
Communities Also Named Ray ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 26 communities that are also named Ray - they are located in Alabama (2), Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky (2), Michigan (2), Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada (2), New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ray.
Communities near Ray ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ray.
- Altavista
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altavista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altavista
- Altavista is located in Campbell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,422 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altavista <4>
- Chatham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Hurt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
- Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <4>
- Brutus
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Markham
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
- Markham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Whittles
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Renan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renan
- Renan is located in Pittsylvania County
- Transco Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Transco Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
- Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
- Java
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Java
- Java is located in Pittsylvania County
- Pittsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
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 Ray. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ray.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ray. 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 Ray.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ray. See our Newspapers Page for Ray.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ray ...
Looking for more information about Ray? 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.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Ray, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Ray.
Adding Ray to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Ray 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 for Ray was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>
From that list, the Ray post office opened in 1881.
We also found Ray in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Ray.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ray. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Pittsylvania County: www.pittgov.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Pittsylvania, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ray - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |