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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Westerman, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Westerman 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 Westerman:
    • 39.355926, -79.933128
    • 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 Westerman
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Taylor County
    • Since Westerman is near Preston County and also Barbour County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Preston County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Westerman

Curious and Interesting Names Near Westerman ...

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)
    • Blueville is located in Taylor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blueville
  • Cecil
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cecil is located in Taylor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
  • Chestnut Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Chestnut Ridge is located in Monongalia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Ridge
  • Cove Run
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cove Run is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Run
  • Cove Run Station ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cove Run Station is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Run Station
  • Dent
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Dent is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dent
  • Elliotsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Elliotsville is located in Taylor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliotsville
  • Fellowsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Fellowsville is located in Preston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowsville
  • Hardman
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hardman is located in Preston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardman
  • Hebron
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hebron is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
  • Independence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Independence is located in Preston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
  • Israel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Israel is located in Preston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Israel
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Knottsville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Knottsville is located in Taylor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
    • Maple Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Maple Run is located in Taylor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Run
    • Sandy ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Sandy is located in Taylor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
    • Scotch Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Scotch Hill is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotch Hill
    • Stone House ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Stone House is located in Taylor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone House
    • Threefork Bridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Threefork Bridge is located in Preston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Threefork Bridge

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<1> community of Westerman once stood, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Westerman and extending to:

  • Grafton, which is the Seat of Taylor County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 114 miles [183.5 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Westerman to Charleston, with an average speed<3>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<4> 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).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,712 miles [10,801.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,588 miles [7,383.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 Westerman, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Westerman) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Westerman 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 Westerman. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3559, Longitude: -79.9331       In this case, the coordinates for Westerman have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.599 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.452 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.786 degrees.