Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thornton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thornton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thornton
- 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 Thornton:
- 39.345631, -79.941825
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Thornton
- 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 Taylor County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Taylor County
- Since Thornton is near Preston County and also Barbour County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Preston County
- eBird sighting report for Barbour 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Thornton ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Thornton.
Within West Virginia, the name Thornton is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 27 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Lauderdale County
- This Thornton is located in Lauderdale County and lies 513 miles [825.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Thornton that is located in Taylor County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lauderdale County community of Thornton.
- Tallapoosa County
- This Thornton is located in Tallapoosa County and lies 561 miles [902.8 km] to the southwest of the Thornton that is located in Taylor County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tallapoosa County community of Thornton.
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Kootenai County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Idaho community of Thornton [Kootenai County].
- Madison County
- This Thornton is located in Madison County and lies 1,665 miles [2,679.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Thornton that is located in Taylor County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Thornton.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Thornton lies 340 miles [547.2 km]<1> to the north of the Thornton that is located in Taylor County.
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thornton ...
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.
- Blueville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Cecil
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Cove Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Cove Run Station ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cove Run Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Run Station
- Cove Run Station is located in Barbour County
- Dent
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Elliotsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliotsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliotsville
- Elliotsville is located in Taylor County
- Fellowsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fellowsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowsville
- Fellowsville is located in Preston County
- Hardman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Hebron
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Hebron is located in Marion County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Independence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence is located in Preston County
- Knottsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
- Knottsville is located in Taylor County
- Maple Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Sandy ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Scotch Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotch Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotch Hill
- Scotch Hill is located in Preston County
- Stone House ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone House have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
- Stone House is located in Taylor County
- Independence
How Far From Thornton 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 Thornton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Thornton and extending to:
- Grafton, which is the Seat of Taylor County, lies just to the West.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 113 miles [181.9 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Thornton to Charleston, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 158 miles [254.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,999 miles [9,654.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,713 miles [10,803.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,589 miles [7,385.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thornton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thornton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thornton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3456, Longitude: -79.9418 |
| <2> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Thornton 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. |
| <3> | 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 Thornton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <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 Thornton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.604 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.457 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.794 degrees. |