Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Francis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Francis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Francis
- 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 Francis:
- 39.408142, -80.244807
- 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 Francis
- 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 Harrison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Harrison County
- Since Francis is near Marion County and also Taylor County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marion County
- eBird sighting report for Taylor 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Francis ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Francis.
There is one other community in West Virginia which is also named Francis.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another 22 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, 22 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In West Virginia ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Calhoun County
- This Francis is located in Calhoun County and lies 504 miles [811.1 km]<2> to the southwest of the Francis that is located in Harrison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calhoun County community of Francis.
- Saint Clair 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 Alabama community of Francis [Saint Clair County].
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Francis is located in Hillsborough County and lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km]<2> to the south of the Francis that is located in Harrison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Francis.
- Putnam County
- This Francis is located in Putnam County and lies 679 miles [1,092.7 km] to the south of the Francis that is located in Harrison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Francis.
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Audrain 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 Missouri community of Francis [Audrain County].
- Pulaski 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 Missouri community of Francis [Pulaski County].
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Eddy County
- Although located in Eddy County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Eddy County community of Francis.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Francis lies 1,364 miles [2,195.1 km]<2> to the northwest of the Francis that is located in Harrison County.
- Texas
- Utah
- Wyoming
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Francis ...
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.
- Allied
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Boothsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boothsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boothsville
- Boothsville is located in Marion County
- Dixie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Enterprise
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Harrison County
- Gypsy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Helens Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helens Run
- Helens Run is located in Marion County
- Highland
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Hillview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Killarm
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Long Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Oak Grove ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Saltwell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Wahoo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
How Far From Francis 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 Francis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Francis and extending to:
- Clarksburg, which is the Seat of Harrison County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Francis to Clarksburg, with an average speed<5> 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 104 miles [167.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 175 miles [281.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,009 miles [9,670.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,724 miles [10,821.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,599 miles [7,401.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Francis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Harrison County: www.harrisoncountywv.com/
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 Francis 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- Francis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Francis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4081, Longitude: -80.2448 In this case, the coordinates for Francis 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 Francis, 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 Francis 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 309.786 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.673 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.904 degrees. |