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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Spotsylvania Courthouse, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spotsylvania Courthouse and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
    • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
    • The National Weather Service forecast for Spotsylvania Courthouse
  • 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 Spotsylvania Courthouse:
    • 38.202041, -77.590597
    • 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 Spotsylvania Courthouse
  • 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 Spotsylvania County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Spotsylvania County
    • Since Spotsylvania Courthouse is near Caroline County and also Fredericksburg City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Caroline County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fredericksburg City
  • 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 Spotsylvania Courthouse

Curious and Interesting Names Near Spotsylvania Courthouse ...

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.

  • Carters Store
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Carters Store is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Store
  • Chancellor
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Chancellor is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor
  • Chancellorsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Chancellorsville is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellorsville
  • Cottage Green
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cottage Green is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Green
  • Five Mile Fork
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Five Mile Fork is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Mile Fork
  • Fourmile Fork
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fourmile Fork is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmile Fork
  • Hams Ford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Hams Ford is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hams Ford
  • Hazel Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hazel Grove is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Grove
  • Margo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Mount Pleasant
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Old Trap
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Trap is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Trap
  • Olivers Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Olivers Corner is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivers Corner
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Spotsylvania Courthouse and extending to:

  • Spotsylvania, which is the Seat of Spotsylvania County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 46 miles [74 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Spotsylvania Courthouse to Richmond, with an average speed<2> 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 56 miles [90.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,951 miles [9,577.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,654 miles [10,708.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,531 miles [7,291.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Spotsylvania Courthouse) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Spotsylvania Courthouse 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 Spotsylvania Courthouse. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2020, Longitude: -77.5906    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.255 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.748 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.208 degrees.