Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Pinehurst (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Pinehurst. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Pinehurst is located in Middlesex County .
To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries .
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Middlesex County : Essex , Norfolk , Suffolk , Worcester & Hillsborough (NH) .
Below are the counties that are near Pinehurst. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pinehurst:
Middlesex County (The home county of Pinehurst)
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Nutting Lake (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Nutting Lake is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutting Lake Billerica (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billerica Population from the 2020 Census: 43,021 people
Burlington (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Burlington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington Population from the 2020 Census: 28,432 people
Bedford Springs (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Bedford Springs is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs Wilmington (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Wilmington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington Population from the 2020 Census: 23,287 people
Winnmere (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
Winnmere is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnmere Bedford (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Bedford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Population from the 2020 Census: 14,053 people
Mishawum ‑ Historic(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
Mishawum is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mishawum North Billerica (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
North Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Billerica Cummingsville (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Cummingsville is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummingsville Tewksbury (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Tewksbury is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewksbury Population from the 2020 Census: 30,970 people
Lexington (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Lexington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Population from the 2020 Census: 33,003 people
Walnut Hill (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
Walnut Hill is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill Essex County
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Lowell Junction (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Lowell Junction is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell Junction Haggetts (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
Haggetts is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts Lynnfield (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Lynnfield is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnfield Population from the 2020 Census: 13,040 people
West Andover (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
West Andover is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover Andover (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
Andover is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover Population from the 2020 Census: 36,554 people
Shawsheen Village (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
Shawsheen Village is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsheen Village Brigadoon Village (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
Brigadoon Village is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon Village Saugus (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
Saugus is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugus Population from the 2020 Census: 28,542 people
West Peabody (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
West Peabody is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peabody Middleton (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
Middleton is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton Population from the 2020 Census: 10,107 people
Howe (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
Howe is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe Lawrence (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
Lawrence is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence Population from the 2020 Census: 80,007 people
Cliftondale (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Cliftondale is located in Essex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliftondale Norfolk County
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Wellesley Farms (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms Brookline Village (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village Brookline (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Brookline is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Population from the 2020 Census: 59,022 people
Babson Park (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
Babson Park is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park Wellesley Hills (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills Wellesley (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
Wellesley is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Population from the 2020 Census: 28,684 people
Needham Heights (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights Needham (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Needham is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
Westbrook Village (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village Charles River Village (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
Dedham (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Dedham is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham Population from the 2020 Census: 25,345 people
Dover (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Dover is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover Population from the 2020 Census: 6,119 people
Milton Village (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
Milton Village is located in Norfolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village Plymouth County
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Hull (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
Hull is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull Population from the 2020 Census: 10,484 people
Bayside (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
Bayside is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside Kenberma (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Kenberma is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma Hingham (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Hingham is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hingham Population from the 2020 Census: 24,720 people
West Hingham (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
West Hingham is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham Accord (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
Accord is located in Plymouth County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accord Suffolk County
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Brighton (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
Brighton is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton Allston (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Allston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston Franklin Park (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park Charlestown (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
Charlestown is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown Chelsea (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
Chelsea is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea Population from the 2020 Census: 39,230 people
Revere (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
Revere is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere Population from the 2020 Census: 52,375 people
Bay Village (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Bay Village is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village Boston (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston Population from the 2020 Census: 691,531 people
East Boston (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
East Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boston Jamaica Plain (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Jamaica Plain is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamaica Plain Roxbury (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
Roxbury is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury South Boston (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
South Boston is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Boston Winthrop (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
Winthrop is located in Suffolk County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Population from the 2020 Census: 18,446 people
Worcester County
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Shaker Village (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
Shaker Village is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village Harvard (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
Harvard is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
Bolton (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Bolton is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton Population from the 2020 Census: 5,476 people
Still River (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Still River is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River Fayville (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Fayville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayville Southborough (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Southborough is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
Seventh Day Adventist Village (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
Berlin (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Berlin is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin Population from the 2020 Census: 3,731 people
Carterville (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Carterville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterville Cordaville (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Cordaville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordaville South Berlin (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
South Berlin is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin Lancaster (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Lancaster is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Population from the 2020 Census: 7,857 people
North Village (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
North Village is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village Hillsborough County (NH)
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Pelham (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <1>
Hudson (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
Hudson is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Population from the 2020 Census: 25,620 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <1>
Hollis Depot (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot Nashua (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Nashua is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua Population from the 2020 Census: 89,167 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashua <1>
Hollis (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <1>
Litchfield (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
South Merrimack (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
South Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Merrimack Brookline (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
East Merrimack (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack Merrimack (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Reeds Ferry (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
Reeds Ferry is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry East Milford (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
East Milford is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Milford Amherst (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Amherst is located in Hillsborough County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Population from the 2020 Census: 11,418 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amherst <1>
Rockingham County (NH)
The following are listed by their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Salem (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Salem is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Population from the 2020 Census: 30,641 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
Wilson Corners (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Wilson Corners is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corners Windham (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Windham is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham Population from the 2020 Census: 14,865 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windham <1>
Atkinson (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
North Salem (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
Westville (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
Westville is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville Plaistow (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Hampstead (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Derry (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Derry is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Population from the 2020 Census: 33,442 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derry <1>
Hubbard (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Hubbard is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard Londonderry (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Derry Village (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
Derry Village is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Village Newton (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
Newton is located in Rockingham County (NH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Population from the 2020 Census: 4,934 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pinehurst, see our County-by-County Page for Pinehurst .
Cemeteries Near Pinehurst ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pinehurst.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know . If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Pinehurst - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pinehurst covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Chestnut Hill Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Fox Hill Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
South Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Westview Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Wildwood Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
North Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cemetery The North Cemetery has also been known as:
Old North Cemetery Old Corner Burying Ground (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Corner Burying Ground The Old Corner Burying Ground has also been known as:
Old Corner Cemetery Town Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Pine Branch Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Old Center Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Ye Olde Burying Ground (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Munroe Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Continue List (610 more) ...
Woodbrook Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbrook Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodbrook Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Woburn . The Woodbrook Cemetery has also been known as:
Salem Street Cemetery Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #MAL.805 <2>
Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91872 <3>
Tewksbury State Hospital Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Tewksbury Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewksbury Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Tewksbury Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Tewksbury . The Tewksbury Cemetery has also been known as:
New Center Cemetery Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1977976 <3>
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>
While we didn't find Pinehurst in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pinehurst.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pinehurst, with the one closest to Pinehurst listed first.
Bedford Springs (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Bedford Springs is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs Burlington (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Burlington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington Population from the 2020 Census: 28,432 people
Billerica (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billerica Population from the 2020 Census: 43,021 people
South Billerica (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
South Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Billerica Bedford (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Bedford is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Population from the 2020 Census: 14,053 people
North Woburn (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
North Woburn is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woburn South Wilmington (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
South Wilmington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington Wilmington (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Wilmington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington Population from the 2020 Census: 23,287 people
Silver Lake (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Silver Lake is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake East Billerica (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
East Billerica is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Billerica Riverside (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
Riverside is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside North Lexington (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
North Lexington is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lexington Continue List (13 more) ...
Cummingsville (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Cummingsville is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummingsville Central Square (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Central Square is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Square Mishawum ‑ Historic(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
Mishawum is located in Middlesex County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mishawum
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pinehurst. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pinehurst .
Newspapers Published in Pinehurst ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) .
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pinehurst.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pinehurst, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<5> Extended Newspaper List for Pinehurst.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Pinehurst:
Websites specific to Massachusetts Pages specific to Middlesex County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Essex County Norfolk County Plymouth County Suffolk County Worcester County Hillsborough County Rockingham County Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Pinehurst. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System ). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net . The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com . 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 Pinehurst, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Pinehurst) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.