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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Neal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Neal 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 Neal:
    • 38.356749, -82.592936
    • 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 Neal
  • 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 Wayne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne County
    • Since Neal is near Boyd County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Boyd County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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 Neal

Communities Also Named Neal ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Neal.

Within West Virginia, the name Neal is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Sebastian 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 Arkansas community of Neal [Sebastian County].
    • California
      • Santa Clara County
      • This Neal is located in Santa Clara County and lies 2,139 miles [3,442.4 km]<2> to the west of the Neal that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Clara County community of Neal.
    • Georgia
      • Houston County
      • This Neal is located in Houston County and lies 414 miles [666.3 km]<2> to the south of the Neal that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Houston County community of Neal.
      • Pike County
      • This Neal is located in Pike County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km] to the south southwest of the Neal that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Neal.
    • Idaho
      • Ada 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 Idaho community of Neal [Ada County].
    • Illinois
      • Cumberland County
      • This Neal is located in Cumberland County and lies 315 miles [506.9 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Neal that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Neal.
    • Kansas
      • Greenwood County
      • This Neal is located in Greenwood County and lies 733 miles [1,179.6 km]<2> to the west of the Neal that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenwood County community of Neal.
    • Michigan
      • Grand Traverse 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 Michigan community of Neal [Grand Traverse County].
    • North Carolina
      • Halifax 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 North Carolina community of Neal [Halifax County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Pottawatomie County
      • This Neal is located in Pottawatomie County and lies 810 miles [1,303.6 km]<2> to the west of the Neal that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pottawatomie County community of Neal.
    • South Carolina
      • Anderson 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 South Carolina community of Neal [Anderson County].
    • Tennessee
      • Pickett 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 Tennessee community of Neal [Pickett County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Neal ...

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.

  • Big Sandy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Sandy is located in Boyd County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
  • Big Sandy Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Big Sandy Junction is located in Boyd County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy Junction
  • Buffalo Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo Creek is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Creek
  • Cannonsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cannonsburg is located in Boyd County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannonsburg
  • Clearview
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Clearview is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearview
  • Durbin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Durbin is located in Boyd County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durbin
  • Glenroy
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Glenroy is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenroy
  • Lincoln Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lincoln Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
  • Lockdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lockdale is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockdale
  • Meadow Haven
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Meadow Haven is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Haven
  • Normal
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Normal is located in Boyd County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normal
  • Savage Branch
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Savage Branch is located in Boyd County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Branch
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Shoals
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Shoals is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
    • Spring Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Valley is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Sweet Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Sweet Run is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Run
    • Walnut Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Walnut Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Park
    • Willowvale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Willowvale is located in Lawrence County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowvale

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

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

  • Wayne, which is the Seat of Wayne County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Neal to Wayne, with an average speed<4> 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 52 miles [83.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 302 miles [486 km] to the east (E). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,152 miles [9,900.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,869 miles [11,054.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,744 miles [7,634.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 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 Neal 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Neal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Neal, 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 Neal 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 Neal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3567, Longitude: -82.5929       In this case, the coordinates for Neal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.247 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.183 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.278 degrees.