RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Montgomery County >> University Place >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in University Place, we use the following websites to find information relevant to University Place 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 University Place:
    • 37.235684, -80.437274
    • 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 University Place
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since University Place is near Giles County and also Craig County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Giles County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Craig 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 University Place

Communities Also Named University Place ...

We found ten communities that are also named University Place.

Within Virginia, the name University Place is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This University Place is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 488 miles [785.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of University Place.
    • Iowa
      • Polk 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 Iowa community of University Place [Polk County].
    • Louisiana
      • Calcasieu Parish
      • This University Place is located in Calcasieu Parish and lies 880 miles [1,416.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calcasieu Parish community of University Place.
      • East Baton Rouge Parish
      • This University Place is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 770 miles [1,239.2 km] to the west southwest of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of University Place.
      • Tangipahoa Parish
      • This University Place is located in Tangipahoa Parish and lies 738 miles [1,187.7 km] to the southwest of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tangipahoa Parish community of University Place.
    • Montana
      • Lewis and Clark 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 Montana community of University Place [Lewis and Clark County].
    • Nebraska
      • Lancaster County
      • This University Place is located in Lancaster County and lies 903 miles [1,453.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lancaster County community of University Place.
    • North Carolina
      • Mecklenburg County
      • This University Place is located in Mecklenburg County and lies 134 miles [215.7 km]<1> to the south of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mecklenburg County community of University Place.
    • Utah
      • Weber County
      • This University Place is located in Weber County and lies 1,697 miles [2,731.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of University Place.
    • Washington
      • Pierce County
      • This University Place is located in Pierce County and lies 2,230 miles [3,588.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the University Place that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pierce County community of University Place.

Curious and Interesting Names Near University Place ...

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.

  • Airport Acres
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Airport Acres is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Acres
  • Cedar Orchard
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Orchard is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Orchard
  • Clover Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Clover Valley is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Valley
  • Evergreen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Evergreen is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
  • Hunters Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Hunters Ridge is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Ridge
  • Knob Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Knob Hill is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob Hill
  • Meadow Brook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Meadow Brook is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Brook
  • Meadow Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Meadow Run is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Run
  • Mission Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Mission Hills is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
  • Mountain View
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Mountain View is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
  • Murphy
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Murphy is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
  • Orchard View
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Orchard View is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard View
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Patrick Henry Place
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Patrick Henry Place is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick Henry Place
    • Pheasant Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Pheasant Run is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run
    • Pilgrims Pointe
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Pilgrims Pointe is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Pointe
    • Rainbow Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rainbow Ridge is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Ridge
    • Silver Leaf
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Silver Leaf is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Leaf
    • Stonegate
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Stonegate is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonegate
    • Sundance Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Sundance Ridge is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Ridge
    • Sundance Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
    • University Terrace
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • University Terrace is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Terrace

How Far From University Place to ...

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

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

  • Christiansburg, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies just to the South Southeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 166 miles [267.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from University Place to Richmond, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 217 miles [349.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,113 miles [9,837.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,820 miles [10,975.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,696 miles [7,557.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- University Place) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 University Place 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>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 University Place 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 University Place. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2357, Longitude: -80.4373       In this case, the coordinates for University Place have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.966 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.555 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.718 degrees.