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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Idlewood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Idlewood 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 Idlewood:
    • 41.636215, -70.980040
    • 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 Idlewood
  • 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 Bristol County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bristol County
    • Since Idlewood is near Plymouth County and also Newport County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Plymouth County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Newport 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 Idlewood

Communities Also Named Idlewood ...

We found eighteen communities that are also named Idlewood.

Within Massachusetts, the name Idlewood is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of eighteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Coffee County
      • This Idlewood is located in Coffee County and lies 1,085 miles [1,746.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coffee County community of Idlewood.
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Idlewood is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 1,075 miles [1,730 km] to the west southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Idlewood.
    • Georgia
      • Bibb County
      • This Idlewood is located in Bibb County and lies 924 miles [1,487 km]<1> to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Idlewood.
      • Burke County
      • This Idlewood is located in Burke County and lies 846 miles [1,361.5 km] to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burke County community of Idlewood.
      • Newton County
      • This Idlewood is located in Newton County and lies 904 miles [1,454.8 km] to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newton County community of Idlewood.
    • Illinois
      • Jefferson County
      • This Idlewood is located in Jefferson County and lies 973 miles [1,565.9 km]<1> to the west of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Idlewood.
    • Louisiana
      • Orleans Parish
      • This Idlewood is located in Orleans Parish and lies 1,325 miles [2,132.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orleans Parish community of Idlewood.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore City
      • This Idlewood is located in Baltimore City and lies 333 miles [535.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore City community of Idlewood.
    • New York
      • Erie 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 New York community of Idlewood [Erie County].
    • North Carolina
      • Scotland County
      • This Idlewood is located in Scotland County and lies 663 miles [1,067 km]<1> to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scotland County community of Idlewood.
    • Ohio
      • Hamilton County
      • This Idlewood is located in Hamilton County and lies 729 miles [1,173.2 km]<1> to the west of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Idlewood.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • This Idlewood is located in Allegheny County and lies 480 miles [772.5 km]<1> to the west of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegheny County community of Idlewood.
      • Bucks County
      • This Idlewood is located in Bucks County and lies 230 miles [370.1 km] to the west southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bucks County community of Idlewood.
    • South Carolina
      • Greenwood County
      • This Idlewood is located in Greenwood County and lies 794 miles [1,277.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenwood County community of Idlewood.
      • Sumter County
      • This Idlewood is located in Sumter County and lies 739 miles [1,189.3 km] to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of Idlewood.
    • Tennessee
      • Williamson County
      • This Idlewood is located in Williamson County and lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Williamson County community of Idlewood.
    • Virginia
      • Roanoke City
      • This Idlewood is located in Roanoke City and lies 561 miles [902.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roanoke City community of Idlewood.
      • Suffolk City
      • This Idlewood is located in Suffolk City and lies 451 miles [725.8 km] to the southwest of the Idlewood that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Suffolk City community of Idlewood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Idlewood ...

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.

  • Berryman Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Berryman Corner is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryman Corner
  • Bliss Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
  • Fairhaven
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
  • Harbor View
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Harbor View is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
  • Hixville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hixville is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hixville
  • Mount Pleasant
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Plainville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Plainville is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
  • Redgate Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Redgate Corner is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redgate Corner
  • Rockdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Rockdale is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
  • Russells Mills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Russells Mills is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russells Mills
  • Suburban Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Suburban Park is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suburban Park
  • Summit Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Summit Grove is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Grove
  • University Highlands
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • University Highlands is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Highlands

How Far From Idlewood to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Idlewood to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Taunton, which is the Seat of Bristol County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Idlewood to Taunton, with an average speed<3> 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 50 miles [80.5 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 370 miles [595.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,528 miles [8,896.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,232 miles [10,029.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,109 miles [6,612.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Idlewood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Idlewood 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>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.
<4>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 Idlewood 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 Idlewood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6362, Longitude: -70.9800       In this case, the coordinates for Idlewood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.035 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.517 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.904 degrees.