RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Charlestown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Charlestown 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 Charlestown:
    • 42.378032, -71.059856
    • 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 Charlestown
  • 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 Charlestown ...

We found fifteen communities that share the name Charlestown.

Within Massachusetts, the name Charlestown is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Clark County
      • This Charlestown is located in Clark County and lies 813 miles [1,308.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Charlestown.
    • Kansas
      • Doniphan 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 Kansas community of Charlestown [Doniphan County].
    • Kentucky
      • Mason County
      • Although located in Mason County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mason County community of Charlestown.
    • Maryland
      • Allegany County
      • This Charlestown is located in Allegany County and lies 456 miles [733.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Charlestown.
      • Baltimore County
      • This Charlestown is located in Baltimore County and lies 364 miles [585.8 km] to the southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Charlestown.
      • Cecil County
      • This Charlestown is located in Cecil County and lies 321 miles [516.6 km] to the southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cecil County community of Charlestown.
    • Nebraska
      • York 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 Nebraska community of Charlestown [York County].
    • New Hampshire
      • Sullivan County
      • This Charlestown is located in Sullivan County and lies 91 miles [146.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Charlestown.
    • New Jersey
      • Hunterdon County
      • This Charlestown is located in Hunterdon County and lies 233 miles [375 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hunterdon County community of Charlestown.
    • Ohio
      • Portage County
      • This Charlestown is located in Portage County and lies 525 miles [844.9 km]<1> to the west of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Portage County community of Charlestown.
    • Oregon
      • Umatilla County
      • This Charlestown is located in Umatilla County and lies 2,366 miles [3,807.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Umatilla County community of Charlestown.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Armstrong County
      • This Charlestown is located in Armstrong County and lies 433 miles [696.8 km]<1> to the west of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Armstrong County community of Charlestown.
      • Chester County
      • This Charlestown is located in Chester County and lies 281 miles [452.2 km] to the west southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chester County community of Charlestown.
      • Franklin County
      • This Charlestown is located in Franklin County and lies 397 miles [638.9 km] to the west southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Charlestown.
    • Rhode Island
      • Washington County
      • This Charlestown is located in Washington County and lies 74 miles [119.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Charlestown that is located in Suffolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Charlestown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Charlestown ...

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.

  • Boston
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Cottage Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hill
    • Cottage Hill is located in Suffolk County
  • Cottage Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Park
    • Cottage Park is located in Suffolk County
  • Crescent Beach
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Beach
    • Crescent Beach is located in Suffolk County
  • Downtown Crossing
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downtown Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downtown Crossing
    • Downtown Crossing is located in Suffolk County
  • Everett
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Fells
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fells have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fells
    • Fells is located in Middlesex County
  • Fort Independence
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Independence
    • Fort Independence is located in Suffolk County
  • Grove Hall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Hall
    • Grove Hall is located in Suffolk County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Longwood Station
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood Station
      • Longwood Station is located in Norfolk County
    • Maplewood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maplewood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
      • Maplewood is located in Middlesex County
    • Meeting House Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meeting House Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeting House Hill
      • Meeting House Hill is located in Suffolk County
    • Oak Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Middlesex County
    • Strawberry Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Hill
      • Strawberry Hill is located in Middlesex County
    • Winter Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winter Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Hill
      • Winter Hill is located in Middlesex County

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

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

  • Boston, which is the Seat of Suffolk County, lies just to the South.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies just to the south (S).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 394 miles [634.1 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Charlestown to White House, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 23 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,503 miles [8,856.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,210 miles [9,994 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,086 miles [6,575.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Charlestown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Charlestown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Charlestown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3780, Longitude: -71.0599    
<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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Charlestown 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 Charlestown, 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 Charlestown 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 303.973 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.571 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.562 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025