RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Essex County >> Ferncroft >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ferncroft, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ferncroft 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 Ferncroft:
    • 42.579261, -70.957829
    • 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 Ferncroft
  • 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 Essex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Essex County
    • Since Ferncroft is near Middlesex County and also Suffolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Middlesex 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 Ferncroft

Communities Also Named Ferncroft ...

We found one communities that are also named Ferncroft.

Within Massachusetts, the name Ferncroft is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, there is another community also named Ferncroft in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • New Hampshire
      • Carroll County
      • This Ferncroft is located in Carroll County and lies 94 miles [151.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Ferncroft that is located in Essex County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Ferncroft.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ferncroft ...

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.

  • Beverly
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Beverly is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 42,242 people
  • Centerville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Centerville is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Derby Wharf
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Derby Wharf is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby Wharf
  • Kings Forest
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Kings Forest is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Forest
  • Kinsman Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Kinsman Corner is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsman Corner
  • Lynn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Lynn is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94,539 people
  • Lynnfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lynnfield is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,040 people
  • Marblehead
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Marblehead is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
  • Nancys Corner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Nancys Corner is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancys Corner
  • Peabody
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Peabody is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peabody
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 53,063 people
  • Prides Crossing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Prides Crossing is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prides Crossing
  • Reading
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Reading is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,535 people

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

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

  • Salem, which is the Seat of Essex County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Ferncroft to Boston, with an average speed<2> 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 four to five hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 406 miles [653.4 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 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,491 miles [8,836.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,199 miles [9,976.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,075 miles [6,558.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ferncroft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Ferncroft 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 Ferncroft. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5793, Longitude: -70.9578       In this case, the coordinates for Ferncroft have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 303.881 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.502 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.412 degrees.