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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sassafras, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sassafras 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 Sassafras:
    • 38.934280, -82.012993
    • 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 Sassafras
  • 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 Mason County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mason County
    • Since Sassafras is near Meigs County and also Gallia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Meigs County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gallia 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 Sassafras

Communities Also Named Sassafras ...

We found five communities that are also named Sassafras.

Within West Virginia, the name Sassafras is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Arkansas County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Sassafras [Arkansas County].
    • Indiana
      • Perry County
      • This Sassafras is located in Perry County and lies 257 miles [413.6 km]<2> to the west of the Sassafras that is located in Mason County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Perry County community of Sassafras.
    • Kentucky
      • Knott County
      • This Sassafras is located in Knott County and lies 131 miles [210.8 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Sassafras that is located in Mason County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knott County community of Sassafras.
    • Maryland
      • Kent County
      • This Sassafras is located in Kent County and lies 333 miles [535.9 km]<2> to the east of the Sassafras that is located in Mason County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Sassafras.
    • Virginia
      • Gloucester County
      • This Sassafras is located in Gloucester County and lies 311 miles [500.5 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Sassafras that is located in Mason County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gloucester County community of Sassafras.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sassafras ...

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.

  • Antiquity
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Antiquity is located in Meigs County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antiquity
  • Board
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Board is located in Mason County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Board
  • Dutchtown ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Dutchtown is located in Meigs County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
  • Flatrock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Lincoln Heights
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lincoln Heights is located in Meigs County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Heights
  • Longdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Longdale is located in Mason County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longdale
  • Maggie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Maggie is located in Mason County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maggie
  • Mason
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Meadowbrook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Minersville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Minersville is located in Meigs County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minersville
  • Oakgrove ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakgrove is located in Meigs County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakgrove
  • Pike Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pike Hill is located in Mason County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike Hill
  • Plants
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Silver Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Run is located in Meigs County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run

How Far From Sassafras to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sassafras to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Point Pleasant, which is the Seat of Mason County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Sassafras to Charleston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 267 miles [429.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,102 miles [9,820.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,820 miles [10,975.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,695 miles [7,555.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Sassafras, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sassafras) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Sassafras 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 Sassafras. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9343, Longitude: -82.0130    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.882 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.851 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.841 degrees.