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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Skidmore, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Skidmore 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 Skidmore:
    • 38.760642, -81.645961
    • 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 Skidmore
  • 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson County
    • Since Skidmore is near Roane County and also Putnam County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Roane County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Putnam 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 Skidmore

Communities Also Named Skidmore ...

We found ten communities that are also named Skidmore.

There is one other community in West Virginia that is also named Skidmore.

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

  • Communities Located In West Virginia ...
    • Barbour 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 West Virginia community of Skidmore [Barbour County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kansas
      • Cherokee County
      • This Skidmore is located in Cherokee County and lies 724 miles [1,165.2 km]<2> to the west of the Skidmore that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cherokee County community of Skidmore.
      • Ford 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 Kansas community of Skidmore [Ford County].
      • Meade County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Meade County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meade County community of Skidmore.
    • Kentucky
      • Clay 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 Kentucky community of Skidmore [Clay County].
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Skidmore is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 281 miles [452.2 km]<2> to the east of the Skidmore that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Skidmore.
    • Michigan
      • Dickinson County
      • This Skidmore is located in Dickinson County and lies 585 miles [941.5 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Skidmore that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickinson County community of Skidmore.
    • Missouri
      • Nodaway County
      • This Skidmore is located in Nodaway County and lies 722 miles [1,161.9 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Skidmore that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nodaway County community of Skidmore.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lawrence 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 Skidmore [Lawrence County].
    • Texas
      • Bee County
      • This Skidmore is located in Bee County and lies 1,171 miles [1,884.5 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Skidmore that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bee County community of Skidmore.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Skidmore ...

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.

  • Buffalo ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
  • Clarence
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Clarence is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
  • Danstown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Danstown is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danstown
  • Edgar ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgar is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
  • Evans
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Evans is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
  • Fairplain
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Fairplain is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplain
  • Flatfork
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Flatfork is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatfork
  • Flint Town
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Flint Town is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Town
  • Gay
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Gay is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay
  • Geneva
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Geneva is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
  • Marshall
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Marshall is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
  • Mentor ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Mentor is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Parchment Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Parchment Valley is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parchment Valley
    • Plum Orchard
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Plum Orchard is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Orchard
    • Red Knob
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Red Knob is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Knob
    • Salt Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Salt Hill is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Hill
    • Young
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Young is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young

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

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

  • Ripley, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Skidmore to Charleston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 248 miles [399.1 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,095 miles [9,809 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,811 miles [10,961.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,686 miles [7,541.4 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 Skidmore, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Skidmore) 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Skidmore 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 Skidmore 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 Skidmore. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7606, Longitude: -81.6460       In this case, the coordinates for Skidmore have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.661 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.573 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.736 degrees.