RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Mercer County >> Algonquin >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Algonquin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Algonquin 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 Algonquin:
    • 37.452338, -81.299545
    • 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 Algonquin
  • 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mercer County
    • Since Algonquin is near Wyoming County and also McDowell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wyoming County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McDowell 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 Algonquin

Communities Also Named Algonquin ...

We found seven communities that are also named Algonquin.

Within West Virginia, the name Algonquin is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • McHenry County
      • This Algonquin is located in McHenry County and lies 493 miles [793.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Algonquin that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McHenry County community of Algonquin.
    • Maryland
      • Dorchester County
      • This Algonquin is located in Dorchester County and lies 293 miles [471.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Algonquin that is located in Mercer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dorchester County community of Algonquin.
    • Michigan
      • Chippewa 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 Algonquin [Chippewa County].
    • Missouri
      • Saint Louis 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 Missouri community of Algonquin [Saint Louis County].
    • New York
      • Franklin 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 New York community of Algonquin [Franklin County].
    • Ohio
      • Carroll 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 Ohio community of Algonquin [Carroll County].
    • Ontario
      • This Algonquin lies 579 miles [931.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Algonquin that is located in Mercer County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Algonquin ...

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.

  • Basin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Basin is located in Wyoming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basin
  • Bud
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bud is located in Wyoming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
  • Cherokee
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cherokee is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
  • Clark ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Clark is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
  • Coaldale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
  • Crumpler
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Crumpler is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumpler
  • Elkhorn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Flipping
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Flipping is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
  • Goodwill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Goodwill is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
  • Hiawatha
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Hiawatha is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiawatha
  • Kale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Kale is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kale
  • Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Smokeless
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Smokeless is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smokeless
    • Switchback
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Switchback is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switchback
    • Widemouth ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Widemouth is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widemouth
    • Worth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Worth is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worth

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<4> community of Algonquin once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Algonquin and extending to:

  • Princeton, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Algonquin to Princeton, 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.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 64 miles [103 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 251 miles [403.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,140 miles [9,881.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,849 miles [11,022.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,725 miles [7,604.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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- Algonquin) 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 Algonquin 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 Algonquin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Algonquin 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 Algonquin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4523, Longitude: -81.2995       In this case, the coordinates for Algonquin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.476 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.169 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.008 degrees.