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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Peterson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Peterson 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 Peterson:
    • 38.892874, -80.539536
    • 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 Peterson
  • 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 Lewis County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lewis County
    • Since Peterson is near Braxton County and also Gilmer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Braxton County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gilmer 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 Peterson

Communities Also Named Peterson ...

We found 21 communities that are also named Peterson.

Within West Virginia, the name Peterson is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of 21 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, eighteen are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 547 miles [880.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Peterson.
    • Arizona
      • Maricopa 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 Arizona community of Peterson [Maricopa County].
    • British Columbia
      • This Peterson lies 2,068 miles [3,328.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
    • Florida
      • Lafayette County
      • This Peterson is located in Lafayette County and lies 626 miles [1,007.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafayette County community of Peterson.
    • Georgia
      • Montgomery 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 Georgia community of Peterson [Montgomery County].
    • Idaho
      • Bingham 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 Idaho community of Peterson [Bingham County].
    • Indiana
      • Adams County
      • This Peterson is located in Adams County and lies 271 miles [436.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Peterson.
    • Iowa
      • Clay County
      • This Peterson is located in Clay County and lies 819 miles [1,318.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Peterson.
    • Kansas
      • Finney County
      • This Peterson is located in Finney County and lies 1,109 miles [1,784.8 km]<1> to the west of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Finney County community of Peterson.
    • Michigan
      • Alger 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 Michigan community of Peterson [Alger County].
    • Minnesota
      • Fillmore County
      • This Peterson is located in Fillmore County and lies 675 miles [1,086.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fillmore County community of Peterson.
    • North Carolina
      • Mitchell County
      • This Peterson is located in Mitchell County and lies 220 miles [354.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mitchell County community of Peterson.
    • North Dakota
      • Cass 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 North Dakota community of Peterson [Cass County].
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Peterson.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny 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 Pennsylvania community of Peterson [Allegheny County].
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Peterson lies 1,511 miles [2,431.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
    • Texas
      • Jefferson 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 Texas community of Peterson [Jefferson County].
    • Utah
      • Morgan County
      • This Peterson is located in Morgan County and lies 1,649 miles [2,653.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Peterson.
      • Weber County
      • This Peterson is located in Weber County and lies 1,662 miles [2,674.7 km] to the west northwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Peterson.
    • Virginia
      • Scott County
      • This Peterson is located in Scott County and lies 193 miles [310.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Peterson that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Peterson.
    • Washington
      • Grays Harbor 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 Washington community of Peterson [Grays Harbor County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Peterson ...

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.

  • Arnold
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Arnold is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
  • Bower
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Bower is located in Braxton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
  • Bulltown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bulltown is located in Braxton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
  • Dutch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dutch is located in Braxton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch
  • Falls Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
  • Gem
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Gem is located in Braxton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem
  • Georgetown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Georgetown is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
  • Homewood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Homewood is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
  • Ireland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jewell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jewell is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
  • Joppa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Joppa is located in Braxton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
  • Orlando
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Orlando is located in Braxton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
  • Walkersville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Walkersville is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkersville

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

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

  • Weston, which is the Seat of Lewis County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Peterson to Weston, with an average speed<5> 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 69 miles [111 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 188 miles [302.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,044 miles [9,726.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,758 miles [10,875.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,633 miles [7,456.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Peterson) 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 Peterson, 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Peterson 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Peterson 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 Peterson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8929, Longitude: -80.5395       In this case, the coordinates for Peterson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.984 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.821 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.211 degrees.