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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Shepherdstown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shepherdstown 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 Shepherdstown:
    • 39.431403, -77.807434
    • 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 Shepherdstown
  • 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Since Shepherdstown is near Washington County and also Berkeley County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Berkeley 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 Shepherdstown

Communities Also Named Shepherdstown ...

We found two communities that are also named Shepherdstown.

Within West Virginia, the name Shepherdstown is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ohio
      • Belmont County
      • This Shepherdstown is located in Belmont County and lies 173 miles [278.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Shepherdstown that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Belmont County community of Shepherdstown.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cumberland County
      • This Shepherdstown is located in Cumberland County and lies 67 miles [107.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Shepherdstown that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Shepherdstown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Shepherdstown ...

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.

  • Cedar Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Chestnut Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Chestnut Grove is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
  • Dogtown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dogtown is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
  • Files Crossroad
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Files Crossroad is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Files Crossroad
  • Flickersville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Flickersville is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flickersville
  • Heatherfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Heatherfield is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatherfield
  • Horse Shoe Bend
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Horse Shoe Bend is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Bend
  • Mount Pleasant
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Porterstown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Porterstown is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterstown
  • Red Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Red Hill is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
  • Rose Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Rose Hill is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
  • Scrabble
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Scrabble is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
  • Swan Pond
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Charles Town, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Shepherdstown to Charles Town, with an average speed<2> 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 218 miles [350.8 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 55 miles [88.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,907 miles [9,506.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,616 miles [10,647.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,492 miles [7,229.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- Shepherdstown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Shepherdstown 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 Shepherdstown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4314, Longitude: -77.8074    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.314 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.003 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.837 degrees.