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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sassafras, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sassafras 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 Sassafras:
    • 37.406810, -76.606621
    • 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 Sassafras
  • 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 Gloucester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gloucester County
    • Since Sassafras is near James City County and also York County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for James City County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York 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 Sassafras

Communities Also Named Sassafras ...

We found five communities that are also named Sassafras.

Within Virginia, the name Sassafras is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Arkansas County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Sassafras [Arkansas County].
    • Indiana
      • Perry County
      • This Sassafras is located in Perry County and lies 552 miles [888.4 km]<2> to the west of the Sassafras that is located in Gloucester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Perry County community of Sassafras.
    • Kentucky
      • Knott County
      • This Sassafras is located in Knott County and lies 354 miles [569.7 km]<2> to the west of the Sassafras that is located in Gloucester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knott County community of Sassafras.
    • Maryland
      • Kent County
      • This Sassafras is located in Kent County and lies 142 miles [228.5 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Sassafras that is located in Gloucester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Sassafras.
    • West Virginia
      • Mason County
      • This Sassafras is located in Mason County and lies 311 miles [500.5 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Sassafras that is located in Gloucester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mason County community of Sassafras.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sassafras ...

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.

  • Allmondsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Allmondsville is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allmondsville
  • Clay Bank
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Clay Bank is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Bank
  • Gum Fork
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gum Fork is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Fork
  • Hermitage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Hermitage is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
  • Hermitage Banks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Hermitage Banks is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage Banks
  • Money
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Money is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Money
  • Rosewell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Rosewell is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewell
  • Rosewell Harbor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Rosewell Harbor is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewell Harbor
  • Signpine
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Signpine is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Signpine
  • Valley Front ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Valley Front is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Front
  • Woods Crossroads
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Woods Crossroads is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Crossroads

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

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

  • Gloucester, which is the Seat of Gloucester County, lies just to the East.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 46 miles [74 km]<2> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Sassafras to Richmond, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 105 miles [169 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,942 miles [9,562.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,639 miles [10,684.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,519 miles [7,272.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Sassafras, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Sassafras) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Sassafras 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 Sassafras. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4068, Longitude: -76.6066       In this case, the coordinates for Sassafras have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.727 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.025 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.104 degrees.