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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sims, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sims 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 Sims:
    • 37.943450, -80.801757
    • 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 Sims
  • 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 Greenbrier County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Greenbrier County
    • Since Sims is near Fayette County and also Summers County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Summers 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 Sims

Communities Also Named Sims ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Sims.

Within West Virginia, the name Sims is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of fifteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these fifteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Mississippi 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 Sims [Mississippi County].
      • Montgomery County
      • This Sims is located in Montgomery County and lies 751 miles [1,208.6 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Sims.
    • California
      • Shasta County
      • This Sims is located in Shasta County and lies 2,203 miles [3,545.4 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shasta County community of Sims.
    • Georgia
      • Lowndes 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 Sims [Lowndes County].
    • Illinois
      • Wayne County
      • This Sims is located in Wayne County and lies 420 miles [675.9 km]<2> to the west of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Sims.
    • Indiana
      • Bartholomew 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 Indiana community of Sims [Bartholomew County].
      • Grant County
      • This Sims is located in Grant County and lies 322 miles [518.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Sims.
    • Mississippi
      • Attala 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 Mississippi community of Sims [Attala County].
    • Missouri
      • Butler 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 Missouri community of Sims [Butler County].
    • North Carolina
      • Wilson County
      • This Sims is located in Wilson County and lies 213 miles [342.8 km]<2> to the southeast of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wilson County community of Sims.
    • North Dakota
      • Morton County
      • This Sims is located in Morton County and lies 1,213 miles [1,952.1 km]<2> to the northwest of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morton County community of Sims.
    • Ontario
      • This Sims lies 964 miles [1,551.4 km]<2> to the northwest of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
    • South Carolina
      • Richland County
      • This Sims is located in Richland County and lies 275 miles [442.6 km]<2> to the south of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Sims.
    • Tennessee
      • Wayne 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 Tennessee community of Sims [Wayne County].
    • Texas
      • Brazos County
      • This Sims is located in Brazos County and lies 1,027 miles [1,652.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Sims that is located in Greenbrier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazos County community of Sims.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sims ...

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.

  • Beelick Knob
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Beelick Knob is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beelick Knob
  • Crag
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Crag is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crag
  • Dennis
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Dennis is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
  • Elton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Elton is located in Summers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
  • Farmdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Farmdale is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmdale
  • Honeydew ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Honeydew is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeydew
  • Lawn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Lawn is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn
  • Lilly Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Lilly Park is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly Park
  • Maplewood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Maplewood is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
  • Maywood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Maywood is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
  • Meadow Bridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
  • Orient Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
  • Ravenseye
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ravenseye is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenseye
  • Sturgeon Branch ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Sturgeon Branch is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgeon Branch

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

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

  • Lewisburg, which is the Seat of Greenbrier County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sims to Lewisburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 52 miles [83.7 km] to the west northwest (WNW). 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 214 miles [344.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,097 miles [9,812.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,807 miles [10,954.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,683 miles [7,536.6 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 Sims, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Sims) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Sims 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 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 Sims 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 Sims. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9434, Longitude: -80.8018       In this case, the coordinates for Sims have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.168 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.89 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.64 degrees.