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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Overbrook, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Overbrook 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 Overbrook:
    • 42.305096, -71.324502
    • 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 Overbrook
  • 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 Norfolk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Norfolk County
    • Since Overbrook 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 Overbrook

Communities Also Named Overbrook ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Overbrook.

Within Massachusetts, the name Overbrook is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Talladega County
      • This Overbrook is located in Talladega County and lies 1,028 miles [1,654.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Talladega County community of Overbrook.
    • Delaware
      • Sussex County
      • This Overbrook is located in Sussex County and lies 318 miles [511.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Overbrook.
    • Georgia
      • Bulloch County
      • This Overbrook is located in Bulloch County and lies 901 miles [1,450 km]<1> to the southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bulloch County community of Overbrook.
    • Kansas
      • Osage County
      • This Overbrook is located in Osage County and lies 1,290 miles [2,076.1 km]<1> to the west of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osage County community of Overbrook.
    • Maryland
      • Frederick County
      • This Overbrook is located in Frederick County and lies 376 miles [605.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Frederick County community of Overbrook.
      • Prince George's County
      • This Overbrook is located in Prince George's County and lies 363 miles [584.2 km] to the southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Prince George's County community of Overbrook.
    • New Jersey
      • Camden County
      • This Overbrook is located in Camden County and lies 256 miles [412 km]<1> to the southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Camden County community of Overbrook.
      • Essex 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 Jersey community of Overbrook [Essex County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Love County
      • This Overbrook is located in Love County and lies 1,504 miles [2,420.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Love County community of Overbrook.
    • Ontario
      • This Overbrook lies 305 miles [490.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • This Overbrook is located in Allegheny County and lies 258 miles [415.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegheny County community of Overbrook.
      • Berks County
      • This Overbrook is located in Berks County and lies 277 miles [445.8 km] to the west southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berks County community of Overbrook.
      • Montgomery 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 Pennsylvania community of Overbrook [Montgomery County].
    • South Carolina
      • Greenville County
      • This Overbrook is located in Greenville County and lies 786 miles [1,264.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenville County community of Overbrook.
    • Tennessee
      • Bradley County
      • This Overbrook is located in Bradley County and lies 878 miles [1,413 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Overbrook that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bradley County community of Overbrook.
    • Virginia
      • Norfolk City
      • 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 Virginia community of Overbrook [Norfolk City].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Overbrook ...

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.

  • Camp Mary Day
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Camp Mary Day is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Mary Day
  • Cedarwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedarwood is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarwood
  • Dover
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dover is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,119 people
  • Farm Street Station
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Farm Street Station is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Street Station
  • Grantville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Grantville is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
  • Lakeview
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakeview is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Piety Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Piety Corner is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piety Corner
  • Riverview
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Riverview is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
  • Silver Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Silver Hill is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
  • Tower Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Tower Hill is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Hill
  • Workmans Circle Camp
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Workmans Circle Camp is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Workmans Circle Camp

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

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

  • Dedham, which is the Seat of Norfolk County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Overbrook to Dedham, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 14 miles [22.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take most of a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 380 miles [611.6 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,517 miles [8,878.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,224 miles [10,016.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,100 miles [6,598.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

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- Overbrook) 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 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 Overbrook 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 Overbrook 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 Overbrook. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3051, Longitude: -71.3245       In this case, the coordinates for Overbrook have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.142 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.749 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.718 degrees.