RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Hampden County >> North Chester >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in North Chester, we use the following websites to find information relevant to North Chester 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 North Chester:
    • 42.324008, -72.927654
    • 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 North Chester
  • 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 Hampden County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hampden County
    • Since North Chester is near Hampshire County and also Berkshire County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hampshire County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Berkshire 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 North Chester

Communities Also Named North Chester ...

We found two communities that are also named North Chester.

Within Massachusetts, the name North Chester is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • New Hampshire
      • Rockingham County
      • This North Chester is located in Rockingham County and lies 96 miles [154.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the North Chester that is located in Hampden County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockingham County community of North Chester.
    • Vermont
      • Windsor County
      • This North Chester is located in Windsor County and lies 67 miles [107.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the North Chester that is located in Hampden County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windsor County community of North Chester.

Curious and Interesting Names Near North Chester ...

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.

  • Brush Hollow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Brush Hollow is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Hollow
  • Chester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Chester is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
  • Crescent Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Crescent Mills is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Mills
  • Dayville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Dayville is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayville
  • Knightville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Knightville is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightville
  • Littleville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Littleville is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
  • Loudville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Loudville is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudville
  • Peru
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Peru is located in Berkshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
  • Ringville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Ringville is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringville
  • Swift River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Springfield, which is the Seat of Hampden County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from North Chester to Springfield, with an average speed<2> 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 most of a day.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 95 miles [152.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 319 miles [513.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,584 miles [8,986.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,294 miles [10,129.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,170 miles [6,711 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- North Chester) 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 North Chester 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 North Chester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3240, Longitude: -72.9277       In this case, the coordinates for North Chester have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.105 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.836 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.433 degrees.