Miscellaneous Information

Various Identification Codes ...

GNIS Codes ...

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) was created to address the problems caused by spelling and naming variations. The BGN will usually recognize an existing name or, when necessary, chose a name for a geographic feature (such as a mountain, lake, river, stream, city, town, village, dam, bridge, etc).

The BGN names are kept in a database called the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and it is the official Federal repository. The GNIS is operated and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A unique and permanent identifier has been assigned for each name in the GNIS database. These names and identifiers are definitive and it is intended that they are to be used by all departments of the Federal Government:

GNIS ID for Spotsylvania Courthouse: 1867599

GNIS ID for Spotsylvania County: 1480172

GNIS ID for Virginia: 1779803

FIPS Codes ...

In a past effort, various federal agencies created a set of codes with a purpose similar to the GNIS codes. These codes are called the Federal Information Processing Standard (or the FIPS 55 codes). Although they are still used by some organizations, the FIPS codes are obsolete and will ultimately be replaced by the GNIS codes.

The following FIPS codes apply to Spotsylvania Courthouse:

Place (Community) Code:	74470
State Code:	51 (Virginia)
County Code:	177 (Spotsylvania County)

Since the Place and County FIPS codes are not unique and can be repeated in other States, it's necessary to combine the State code with the Place and County FIPS codes to uniquely identify them - for example:

State/Place Code:	51/74470
State/County Code:	51/177

As already mentioned, the FIPS codes are to be replaced by the GNIS codes. The following reflect those changes:

	FIPS Code	translates to	GNIS Code
State of Virginia:	51		1779803
Spotsylvania County:	51/177		1480172
Spotsylvania Courthouse:	51/74470		1867599

GPS Location - GNIS Coordinates ...

An important aspect of the GNIS code is that it assigns a GPS location (the latitude/longitude) to the geographic feature. This location is simply a point on the map and does not represent the size or shape of the feature. In the case of Spotsylvania Courthouse, it is a point within Spotsylvania Courthouse that might be a post office, the city hall or simply an intersection - the point should really be considered arbitrary and only indicating a general location.

For Spotsylvania Courthouse, the GNIS GPS location is given as:

Lat: 38° 11' 52" (or 38.2°)

Lon: -77° 35' 15" (or -77.59°)

Regional Codes ...

For statistical purposes, the US Census Bureau has divided the country into four Regions. Spotsylvania Courthouse is located in Region #3 (the South Region).

In turn, the US Census Bureau has further divided each Region into Divisions. Spotsylvania Courthouse is located in Division #5 (the South Atlantic Division).

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has created ten Federal Regions. Spotsylvania Courthouse is located in Region III (Region 3).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created ten Management Regions. Spotsylvania Courthouse is located in Region III (Region 3).

Referenced GNIS Records ...

GNIS ID #1867599 (Name of Record: Spotsylvania Courthouse)

Class: populated place

A place or area having clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent population (such as a city, settlement, town or village). The boundaries may or may not coincide with the perceived population.

A 'populated place' record may have a corresponding 'census' or 'civil' record. The information contained in the 'populated place' record applies only to the class and should not be confused with either the 'census' and 'civil' classes.

County: Spotsylvania

Map Name: Spotsylvania

Lat: 38.1979096 Lon: -77.5877652

Elev: 90 ft.