Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Groton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Groton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Groton
- 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 Groton:
- 42.609882, -71.573399
- 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 Groton
- 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 Middlesex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- Since Groton is near Worcester County and also Hillsborough County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- eBird sighting report for Hillsborough 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Groton ...
We found nine communities that share the name Groton.
Within Massachusetts, the name Groton is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Connecticut
- Kansas
- Logan County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Logan County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Logan County community of Groton.
- Wallace County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Groton [Wallace County].
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Ohio
- Erie County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Erie County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Groton.
- Putnam County
- This community is historic and although located in Putnam County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Groton.
- South Dakota
- Vermont
Curious and Interesting Names Near Groton ...
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.
- Forge Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Village
- Forge Village is located in Middlesex County
- Four Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Middlesex County
- Frederick Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederick Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederick Corner
- Frederick Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Graniteville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graniteville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Graniteville is located in Middlesex County
- Harvard Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvard Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Station
- Harvard Station is located in Worcester County
- Littleton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Littleton Common
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Common
- Littleton Common is located in Middlesex County
- Paper Mill Village
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
- Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
- Shaker Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
- Willows
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Groton 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 Groton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Groton and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Groton to Cambridge, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 31 miles [49.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 383 miles [616.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,516 miles [8,877.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,225 miles [10,018.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,101 miles [6,599.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Groton: www.townofgroton.org/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Groton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Groton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6099, Longitude: -71.5734 |
| <2> | 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 Groton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Groton 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. |
| <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 Groton 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 304.247 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.918 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.676 degrees. |