RoadsideThoughts
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Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Worcester County >> Wheelockville >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Wheelockville.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Wheelockville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Wheelockville 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 Wheelockville:
    • 42.080653, -71.614788<1>
    • 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 Wheelockville
  • 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 Wheelockville is near Providence County and also Norfolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Providence County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Norfolk 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 Wheelockville

Curious and Interesting Names Near Wheelockville ...

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.

  • Branch Village
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Branch Village is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch Village
  • Centerville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Centerville is also located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Crooks Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Crooks Corner is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crooks Corner
  • Fisherville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Fisherville is also located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
  • Forest Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Forest Park is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
  • Forestdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Forestdale is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
  • Globe
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Globe is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
  • Halfway House
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Halfway House is also located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway House
  • Hamlet
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hamlet is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
  • Happy Hills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Happy Hills is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Hills
  • Ironstone
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Ironstone is also located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironstone
  • Maple Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Maple Ridge is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Ridge
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Round Top
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Round Top is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Top
    • Slatersville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Slatersville is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slatersville
    • Social
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Social is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Social
    • Union Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Union Village is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Village

How Far From Wheelockville 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 included the distance from a community such as Wheelockville to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Wheelockville and extending to:

  • Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Wheelockville to Worcester, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 34 miles [54.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 359 miles [577.8 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,538 miles [8,912.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,245 miles [10,050.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,121 miles [6,632.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>

Footnotes ...

<1>GPS Coordinates for Wheelockville:
     Decimal: 42.08065, -71.614788
     DDMMSS: 42° 4' 50", -71° 36' 53"
<2>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- Wheelockville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Wheelockville 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 Wheelockville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0807, Longitude: -71.6148       In this case, the coordinates for Wheelockville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.349 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.944 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.961 degrees.