Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Harvard, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Harvard and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Harvard
- 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 Harvard:
- 42.500820, -71.583767
- 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 Harvard
- 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 Worcester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- Since Harvard is near Middlesex County and also Hillsborough County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex 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 Harvard ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Harvard.
Within Massachusetts, the name Harvard is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Gilchrist County
- This Harvard is located in Gilchrist County and lies 1,077 miles [1,733.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Harvard that is located in Worcester County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gilchrist County community of Harvard.
- Marion 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 Florida community of Harvard [Marion County].
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Nebraska
- New York
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Harvard ...
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.
- Bolton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Bolton is located in Worcester County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,476 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Bolton
- From Harvard to Bolton
- Duck Harbor ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duck Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Harbor
- Duck Harbor is located in Worcester County
- Five Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
- Five Corners is located in Worcester County
- Forge Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Village
- Forge Village is located in Middlesex County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Forge Village
- From Harvard to Forge Village
- Fryville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Fullerville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fullerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerville
- Fullerville is located in Worcester County
- Gates Crossing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gates Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates Crossing
- Gates Crossing is located in Worcester County
- Harvard Station
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvard Station have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Station
- Harvard Station is located in Worcester County
- Kelly Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelly Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly Corner
- Kelly Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Littleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Littleton Common
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Common
- Littleton Common is located in Middlesex County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Littleton Common
- From Harvard to Littleton Common
- Shaker Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
- Still River
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River
- Still River is located in Worcester County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Still River
- From Harvard to Still River
- Willows
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Harvard 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 Harvard to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Harvard and extending to:
- Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Harvard to Worcester, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 28 miles [45.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 378 miles [608.3 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 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,520 miles [8,883.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,229 miles [10,024.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,105 miles [6,606.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Harvard: www.harvard.ma.us/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harvard) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harvard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5008, Longitude: -71.5838 |
| <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 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 Harvard 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> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Harvard to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.269 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.925 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.736 degrees. |