Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Acton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Acton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Acton
- 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 Acton:
- 42.485093, -71.432840
- 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 Acton
- 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 Middlesex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- Since Acton is near Worcester County and also Norfolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- eBird sighting report for Norfolk 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 Acton ...
We found 24 communities that share the name Acton.
Within Massachusetts, the name Acton is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, nineteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
In addition to the above occurrences of Acton, we know of three communities located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Jefferson County
- This Acton is located in Jefferson County and lies 1,039 miles [1,672.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Acton that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Acton.
- Shelby County
- This Acton is located in Shelby County and lies 1,045 miles [1,681.8 km] to the west southwest of the Acton that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of Acton.
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Brunswick
- This Acton lies 315 miles [506.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Acton that is located in Middlesex County.
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Acton lies 441 miles [709.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Acton that is located in Middlesex County.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Alabama
- Communities Beyond North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Acton ...
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.
- Forge Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Village
- Forge Village is located in Middlesex County
- Graniteville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graniteville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Graniteville is located in Middlesex County
- Harvard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
- Harvard is located in Worcester County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
- Harvard Station
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvard Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Station
- Harvard Station is located in Worcester County
- Kelly Corner
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelly Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly Corner
- Kelly Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Lincoln
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Littleton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Littleton Common
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Common
- Littleton Common is located in Middlesex County
- Pine Rest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Plain
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Shaker Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
- Willows
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Acton 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 Acton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Acton and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Acton to Cambridge, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 20 miles [32.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 383 miles [616.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,515 miles [8,875.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,223 miles [10,014.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,099 miles [6,596.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Acton: www.town.acton.ma.us/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Acton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Acton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4851, Longitude: -71.4328 In this case, the coordinates for Acton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Acton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 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 Acton 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> | 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 Acton 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 304.181 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.823 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.675 degrees. |