Miscellaneous Information

Various Identification Codes ...

GNIS Codes ...

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) was created to address the problems caused by spelling and naming variations. The BGN will usually recognize an existing name or, when necessary, chose a name for a geographic feature (such as a mountain, lake, river, stream, city, town, village, dam, bridge, etc).

The BGN names are kept in a database called the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and it is the official Federal repository. The GNIS is operated and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A unique and permanent identifier has been assigned for each name in the GNIS database. These names and identifiers are definitive and it is intended that they are to be used by all departments of the Federal Government:

GNIS ID for Valley Mills: 1553336

GNIS ID for Wood County: 1560558

GNIS ID for West Virginia: 1779805

FIPS Codes ...

In a past effort, various federal agencies worked together to create a set of codes with a purpose similar to the GNIS codes. These codes are called the Federal Information Processing Standard (or the FIPS 55 codes). Although they are still used by some organizations, the FIPS codes are obsolete and will ultimately be replaced by the GNIS codes.

The following FIPS codes apply to Valley Mills:

Place (Community) Code:	82780
State Code:	54 (West Virginia)
County Code:	107 (Wood County)

Since the Place and County FIPS codes are not unique and can be repeated in other States, it's necessary to combine the State code with the Place and County FIPS codes to uniquely identify them - for example:

State/Place Code:	54/82780
State/County Code:	54/107

As already mentioned, the FIPS codes are to be replaced by the GNIS codes. The following reflect those changes:

	FIPS Code	translates to	GNIS Code
State of West Virginia:	54		1779805
Wood County:	54/107		1560558
Valley Mills:	54/82780		1553336

GPS Location - GNIS Coordinates ...

An important aspect of the GNIS code is that it assigns a GPS location (the latitude/longitude) to the geographic feature. This location is simply a point on the map and does not represent the size or shape of the feature. In the case of Valley Mills, it is a point within Valley Mills that might be a post office, the city hall or simply an intersection - the point should really be considered arbitrary and only indicating a general location.

For Valley Mills, the GNIS GPS location is given as:

Lat: 39° 19' 4" (or 39.32°)

Lon: -81° 26' 35" (or -81.44°)

Regional Codes ...

For statistical purposes, the US Census Bureau has divided the country into four Regions. Valley Mills is located in Region #3 (the South Region).

In turn, the US Census Bureau has further divided each Region into Divisions. Valley Mills is located in Division #5 (the South Atlantic Division).

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has created ten Federal Regions. Valley Mills is located in Region III (Region 3).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created ten Management Regions. Valley Mills is located in Region III (Region 3).

Referenced GNIS Records ...

GNIS ID #1553336 (Name of Record: Valley Mills)

Class: populated place

A place or area having clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent population (such as a city, settlement, town or village). The boundaries may or may not coincide with the perceived population.

A 'populated place' record may have a corresponding 'census' or 'civil' record. The information contained in the 'populated place' record applies only to the class and should not be confused with either the 'census' and 'civil' classes.

County: Wood

Map Name: Valley Mills

Lat: 39.3178527 Lon: -81.4431761

Elev: 219 ft.