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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Woodsville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Woodsville 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 Woodsville:
    • 42.573424, -71.624513
    • 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 Woodsville
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
    • Since Woodsville is near Worcester County and also Hillsborough County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Worcester County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Woodsville

Communities Also Named Woodsville ...

We found three communities that are also named Woodsville.

Within Massachusetts, the name Woodsville is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • New Hampshire
      • Grafton County
      • This Woodsville is located in Grafton County and lies 110 miles [177 km]<1> to the north of the Woodsville that is located in Middlesex County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grafton County community of Woodsville.
    • New Jersey
      • Mercer County
      • This Woodsville is located in Mercer County and lies 224 miles [360.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Woodsville that is located in Middlesex County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mercer County community of Woodsville.
    • New York
      • Livingston County
      • This Woodsville is located in Livingston County and lies 310 miles [498.9 km]<1> to the west of the Woodsville that is located in Middlesex County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Woodsville.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Woodsville ...

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
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Forge Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Village
  • Four Corners
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Four Corners is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Gates Crossing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Gates Crossing is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates Crossing
  • Graniteville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Graniteville is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
  • Harvard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Harvard is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
  • Harvard Station
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Harvard Station is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Station
  • Littleton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Littleton is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,253 people
  • Littleton Common
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Littleton Common is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Common
  • Paper Mill Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
  • Rogersville ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rogersville is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
  • Shaker Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
  • Still River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Still River is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River
  • Willows
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Willows is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows

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

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

  • Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 29 miles [46.7 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Woodsville to Cambridge, with an average speed<2> 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 just over a day.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 32 miles [51.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 380 miles [611.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,519 miles [8,882 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • 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).<5>
  • 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).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- Woodsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Woodsville 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 Woodsville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5734, Longitude: -71.6245       In this case, the coordinates for Woodsville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.283 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.953 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.717 degrees.