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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Plainville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plainville 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 Plainville:
    • 42.004266, -71.332833
    • 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 Plainville
  • 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 Plainville is near Bristol County and also Providence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bristol County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Providence 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 Plainville

Communities Also Named Plainville ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Plainville.

There are three communities within Massachusetts that are also named Plainville.

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

  • Communities Located In Massachusetts ...
    • Bristol County
      • This Plainville is located in Bristol County and lies 29 miles [46.7 km]<1> to the southeast of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bristol County community of Plainville.
    • Hampden 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 Massachusetts community of Plainville [Hampden County].
    • Hampshire County
      • This Plainville is located in Hampshire County and lies 67 miles [107.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampshire County community of Plainville.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Connecticut
      • Hartford County
      • This Plainville is located in Hartford County and lies 81 miles [130.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hartford County community of Plainville.
    • Georgia
      • Gordon County
      • This Plainville is located in Gordon County and lies 908 miles [1,461.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gordon County community of Plainville.
    • Illinois
      • Adams County
      • This Plainville is located in Adams County and lies 1,044 miles [1,680.2 km]<1> to the west of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Plainville.
    • Indiana
      • Davies's County
      • This Plainville is located in Davies's County and lies 859 miles [1,382.4 km]<1> to the west of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davies's County community of Plainville.
    • Kansas
      • Rooks County
      • This Plainville is located in Rooks County and lies 1,471 miles [2,367.3 km]<1> to the west of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rooks County community of Plainville.
    • New Jersey
      • Gloucester County
      • This Plainville is located in Gloucester County and lies 254 miles [408.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gloucester County community of Plainville.
      • Somerset County
      • This Plainville is located in Somerset County and lies 203 miles [326.7 km] to the west southwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Plainville.
    • New York
      • Onondaga County
      • This Plainville is located in Onondaga County and lies 271 miles [436.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onondaga County community of Plainville.
    • Ohio
      • Hamilton County
      • This Plainville is located in Hamilton County and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km]<1> to the west of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Plainville.
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Plainville.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lebanon County
      • This Plainville is located in Lebanon County and lies 297 miles [478 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lebanon County community of Plainville.
    • Rhode Island
      • Providence 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 Rhode Island community of Plainville [Providence County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Adams County
      • This Plainville is located in Adams County and lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Plainville that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Plainville.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Plainville ...

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.

  • Benjamins Landing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Benjamins Landing is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benjamins Landing
  • Burnt Swamp Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Burnt Swamp Corner is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Swamp Corner
  • Diamond Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Diamond Hill is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Hill
  • Dodgeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Dodgeville is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
  • Foxvale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Foxvale is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxvale
  • Franklin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklin is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,711 people
  • Happy Hollow
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Happy Hollow is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Hollow
  • Lime Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lime Rock is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Rock
  • Manville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Manville is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
  • Pondville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Pondville is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondville
  • Purdy Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Purdy Corner is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy Corner
  • Rakeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Rakeville is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rakeville
  • Robinsonville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Robinsonville is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsonville
  • Unionville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Unionville is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville

How Far From Plainville to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Plainville to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Dedham, which is the Seat of Norfolk County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Plainville to Dedham, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six hours.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 28 miles [45.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 368 miles [592.2 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,529 miles [8,898.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,235 miles [10,034.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,111 miles [6,616 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Plainville) 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 Plainville, 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 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 Plainville 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 Plainville 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 Plainville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0043, Longitude: -71.3328       In this case, the coordinates for Plainville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.191 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.754 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.874 degrees.