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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Orleans, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orleans and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Orleans:
    • 41.789831, -69.989740
    • 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 Orleans
  • 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 Barnstable County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Barnstable County
    • Since Orleans is near Plymouth County and also Nantucket 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 Nantucket 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 Orleans

Communities Also Named Orleans ...

We found nineteen communities that are also named Orleans.

Within Massachusetts, the name Orleans is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of nineteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these nineteen communities, eighteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Humboldt County
      • This Orleans is located in Humboldt County and lies 2,721 miles [4,379 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Humboldt County community of Orleans.
    • Florida
      • Citrus County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Citrus County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Citrus County community of Orleans.
    • Georgia
      • Rockdale County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Orleans [Rockdale County].
    • Illinois
      • Morgan County
      • This Orleans is located in Morgan County and lies 1,057 miles [1,701.1 km]<1> to the west of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Orleans.
    • Indiana
      • Orange County
      • This Orleans is located in Orange County and lies 892 miles [1,435.5 km]<1> to the west of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Orleans.
    • Iowa
      • Appanoose County
      • This Orleans is located in Appanoose County and lies 1,175 miles [1,891 km]<1> to the west of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Appanoose County community of Orleans.
      • Dickinson County
      • This Orleans is located in Dickinson County and lies 1,275 miles [2,051.9 km] to the west northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickinson County community of Orleans.
    • Maryland
      • Allegany 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 Maryland community of Orleans [Allegany County].
    • Michigan
      • Ionia County
      • This Orleans is located in Ionia County and lies 775 miles [1,247.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ionia County community of Orleans.
    • Minnesota
      • Kittson County
      • This Orleans is located in Kittson County and lies 1,388 miles [2,233.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kittson County community of Orleans.
    • Missouri
      • Polk County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Orleans [Polk County].
    • Nebraska
      • Harlan County
      • This Orleans is located in Harlan County and lies 1,533 miles [2,467.1 km]<1> to the west of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harlan County community of Orleans.
    • New York
      • Ontario County
      • This Orleans is located in Ontario County and lies 371 miles [597.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ontario County community of Orleans.
    • North Carolina
      • Lincoln County
      • This Orleans is located in Lincoln County and lies 753 miles [1,211.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Orleans.
    • Ohio
      • Wood County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Wood County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Orleans.
    • Ontario
      • This Orleans lies 375 miles [603.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
    • Oregon
      • Linn County
      • This Orleans is located in Linn County and lies 2,637 miles [4,243.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Linn County community of Orleans.
    • South Dakota
      • Faulk 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 South Dakota community of Orleans [Faulk County].
    • Vermont
      • Orleans County
      • This Orleans is located in Orleans County and lies 236 miles [379.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orleans County community of Orleans.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Orleans ...

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.

  • Campground Landing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Campground Landing is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campground Landing
  • Dennis
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Dennis is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,890 people
  • Dennis Port
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
  • First Encounter Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • First Encounter Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First Encounter Beach
  • Fresh Brook
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fresh Brook is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Brook
  • Mayo Beach
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Mayo Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo Beach
  • Pleasant Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Lake is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
  • Rock Harbor
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Rock Harbor is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Harbor
  • Shooters Island
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Shooters Island is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shooters Island
  • Sunken Meadow Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Sunken Meadow Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunken Meadow Beach

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

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

  • Barnstable, which is the Seat of Barnstable County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Orleans to Barnstable, with an average speed<4> 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.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 67 miles [107.8 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 421 miles [677.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,480 miles [8,819.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,182 miles [9,949 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,060 miles [6,533.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>'

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- Orleans) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Orleans, 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 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 Orleans 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>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 Orleans 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 Orleans. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7898, Longitude: -69.9897       In this case, the coordinates for Orleans have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 303.427 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 298.858 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.391 degrees.