Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Countryside (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Countryside. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Countryside is located in Middlesex County .
To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries .
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Middlesex County : Essex , Norfolk , Suffolk , Worcester & Hillsborough (NH) .
Below are the counties that are near Countryside. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Countryside:
Middlesex County (The home county of Countryside)
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Arlington Heights (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Arlington Heights is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights East Lexington (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
East Lexington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington Lexington (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Lexington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Population from the 2020 Census: 33,003 people
Winchester (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Winchester is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester Population from the 2020 Census: 22,678 people
Cummingsville (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Cummingsville is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummingsville Arlington (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Arlington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Population from the 2020 Census: 45,169 people
Winnmere (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Winnmere is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnmere Woburn (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Woburn is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woburn Population from the 2020 Census: 40,135 people
Belmont (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Belmont is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Population from the 2020 Census: 25,873 people
Waverley (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Waverley is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverley West Medford (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
West Medford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Medford Medford (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
Medford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Population from the 2020 Census: 60,847 people
Burlington (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Burlington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington Population from the 2020 Census: 28,432 people
Bristol County
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
North Easton (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
North Easton is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton South Easton (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
South Easton is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton East Mansfield (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
East Mansfield is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Mansfield Easton Center (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
Easton Center is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton Center Easton (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
Easton is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
Mansfield (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
Mansfield is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield Population from the 2020 Census: 24,539 people
Furnace Village (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
Furnace Village is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village Essex County
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Cliftondale (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Cliftondale is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliftondale Pleasant Hills (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Pleasant Hills is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills Saugus (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Saugus is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugus Population from the 2020 Census: 28,542 people
West Lynn (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
West Lynn is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lynn Lynnfield (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
Lynnfield is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnfield Population from the 2020 Census: 13,040 people
Lynn (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
Lynn is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Population from the 2020 Census: 94,539 people
Lowell Junction (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
Lowell Junction is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell Junction West Peabody (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
West Peabody is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peabody East Lynn (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
East Lynn is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn Haggetts (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Haggetts is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts Brigadoon Village (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Brigadoon Village is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon Village Middleton (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Middleton is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton Population from the 2020 Census: 10,107 people
Howe (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
Howe is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe Norfolk County
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Brookline Village (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village Brookline (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Brookline is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Population from the 2020 Census: 59,022 people
Wellesley Farms (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms Wellesley (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
Wellesley is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Population from the 2020 Census: 28,684 people
Babson Park (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Babson Park is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park Needham Heights (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights Westbrook Village (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village Wellesley Hills (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills Needham (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
Needham is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
Charles River Village (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
Dedham (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
Dedham is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham Population from the 2020 Census: 25,345 people
Milton Village (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
Milton Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village Ashcroft (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Ashcroft is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcroft Plymouth County
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Hull (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Hull is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull Population from the 2020 Census: 10,484 people
Bayside (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
Bayside is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside Kenberma (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
Kenberma is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma Hingham (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
Hingham is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hingham Population from the 2020 Census: 24,720 people
West Hingham (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
West Hingham is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham Accord (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Accord is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accord Montello (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Montello is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montello North Abington (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
North Abington is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Abington North Scituate (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
North Scituate is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate Rockland (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Rockland is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
Brockton (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
Brockton is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockton Population from the 2020 Census: 95,770 people
Abington (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Abington is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington Population from the 2020 Census: 16,752 people
Minot (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Minot is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot Suffolk County
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Brighton (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Brighton is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton Allston (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Allston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston Chelsea (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
Chelsea is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea Population from the 2020 Census: 39,230 people
Bay Village (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Bay Village is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village Boston (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston Population from the 2020 Census: 691,531 people
Charlestown (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Charlestown is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown Franklin Park (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park Revere (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Revere is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere Population from the 2020 Census: 52,375 people
East Boston (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
East Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boston Jamaica Plain (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
Jamaica Plain is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamaica Plain Highland (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Highland is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Roxbury (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
Roxbury is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury South Boston (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
South Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Boston Worcester County
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Fayville (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
Fayville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayville Southborough (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
Southborough is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
Shaker Village (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Shaker Village is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village Cordaville (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
Cordaville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordaville Harvard (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Harvard is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
Southville (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Southville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southville Bolton (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Bolton is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton Population from the 2020 Census: 5,476 people
Still River (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Still River is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River Berlin (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
Berlin is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin Population from the 2020 Census: 3,731 people
Seventh Day Adventist Village (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
South Berlin (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
South Berlin is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin Carterville (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Carterville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterville Chapinville (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Chapinville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapinville Hillsborough County (NH)
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Pelham (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <1>
Hollis Depot (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot Hudson (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
Hudson is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Population from the 2020 Census: 25,620 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <1>
Nashua (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Nashua is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua Population from the 2020 Census: 89,167 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashua <1>
Hollis (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <1>
South Merrimack (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
South Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Merrimack Rockingham County (NH)
The following are listed by their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Salem (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Salem is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Population from the 2020 Census: 30,641 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
Wilson Corners (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Wilson Corners is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corners Windham (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
Windham is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham Population from the 2020 Census: 14,865 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windham <1>
Westville (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
Westville is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville Atkinson (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
North Salem (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
Plaistow (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
Hampstead (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
Hubbard (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Hubbard is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Londonderry (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Newton (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Newton is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Population from the 2020 Census: 4,934 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
Providence County (RI)
Burnt Swamp Corner (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Burnt Swamp Corner is located in Providence County (RI) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Swamp Corner
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Countryside, see our County-by-County Page for Countryside .
Cemeteries Near Countryside ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Countryside.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know . If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Countryside - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Countryside covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
Robbins Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Munroe Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Wildwood Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Wildwood Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Winchester . Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #WNT.801 <2>
Ye Olde Burying Ground (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
St. Pauls Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
Veterans Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
Oak Grove Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Westview Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Grove Hill Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Ridgelawn Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
St. Patricks Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Continue List (640 more) ...
Belmont Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
North Cambridge Catholic Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Salem Street Burying Ground (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>
While we didn't find Countryside in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Countryside.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Countryside, with the one closest to Countryside listed first.
East Lexington (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
East Lexington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington Arlington Heights (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Arlington Heights is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights Brattle (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Brattle is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brattle Lexington (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Lexington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Population from the 2020 Census: 33,003 people
Arlington (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Arlington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Population from the 2020 Census: 45,169 people
Winchester (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Winchester is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester Population from the 2020 Census: 22,678 people
Cummingsville (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Cummingsville is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummingsville North Lexington (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
North Lexington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lexington Waverley (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Waverley is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverley Belmont (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Belmont is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Population from the 2020 Census: 25,873 people
West Medford (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
West Medford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Medford Winchester Highlands (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Winchester Highlands is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester Highlands Continue List (13 more) ...
Woburn Highlands (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Woburn Highlands is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woburn Highlands Woburn (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Woburn is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woburn Population from the 2020 Census: 40,135 people
Waltham (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Waltham is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham Population from the 2020 Census: 62,069 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Countryside. See our List of 1890's Communities around Countryside .
Newspapers Published in Countryside ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) .
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 199 newspapers that have been published in the area around Countryside.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Countryside, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<5> Extended Newspaper List for Countryside.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Countryside:
Websites specific to Massachusetts Pages specific to Middlesex County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Bristol County Essex County Norfolk County Plymouth County Suffolk County Worcester County Hillsborough County Rockingham County Providence County Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Countryside. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System ). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net . The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com . 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 Countryside, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Countryside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.