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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Allentown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Allentown 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 Allentown:
    • 38.764810, -81.512623
    • 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 Allentown
  • 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 Roane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Roane County
    • Since Allentown is near Jackson County and also Wirt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wirt 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 Allentown

Communities Also Named Allentown ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Allentown.

Within West Virginia, the name Allentown is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Apache County
      • This Allentown is located in Apache County and lies 1,536 miles [2,472 km]<1> to the west of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Apache County community of Allentown.
    • Connecticut
      • Hartford County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Hartford County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hartford County community of Allentown.
      • Litchfield County
      • This Allentown is located in Litchfield County and lies 491 miles [790.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Litchfield County community of Allentown.
    • Florida
      • Santa Rosa County
      • This Allentown is located in Santa Rosa County and lies 635 miles [1,021.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Rosa County community of Allentown.
    • Georgia
      • Wilkinson County
      • This Allentown is located in Wilkinson County and lies 436 miles [701.7 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wilkinson County community of Allentown.
    • Illinois
      • Tazewell County
      • This Allentown is located in Tazewell County and lies 436 miles [701.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tazewell County community of Allentown.
    • Mississippi
      • Alcorn County
      • This Allentown is located in Alcorn County and lies 475 miles [764.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alcorn County community of Allentown.
    • Montana
      • Lake County
      • This Allentown is located in Lake County and lies 1,733 miles [2,789 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Allentown.
    • New Jersey
      • Monmouth County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Jersey community of Allentown [Monmouth County].
    • New York
      • Allegany County
      • This Allentown is located in Allegany County and lies 292 miles [469.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Allentown.
      • Saratoga County
      • This Allentown is located in Saratoga County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km] to the northeast of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saratoga County community of Allentown.
    • Ohio
      • Allen County
      • This Allentown is located in Allen County and lies 197 miles [317 km]<1> to the northwest of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allen County community of Allentown.
      • Clark County
      • This community is historic<2> 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 Allentown.
      • Fayette County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Allentown [Fayette County].
      • Scioto County
      • This Allentown is located in Scioto County and lies 72 miles [115.9 km] to the west of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scioto County community of Allentown.
    • Oregon
      • Josephine County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oregon community of Allentown [Josephine County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • This Allentown is located in Allegheny County and lies 140 miles [225.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegheny County community of Allentown.
      • Lehigh County
      • This Allentown is located in Lehigh County and lies 344 miles [553.6 km] to the east northeast of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lehigh County community of Allentown.
    • South Carolina
      • Georgetown County
      • This Allentown is located in Georgetown County and lies 374 miles [601.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Georgetown County community of Allentown.
    • Tennessee
      • Carter County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Allentown [Carter County].
    • Virginia
      • Accomack County
      • This Allentown is located in Accomack County and lies 324 miles [521.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Accomack County community of Allentown.
    • Washington
      • King County
      • This Allentown is located in King County and lies 2,113 miles [3,400.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Allentown that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Allentown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Allentown ...

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.

  • Buffalo ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
  • Clarence
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Clarence is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
  • Flatfork
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Flatfork is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatfork
  • Flint Town
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Flint Town is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Town
  • Gay
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Gay is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay
  • Geneva
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Geneva is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
  • Harmony
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Harmony is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
  • Jingo ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jingo is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jingo
  • Leo ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Leo is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo
  • Marshall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Marshall is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
  • Red Knob
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Red Knob is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Knob
  • Reedyville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Reedyville is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedyville

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

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

  • Spencer, which is the Seat of Roane County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Allentown to Spencer, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 29 miles [46.7 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 240 miles [386.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,090 miles [9,800.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,805 miles [10,951.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,680 miles [7,531.7 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- Allentown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Allentown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Allentown 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.
<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 Allentown 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 Allentown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7648, Longitude: -81.5126       In this case, the coordinates for Allentown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.579 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.481 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.677 degrees.