Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Willows, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Willows and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Willows
- 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 Willows:
- 42.558425, -71.539511
- 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 Willows
- 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 Middlesex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- Since Willows is near Worcester County and also Hillsborough County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- eBird sighting report for Hillsborough 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Willows ...
We found 24 communities that share the name Willows.
Within Massachusetts, the name Willows is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another 24 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 24 communities, 22 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Glenn County
- This Willows is located in Glenn County and lies 2,607 miles [4,195.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Glenn County community of Willows.
- Marin 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 California community of Willows [Marin County].
- San Diego County
- This Willows is located in San Diego County and lies 2,526 miles [4,065.2 km] to the west of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Diego County community of Willows.
- San Mateo County
- This Willows is located in San Mateo County and lies 2,659 miles [4,279.2 km] to the west of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Mateo County community of Willows.
- Santa Cruz County
- This Willows is located in Santa Cruz County and lies 2,658 miles [4,277.6 km] to the west of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Cruz County community of Willows.
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Clayton County
- This Willows is located in Clayton County and lies 934 miles [1,503.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clayton County community of Willows.
- Douglas County
- This Willows is located in Douglas County and lies 936 miles [1,506.3 km] to the southwest of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Willows.
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Calvert County
- This Willows is located in Calvert County and lies 377 miles [606.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calvert County community of Willows.
- Harford County
- This Willows is located in Harford County and lies 329 miles [529.5 km] to the southwest of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harford County community of Willows.
- Howard County
- This Willows is located in Howard County and lies 359 miles [577.8 km] to the southwest of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Howard County community of Willows.
- Mississippi
- Montana
- New Brunswick
- This Willows lies 439 miles [706.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Madison 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 Ohio community of Willows [Madison County].
- Summit County
- This Willows is located in Summit County and lies 518 miles [833.6 km]<1> to the west of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Summit County community of Willows.
- Oregon
- Saskatchewan
- This Willows lies 1,697 miles [2,731.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Willows that is located in Middlesex County.
- Virginia
- Washington
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near Willows ...
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.
- Forge Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Village
- Forge Village is located in Middlesex County
- Graniteville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graniteville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Graniteville is located in Middlesex County
- Harvard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
- Harvard is located in Worcester County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
- Harvard Station
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvard Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Station
- Harvard Station is located in Worcester County
- Littleton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Littleton Common
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Common
- Littleton Common is located in Middlesex County
- Paper Mill Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
- Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
- Shaker Village
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
- Still River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Still River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River
- Still River is located in Worcester County
How Far From Willows 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 Willows to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Willows and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Willows to Cambridge, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 28 miles [45.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 382 miles [614.8 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 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 5,516 miles [8,877.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,225 miles [10,018.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,101 miles [6,599.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Willows. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Willows) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willows. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5584, Longitude: -71.5395 In this case, the coordinates for Willows 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Willows 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 Willows, 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 Willows 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 304.234 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.895 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.686 degrees. |