RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Norfolk County >> Black Rock >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Black Rock, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Black Rock 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 Black Rock:
    • 42.243712, -70.828655
    • 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 Black Rock
  • 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 Norfolk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Norfolk County
    • Since Black Rock is near Plymouth County and also Suffolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Plymouth County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Suffolk 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 Black Rock

Communities Also Named Black Rock ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Black Rock.

Within Massachusetts, the name Black Rock is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, eleven are located in the United States and six are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Crenshaw County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Black Rock [Crenshaw County].
    • Arkansas
      • Lawrence County
      • This Black Rock is located in Lawrence County and lies 1,161 miles [1,868.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Black Rock.
    • Connecticut
      • Fairfield County
      • This Black Rock is located in Fairfield County and lies 144 miles [231.7 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Black Rock.
    • Indiana
      • Warren County
      • This Black Rock is located in Warren County and lies 852 miles [1,371.2 km]<2> to the west of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Black Rock.
    • Kentucky
      • Grayson County
      • This Black Rock is located in Grayson County and lies 885 miles [1,424.3 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grayson County community of Black Rock.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Maryland community of Black Rock [Baltimore County].
    • New Brunswick
      • This Black Rock lies 467 miles [751.6 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
    • New Mexico
      • McKinley County
      • This Black Rock is located in McKinley County and lies 2,087 miles [3,358.7 km]<2> to the west of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McKinley County community of Black Rock.
    • New York
      • Cayuga County
      • This Black Rock is located in Cayuga County and lies 298 miles [479.6 km]<2> to the west of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cayuga County community of Black Rock.
      • Erie County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Black Rock [Erie County].
    • Nova Scotia
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nova Scotia community of Black Rock.
    • Oregon
      • Polk County
      • This Black Rock is located in Polk County and lies 2,595 miles [4,176.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Black Rock that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Black Rock.
    • Utah
      • Millard County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Utah community of Black Rock [Millard County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Black Rock ...

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.

  • Accord
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Accord is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accord
  • Clapps Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Clapps Corner is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clapps Corner
  • Crow Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Crow Point is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Point
  • Egypt
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Egypt is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
  • Egypt Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Egypt Beach is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt Beach
  • Hull
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hull is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,484 people
  • Liberty Plain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Liberty Plain is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Plain
  • Lincoln Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lincoln Heights is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Heights
  • Reeds Corner
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Reeds Corner is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Corner
  • Sand Hills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sand Hills is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hills
  • Stony Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stony Beach is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Beach
  • Straits Pond
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Straits Pond is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straits Pond
  • Waveland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Waveland is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waveland

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

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

  • Dedham, which is the Seat of Norfolk County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Black Rock to Dedham, with an average speed<4> 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 14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest (NW). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take most of a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 399 miles [642.1 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,498 miles [8,848.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,204 miles [9,984.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,081 miles [6,567.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Black Rock 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.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Black Rock) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Black Rock, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Black Rock 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 Black Rock. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2437, Longitude: -70.8287       In this case, the coordinates for Black Rock have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 303.855 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.416 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.527 degrees.