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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 Squantum, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Squantum 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 Squantum:
    • 42.295932, -71.011994
    • 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 Squantum
  • 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 Squantum ...

We found three communities that share the name Squantum.

There is one other community in Massachusetts which is also named Squantum.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Massachusetts ...
    • Nantucket County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Nantucket County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nantucket County community of Squantum.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • New Hampshire
      • Cheshire County
      • This Squantum is located in Cheshire County and lies 60 miles [96.6 km]<2> to the northwest of the Squantum that is located in Norfolk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheshire County community of Squantum.
    • 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 Squantum [Providence County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Squantum ...

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.

  • Cedar Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Cedar Grove is located in Suffolk County
  • Downtown Crossing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downtown Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downtown Crossing
    • Downtown Crossing is located in Suffolk County
  • Fields Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fields Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields Corner
    • Fields Corner is located in Suffolk County
  • Five Corners
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Fort Independence
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Independence
    • Fort Independence is located in Suffolk County
  • Grove Hall
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Hall
    • Grove Hall is located in Suffolk County
  • Meeting House Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meeting House Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeting House Hill
    • Meeting House Hill is located in Suffolk County
  • Merrymount
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Milton Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
    • Milton Center is located in Norfolk County
  • Old Boat Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Rock Island
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Island
    • Rock Island is located in Norfolk County

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

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

  • Dedham, which is the Seat of Norfolk County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies just to the north northwest (NNW).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 393 miles [632.5 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Squantum to White House, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 23 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,504 miles [8,857.8 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 6,211 miles [9,995.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,087 miles [6,577.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Squantum. 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>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 Squantum, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Squantum) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Squantum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2959, Longitude: -71.0120       In this case, the coordinates for Squantum have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Squantum 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>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 Squantum 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 303.957 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.539 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.582 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024