RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
West Virginia


The Commemorative Quarter for West Virginia







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Billings, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Billings 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 Billings:
    • 38.857308, -81.403732
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Billings
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Billings ...

We found twelve communities that share the name Billings.

Within West Virginia, the name Billings is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, eight are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

In addition to the above occurrences of Billings, we know of two communities located outside of the United States and Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Apache County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arizona community of Billings [Apache County].
    • British Columbia
      • This Billings lies 1,938 miles [3,118.9 km]<2> to the northwest of the Billings that is located in Roane County.
    • Michigan
      • Gladwin County
      • This Billings is located in Gladwin County and lies 376 miles [605.1 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Billings that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gladwin County community of Billings.
    • Missouri
      • Christian County
      • This Billings is located in Christian County and lies 672 miles [1,081.5 km]<2> to the west of the Billings that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Christian County community of Billings.
    • Montana
      • Yellowstone County
      • This Billings is located in Yellowstone County and lies 1,456 miles [2,343.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Billings that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yellowstone County community of Billings.
    • New Mexico
      • Socorro County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Mexico community of Billings [Socorro County].
    • New York
      • Dutchess County
      • This Billings is located in Dutchess County and lies 446 miles [717.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Billings that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dutchess County community of Billings.
    • Ohio
      • Noble County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Noble County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Noble County community of Billings.
    • Oklahoma
      • Noble County
      • This Billings is located in Noble County and lies 889 miles [1,430.7 km]<2> to the west of the Billings that is located in Roane County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Noble County community of Billings.
    • Ontario
      • This Billings lies 484 miles [778.9 km]<2> to the north of the Billings that is located in Roane County.
  • Communities Beyond North America ...
    • Germany
      • Distance: 4,246 miles [6,833.3 km]<2> to the northeast
    • Russia
      • Distance: 4,006 miles [6,447 km]<2> to the north northwest

Curious and Interesting Names Near Billings ...

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.

  • Beaverdam
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverdam have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdam
    • Beaverdam is located in Wirt County
  • Dukes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dukes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dukes
    • Dukes is located in Roane County
  • Grace
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
    • Grace is located in Roane County
  • Green Acres
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
    • Green Acres is located in Roane County
  • Leaning Oak
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaning Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaning Oak
    • Leaning Oak is located in Roane County
  • Nancy Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nancy Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancy Run
    • Nancy Run is located in Roane County
  • Quiet Vale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quiet Vale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Vale
    • Quiet Vale is located in Roane County
  • Reedy
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedy have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy
    • Reedy is located in Roane County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
  • Reedyville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedyville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedyville
    • Reedyville is located in Roane County
  • Seaman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seaman have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaman
    • Seaman is located in Roane County
  • Sunflower
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunflower have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunflower
    • Sunflower is located in Roane County

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

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

  • Spencer, which is the Seat of Roane County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 37 miles [59.5 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Billings to Charleston, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 234 miles [376.6 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,081 miles [9,786.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,796 miles [10,937.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,672 miles [7,518.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Billings. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Billings 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.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Billings) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Billings. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8573, Longitude: -81.4037       In this case, the coordinates for Billings have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Billings, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 Billings to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.511 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.416 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.599 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024