RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Smiths Ferry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Smiths Ferry 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 Smiths Ferry:
    • 36.570152, -76.936350
    • 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 Smiths Ferry
  • 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 Smiths Ferry ...

We found twelve communities that share the name Smiths Ferry.

Within Virginia, the name Smiths Ferry is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Coosa County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Coosa County and lies 569 miles [915.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coosa County community of Smiths Ferry.
      • Greene County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Greene County and lies 686 miles [1,104 km] to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Arkansas
      • Garland County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Garland County and lies 917 miles [1,475.8 km]<1> to the west of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Garland County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • California
      • Fresno County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Fresno County and lies 2,337 miles [3,761 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fresno County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Idaho
      • Valley County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Valley County and lies 2,104 miles [3,386.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Kansas
      • Shawnee County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Shawnee County and lies 1,041 miles [1,675.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shawnee County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Hampden County and lies 455 miles [732.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Smiths Ferry.
      • Hampshire 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 Smiths Ferry [Hampshire County].
    • Mississippi
      • Warren County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Warren County and lies 834 miles [1,342.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Beaver County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Beaver County and lies 340 miles [547.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaver County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • South Carolina
      • Union County
      • This Smiths Ferry is located in Union County and lies 287 miles [461.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Smiths Ferry.
    • Texas
      • Tyler 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 Texas community of Smiths Ferry [Tyler County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Smiths Ferry ...

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.

  • Delaware
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delaware have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
    • Delaware is located in Southampton County
  • Delaware Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delaware Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware Park
    • Delaware Park is located in Southampton County
  • Factory Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Factory Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factory Hill
    • Factory Hill is located in Suffolk City
  • Franklin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Isaac
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Isaac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isaac
    • Isaac is located in Southampton County
  • Kingsdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsdale
    • Kingsdale is located in Southampton County
  • Lees Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lees Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Mill
    • Lees Mill is located in Isle of Wight County
  • Mill Neck
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Neck
    • Mill Neck is located in Hertford County (NC)
  • Oak Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Oak Grove is located in Suffolk City
  • Savages Crossroads
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savages Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savages Crossroads
    • Savages Crossroads is located in Gates County (NC)
  • Sunbeam
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
    • Sunbeam is located in Southampton County
  • Sweepstakes ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweepstakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweepstakes
    • Sweepstakes is located in Southampton County

How Far From Smiths Ferry to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Smiths Ferry to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Courtland, which is the Seat of Southampton County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Smiths Ferry to Courtland, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 72 miles [115.9 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 most of three days and walking would take 4 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 160 miles [257.5 km] to the north (N). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,992 miles [9,643.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,686 miles [10,760.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,567 miles [7,349.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Smiths Ferry. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Southampton County: www.southamptoncounty.org/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smiths Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smiths Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5702, Longitude: -76.9364       In this case, the coordinates for Smiths Ferry 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Smiths Ferry 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>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.
<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 Smiths Ferry to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.956 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.16 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.54 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025