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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Taunton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Taunton and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Taunton:
    • 41.901650, -71.092624
    • 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 Taunton
  • 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 Taunton ...

We found five communities that share the name Taunton.

Within Massachusetts, the name Taunton is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Minnesota
      • Lyon County
      • This Taunton is located in Lyon County and lies 1,264 miles [2,034.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Taunton that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lyon County community of Taunton.
    • Missouri
      • Randolph County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Randolph County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Randolph County community of Taunton.
    • New York
      • Onondaga County
      • This Taunton is located in Onondaga County and lies 271 miles [436.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Taunton that is located in Bristol County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onondaga County community of Taunton.
    • 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 Taunton.
    • Washington
      • Adams 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 Washington community of Taunton [Adams County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Taunton ...

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 Titicut
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Titicut have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Titicut
    • Camp Titicut is located in Plymouth County
  • Chestnut Tree Corner
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Tree Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Tree Corner
    • Chestnut Tree Corner is located in Bristol County
  • Copper Works
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copper Works have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper Works
    • Copper Works is located in Bristol County
  • Cranes Station
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranes Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranes Station
    • Cranes Station is located in Bristol County
  • Meadow Brook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Brook
    • Meadow Brook is located in Bristol County
  • Norton Furnace ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Furnace
    • Norton Furnace is located in Bristol County
  • Perrys Corner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perrys Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrys Corner
    • Perrys Corner is located in Bristol County
  • Pratts Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pratts Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratts Corner
    • Pratts Corner is located in Bristol County
  • Prattville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prattville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattville
    • Prattville is located in Bristol County
  • Precinct
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Precinct have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Precinct
    • Precinct is located in Plymouth County
  • Scotland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
    • Scotland is located in Plymouth County

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

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

  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could walk a straight line from Taunton to Boston, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 374 miles [601.9 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 22 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,523 miles [8,888.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,228 miles [10,023 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,104 miles [6,604.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>

The official website for Taunton: www.ci.taunton.ma.us/

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

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Taunton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Taunton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9016, Longitude: -71.0926    
<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 Taunton, 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Taunton 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 Taunton 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 304.063 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.593 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.819 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024