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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Willis:
    • 36.868441, -82.114021
    • 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 Willis
  • 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 Russell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Russell County
    • Since Willis is near Washington County and also Letcher County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Letcher 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 Willis

Communities Also Named Willis ...

We found twenty communities that are also named Willis.

There is one other community in Virginia that is also named Willis.

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

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Floyd County
      • This Willis is located in Floyd County and lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<1> to the east of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Floyd County community of Willis.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Boone County
      • This Willis is located in Boone County and lies 603 miles [970.4 km]<1> to the west of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boone County community of Willis.
    • Florida
      • Calhoun County
      • This Willis is located in Calhoun County and lies 470 miles [756.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calhoun County community of Willis.
    • Georgia
      • Terrell 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 Georgia community of Willis [Terrell County].
    • Indiana
      • Knox County
      • This Willis is located in Knox County and lies 309 miles [497.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Willis.
    • Kansas
      • Brown County
      • This Willis is located in Brown County and lies 751 miles [1,208.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brown County community of Willis.
    • Louisiana
      • Washington Parish
      • This Willis is located in Washington Parish and lies 622 miles [1,001 km]<1> to the southwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington Parish community of Willis.
    • Michigan
      • Benzie 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 Michigan community of Willis [Benzie County].
      • Washtenaw County
      • This Willis is located in Washtenaw County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km]<1> to the north of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washtenaw County community of Willis.
    • Mississippi
      • Coahoma County
      • This Willis is located in Coahoma County and lies 522 miles [840.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coahoma County community of Willis.
    • Montana
      • Beaverhead 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 Willis [Beaverhead County].
      • Missoula County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Willis [Missoula County].
    • Nebraska
      • Dakota County
      • This Willis is located in Dakota County and lies 861 miles [1,385.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dakota County community of Willis.
    • Ohio
      • Clark County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Clark County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Willis.
    • Oklahoma
      • Marshall County
      • This Willis is located in Marshall County and lies 852 miles [1,371.2 km]<1> to the west of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Willis.
    • Tennessee
      • Hancock County
      • This Willis is located in Hancock County and lies 53 miles [85.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Willis.
      • Haywood County
      • This Willis is located in Haywood County and lies 410 miles [659.8 km] to the west of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Haywood County community of Willis.
      • Lawrence 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 Tennessee community of Willis [Lawrence County].
    • Texas
      • Montgomery County
      • This Willis is located in Montgomery County and lies 886 miles [1,425.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Willis that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Willis.
    • Washington
      • Adams 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 Washington community of Willis [Adams County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Willis ...

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.

  • Bolton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolton is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
  • Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Corner is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner
  • Counts
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Counts is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Counts
  • Craigs Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Craigs Mill is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Mill
  • Elk Garden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Elk Garden is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
  • Gravel Lick
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Gravel Lick is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Lick
  • Jessees Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
  • Parsonage
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Parsonage is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonage
  • Pondtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Pondtown is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondtown
  • Rockdell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Rockdell is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdell
  • Slabtown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Slabtown is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
  • Spring City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Spring City is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
  • Stone Bruise
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Stone Bruise is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bruise
  • Temple Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Temple Hill is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill

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

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

  • Lebanon, which is the Seat of Russell County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 261 miles [420 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Willis to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 15 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 310 miles [498.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,200 miles [9,977.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,909 miles [11,119 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,785 miles [7,700.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 from Point A (ie- Willis) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Willis 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>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 Willis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>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 Willis 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 Willis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8684, Longitude: -82.1140       In this case, the coordinates for Willis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.968 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.646 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.527 degrees.