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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Massachusetts

The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rock Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock Island 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 Rock Island:
    • 42.262322, -70.961992
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Rock Island
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Rock Island ...

We found 21 communities that share the name Rock Island.

Within Massachusetts, the name Rock Island is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, nineteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Broward County
      • This Rock Island is located in Broward County and lies 1,228 miles [1,976.3 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Broward County community of Rock Island.
      • Collier County
      • This Rock Island is located in Collier County and lies 1,260 miles [2,027.8 km] to the south southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collier County community of Rock Island.
    • Idaho
      • Washington 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 Idaho community of Rock Island [Washington County].
    • Illinois
      • Rock Island County
      • This Rock Island is located in Rock Island County and lies 1,007 miles [1,620.6 km]<1> to the west of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rock Island County community of Rock Island.
    • Indiana
      • Marion 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 Indiana community of Rock Island [Marion County].
    • Kansas
      • Brown 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 Kansas community of Rock Island [Brown County].
      • Grant County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Rock Island [Grant County].
    • Manitoba
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Nevada
      • Storey County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Storey County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Storey County community of Rock Island.
    • Oklahoma
      • Canadian 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 Oklahoma community of Rock Island [Canadian County].
      • Le Flore County
      • This Rock Island is located in Le Flore County and lies 1,352 miles [2,175.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Le Flore County community of Rock Island.
    • Quebec
      • This Rock Island lies 197 miles [317 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
    • Tennessee
      • Warren County
      • This Rock Island is located in Warren County and lies 902 miles [1,451.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Rock Island.
    • Texas
      • Colorado County
      • This Rock Island is located in Colorado County and lies 1,670 miles [2,687.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colorado County community of Rock Island.
      • Liberty County
      • This Rock Island is located in Liberty County and lies 1,560 miles [2,510.6 km] to the west southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Rock Island.
      • Marion County
      • This Rock Island is located in Marion County and lies 1,443 miles [2,322.3 km] to the west southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Rock Island.
      • Polk 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 Texas community of Rock Island [Polk County].
      • Waller County
      • This Rock Island is located in Waller County and lies 1,622 miles [2,610.4 km] to the west southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Waller County community of Rock Island.
      • Washington County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Washington County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Rock Island.
    • Virginia
      • Buckingham 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 Virginia community of Rock Island [Buckingham County].
    • Washington
      • Douglas County
      • This Rock Island is located in Douglas County and lies 2,393 miles [3,851.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Rock Island.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock Island ...

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.

  • Braintree
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braintree
    • Braintree is located in Norfolk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 37,074 people
  • Crow Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Point
    • Crow Point is located in Plymouth County
  • Five Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
    • Five Corners is located in Norfolk County
  • Hull
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
    • Hull is located in Plymouth County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,484 people
  • Idlewell
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Idlewell have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewell
    • Idlewell is located in Norfolk County
  • Lincoln Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Heights
    • Lincoln Heights is located in Norfolk County
  • Merrymount
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrymount have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrymount
    • Merrymount is located in Norfolk County
  • Old Boat Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Boat Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Boat Point
    • Old Boat Point is located in Norfolk County
  • Post Island
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Post Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Island
    • Post Island is located in Norfolk County
  • Stony Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Beach
    • Stony Beach is located in Plymouth County
  • Waveland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waveland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waveland
    • Waveland is located in Plymouth County

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

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

  • Dedham, which is the Seat of Norfolk County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Rock Island to Dedham, with an average speed<5> 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 just to the northwest (NW).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 394 miles [634.1 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 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,503 miles [8,856.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,210 miles [9,994 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,086 miles [6,575.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Norfolk County: www.norfolkcounty.org/

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/

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- Rock Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2623, Longitude: -70.9620       In this case, the coordinates for Rock Island have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Rock Island 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>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 Rock Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>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.
<6>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 Rock Island to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 303.932 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.505 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.577 degrees.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024