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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Texas, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Texas 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 Texas:
    • 42.165372, -71.892295
    • 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 Texas
  • 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 Worcester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Worcester County
    • Since Texas is near Windham County and also Hampden County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Windham County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hampden 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 Texas

Communities Also Named Texas ...

We found 24 communities that are also named Texas.

Within Massachusetts, the name Texas is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of 24 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 24 communities, 23 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Marion County
      • This Texas is located in Marion County and lies 1,027 miles [1,652.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Texas.
    • Georgia
      • Heard County
      • This Texas is located in Heard County and lies 950 miles [1,528.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Heard County community of Texas.
    • Illinois
      • Jackson 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 Illinois community of Texas [Jackson County].
    • Indiana
      • Dearborn County
      • This Texas is located in Dearborn County and lies 713 miles [1,147.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dearborn County community of Texas.
    • Kentucky
      • Washington County
      • This Texas is located in Washington County and lies 765 miles [1,231.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Texas.
    • Louisiana
      • Iberville Parish
      • This Texas is located in Iberville Parish and lies 1,349 miles [2,171 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Iberville Parish community of Texas.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Texas is located in Baltimore County and lies 310 miles [498.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Texas.
    • Michigan
      • Kalamazoo 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 Michigan community of Texas [Kalamazoo County].
    • Mississippi
      • Kemper County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Texas [Kemper County].
      • Stone County
      • This Texas is located in Stone County and lies 1,235 miles [1,987.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stone County community of Texas.
    • New Jersey
      • Burlington County
      • This Texas is located in Burlington County and lies 220 miles [354.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burlington County community of Texas.
      • Middlesex County
      • This Texas is located in Middlesex County and lies 179 miles [288.1 km] to the southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Texas.
    • New York
      • Lewis County
      • This Texas is located in Lewis County and lies 221 miles [355.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Texas.
      • Oswego County
      • This Texas is located in Oswego County and lies 239 miles [384.6 km] to the west northwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oswego County community of Texas.
    • North Carolina
      • Camden County
      • This Texas is located in Camden County and lies 467 miles [751.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Camden County community of Texas.
    • Ohio
      • Crawford 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 Ohio community of Texas [Crawford County].
      • Hamilton County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Hamilton County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Texas.
      • Henry County
      • This Texas is located in Henry County and lies 622 miles [1,001 km]<1> to the west of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Texas.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Berks County
      • This Texas is located in Berks County and lies 242 miles [389.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berks County community of Texas.
      • Lycoming County
      • This Texas is located in Lycoming County and lies 279 miles [449 km] to the west of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lycoming County community of Texas.
    • Quebec
      • This Texas lies 239 miles [384.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
    • South Carolina
      • Dorchester County
      • This Texas is located in Dorchester County and lies 782 miles [1,258.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dorchester County community of Texas.
    • Vermont
      • Essex County
      • This Texas is located in Essex County and lies 155 miles [249.4 km]<1> to the north of the Texas that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Essex County community of Texas.
    • West Virginia
      • Tucker County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Texas [Tucker County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Texas ...

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.

  • Bramanville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Bramanville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramanville
  • Cherry Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
  • Dodge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Dodge is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
  • Glen Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Glen Grove is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Grove
  • Greenville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
  • Heard Street
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Heard Street is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heard Street
  • Jamesville ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jamesville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
  • Marions Camp
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Marions Camp is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marions Camp
  • Mystic Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Mystic Grove is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic Grove
  • Pondville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Pondville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondville
  • Tufts Village ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Tufts Village is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tufts Village
  • Woodland Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodland Park is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park

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

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

  • Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 44 miles [70.8 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Texas to Boston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 351 miles [564.9 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,546 miles [8,925.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,254 miles [10,064.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,130 miles [6,646.6 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Texas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Texas 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 Texas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Texas 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 Texas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1654, Longitude: -71.8923       In this case, the coordinates for Texas have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.503 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.132 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.043 degrees.