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 East Somerville (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 East Somerville. 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.
Name Variations for East Somerville ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for East Somerville: E. Somerville
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us .
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 west contained birth and death records; the county to the north 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.
East Somerville 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 East Somerville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to East Somerville:
Middlesex County (The home county of East Somerville)
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Somerville (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Somerville is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville Population from the 2020 Census: 80,935 people
Wellington (Less than 2 miles to the north)
Wellington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington Cambridge (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Cambridge is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Population from the 2020 Census: 119,192 people
Edgeworth (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Edgeworth is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth Malden (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Malden is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malden Population from the 2020 Census: 59,922 people
Everett (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Everett is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett Population from the 2020 Census: 46,107 people
Medford (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Medford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Population from the 2020 Census: 60,847 people
Cambridgeport (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport Huron Village (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Huron Village is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village West Medford (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
West Medford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Medford Arlington (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
Arlington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Population from the 2020 Census: 45,169 people
Belmont (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Belmont is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont Population from the 2020 Census: 25,873 people
Watertown (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Watertown is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown Estimated population in 2015: 34,319 people
Bristol County
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
North Easton (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
North Easton is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton South Easton (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
South Easton is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton Easton Center (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
Easton Center is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton Center Easton (24 miles [38.6 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
East Mansfield (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
East Mansfield is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Mansfield Furnace Village (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Furnace Village is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village Mansfield (25 miles [40.2 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
Norton (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
Norton is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Population from the 2020 Census: 19,983 people
Attleboro Falls (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Attleboro Falls is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro Falls Raynham (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Raynham is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Population from the 2020 Census: 14,560 people
North Attleboro (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
North Attleboro is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Attleboro Population from the 2020 Census: 29,470 people
Essex County
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Cliftondale (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
Cliftondale is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliftondale Pleasant Hills (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Pleasant Hills is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills Saugus (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Saugus is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugus Population from the 2020 Census: 28,542 people
West Lynn (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
West Lynn is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lynn Nahant (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
Nahant is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahant Population from the 2020 Census: 3,506 people
East Lynn (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
East Lynn is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn Lynn (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
Lynn is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Population from the 2020 Census: 94,539 people
Lynnfield (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Lynnfield is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnfield Population from the 2020 Census: 13,040 people
Swampscott (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
Swampscott is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swampscott Population from the 2020 Census: 15,462 people
West Peabody (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
West Peabody is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peabody Clifton (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Clifton is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Peabody (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Peabody is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peabody Population from the 2020 Census: 53,063 people
Salem (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Salem is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Population from the 2020 Census: 43,581 people
Norfolk County
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Brookline Village (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village Brookline (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Brookline is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Population from the 2020 Census: 59,022 people
Westbrook Village (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village Milton Village (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
Milton Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village Montclair (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
Montclair is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair Norfolk Downs (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Norfolk Downs is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk Downs Wollaston (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Wollaston is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wollaston East Milton (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
East Milton is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Milton Milton (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
Milton is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Population from the 2020 Census: 27,537 people
West Quincy (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
West Quincy is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Quincy Needham Heights (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights Babson Park (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
Babson Park is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park Dedham (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
Dedham is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham Population from the 2020 Census: 25,345 people
Plymouth County
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Hull (10 miles [16.1 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 (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
Bayside is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside Kenberma (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Kenberma is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma West Hingham (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
West Hingham is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham Hingham (14 miles [22.5 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
Accord (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Accord is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accord Montello (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Montello is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montello North Abington (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
North Abington is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Abington Minot (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
Minot is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot North Scituate (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
North Scituate is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate Rockland (19 miles [30.6 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
Abington (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Abington is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington Population from the 2020 Census: 16,752 people
Brockton (21 miles [33.8 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
Suffolk County
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Charlestown (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Charlestown is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown Chelsea (2 miles [3.2 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
East Boston (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
East Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boston Bay Village (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Bay Village is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village Boston (2 miles [3.2 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
Allston (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Allston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston South Boston (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
South Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Boston Revere (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Revere is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere Population from the 2020 Census: 52,375 people
Roxbury (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Roxbury is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury Brighton (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Brighton is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton Franklin Park (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park Dorchester (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Dorchester is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester Jamaica Plain (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Jamaica Plain is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamaica Plain Worcester County
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Fayville (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
Fayville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayville Cordaville (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Cordaville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordaville Southborough (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Southborough is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
Southville (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
Southville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southville Shaker Village (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Shaker Village is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village Bolton (26 miles [41.8 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
Harvard (26 miles [41.8 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
Milford (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Milford is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Population from the 2020 Census: 28,965 people
Chapinville (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Chapinville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapinville South Berlin (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
South Berlin is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin Berlin (28 miles [45.1 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
Carterville (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Carterville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterville Northborough (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Northborough is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northborough Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
Hillsborough County (NH)
Pelham (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
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>
Rockingham County (NH)
The following are listed by their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Salem (28 miles [45.1 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 (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
Wilson Corners is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corners Westville (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Westville is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville Windham (30 miles [48.3 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>
Providence County (RI)
Burnt Swamp Corner (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
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 East Somerville, see our County-by-County Page for East Somerville .
Cemeteries Near East Somerville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Somerville.
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 East Somerville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for East Somerville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Somerville Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Somerville Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Old Burying Ground (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Burial Hill Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Copp's Hill Burying Ground (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copp's Hill Burying Ground The Copp's Hill Burying Ground has also been known as:
Copp's Hill Burial Ground Copp's Hill Cemetery Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #BOS.808 <2>
Phipps Street Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Bunker Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Cambridge Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Cemetery The Cambridge Cemetery has also been known as:
City of Cambridge Cemetery Central Burying Ground (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Granary Burying Ground (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granary Burying Ground To give a relative sense of its location, the Granary Burying Ground is a large cemetery that is located in Boston . The Granary Burying Ground has also been known as:
The Old Granary Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #BOS.802 <2>
Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91030 <3>
Kings Chapel Burying Ground (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Salem Street Burying Ground (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Continue List (605 more) ...
Garden Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Bell Rock Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Veterans Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
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 East Somerville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of East Somerville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from East Somerville, with the one closest to East Somerville listed first.
Winter Hill (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
Winter Hill is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Hill Somerville (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Somerville is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville Population from the 2020 Census: 80,935 people
Cambridge (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Cambridge is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Population from the 2020 Census: 119,192 people
East Cambridge (Less than 2 miles to the south)
East Cambridge is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cambridge Charlestown (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Charlestown is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown Wellington (Less than 2 miles to the north)
Wellington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington Allston (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Allston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston Cambridgeport (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport Boston (2 miles [3.2 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
Medford (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Medford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Population from the 2020 Census: 60,847 people
East Boston (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
East Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boston Chelsea (2 miles [3.2 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
Continue List (14 more) ...
Everett (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Everett is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett Population from the 2020 Census: 46,107 people
West Everett (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
West Everett is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Everett Malden (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Malden is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malden Population from the 2020 Census: 59,922 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around East Somerville. See our List of 1890's Communities around East Somerville .
Newspapers Published in East Somerville ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Somerville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Somerville, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<5> Extended Newspaper List for East Somerville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 East Somerville:
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 East Somerville. 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 East Somerville, 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 from Point A (ie- East Somerville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.