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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Joy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Joy 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 Joy:
    • 39.232860, -80.878718
    • 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 Joy
  • 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 Doddridge County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Doddridge County
    • Since Joy is near Ritchie County and also Tyler County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ritchie County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tyler 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 Joy

Communities Also Named Joy ...

We found 23 communities that are also named Joy.

Within West Virginia, the name Joy is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of 23 communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Blount County
      • This Joy is located in Blount County and lies 479 miles [770.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Blount County community of Joy.
    • Arkansas
      • White County
      • This Joy is located in White County and lies 666 miles [1,071.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Joy.
    • Illinois
      • Mercer County
      • This Joy is located in Mercer County and lies 544 miles [875.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mercer County community of Joy.
    • Kansas
      • Kiowa County
      • This Joy is located in Kiowa County and lies 1,006 miles [1,619 km]<1> to the west of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kiowa County community of Joy.
      • Lyon 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 Kansas community of Joy [Lyon County].
    • Kentucky
      • Livingston County
      • This Joy is located in Livingston County and lies 426 miles [685.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Joy.
      • Perry 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 Kentucky community of Joy [Perry County].
    • Michigan
      • Charlevoix 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 Joy [Charlevoix County].
    • Minnesota
      • Douglas 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 Minnesota community of Joy [Douglas County].
    • Missouri
      • Dent County
      • This Joy is located in Dent County and lies 595 miles [957.6 km]<1> to the west of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dent County community of Joy.
    • Nebraska
      • Holt County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Holt County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holt County community of Joy.
    • Nevada
      • White Pine County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Joy [White Pine County].
    • New York
      • Wayne County
      • This Joy is located in Wayne County and lies 336 miles [540.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Joy.
    • North Carolina
      • Burke 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 North Carolina community of Joy [Burke County].
    • Ohio
      • Morgan County
      • This Joy is located in Morgan County and lies 59 miles [95 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Joy.
    • Oklahoma
      • Murray County
      • This Joy is located in Murray County and lies 951 miles [1,530.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Murray County community of Joy.
      • Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma community of Joy [Oklahoma County].
    • Oregon
      • Wallowa 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 Oregon community of Joy [Wallowa County].
    • South Carolina
      • Horry County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Joy [Horry County].
    • Texas
      • Clay County
      • This Joy is located in Clay County and lies 1,037 miles [1,668.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Joy that is located in Doddridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Joy.
      • Smith 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 Texas community of Joy [Smith County].
    • Utah
      • Juab County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Utah community of Joy [Juab County].
    • Washington
      • Lewis 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 Joy [Lewis County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Joy ...

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.

  • Admiral ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Admiral is located in Ritchie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admiral
  • Deep Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Deep Valley is located in Tyler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Valley
  • Duckworth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Duckworth is located in Doddridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckworth
  • Five Forks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Five Forks is located in Ritchie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
  • Greenwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Greenwood is located in Doddridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
  • Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Grove is located in Doddridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
  • Middle Point
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Middle Point is located in Doddridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Point
  • Riddle ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Riddle is located in Ritchie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddle
  • Slab
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Slab is located in Ritchie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab
  • Stanley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Stanley is located in Ritchie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
  • Star Settlement ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Star Settlement is located in Ritchie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Settlement
  • Toll Gate
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Toll Gate is located in Ritchie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toll Gate

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

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

  • West Union, which is the Seat of Doddridge County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 73 miles [117.5 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Joy to Charleston, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 207 miles [333.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,043 miles [9,725.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,758 miles [10,875.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,634 miles [7,457.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Joy) 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 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 Joy 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 Joy, 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 Joy 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 Joy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2329, Longitude: -80.8787       In this case, the coordinates for Joy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.179 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.095 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.243 degrees.