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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Middleton Colony, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Middleton Colony 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 Middleton Colony:
    • 42.590372, -70.992553
    • 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 Middleton Colony
  • 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 Middleton Colony 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 Middleton Colony

Curious and Interesting Names Near Middleton Colony ...

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
    (6 miles [9.7 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
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Centerville is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Derby Wharf
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Derby Wharf is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby Wharf
  • Farm Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Farm Hill is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Hill
  • Greenwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenwood is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
  • Kings Forest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Kings Forest is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Forest
  • Kinsman Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Kinsman Corner is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsman Corner
  • Lynn
    (8 miles [12.9 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
    (4 miles [6.4 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
  • Marble Ridge Station
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Marble Ridge Station is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Ridge Station
  • Nancys Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Nancys Corner is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancys Corner
  • Peabody
    (5 miles [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
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Prides Crossing
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Prides Crossing is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prides Crossing
    • Reading
      (6 miles [9.7 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
    • Reading Highlands
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Reading Highlands is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading Highlands
    • Rooty Plain
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Rooty Plain is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rooty Plain

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Middleton Colony 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 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Middleton Colony 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 five to six 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 5,492 miles [8,838.5 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 6,200 miles [9,977.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,076 miles [6,559.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Middleton Colony) 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 Middleton Colony 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 Middleton Colony. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5904, Longitude: -70.9926       In this case, the coordinates for Middleton Colony have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 303.90 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.525 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.422 degrees.