RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Howard County >> Dickinson >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Dickinson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dickinson 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 Dickinson:
    • 39.164552, -76.867752
    • 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 Dickinson
  • 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 Howard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Howard County
    • Since Dickinson is near Prince George's County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Prince George's County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery 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 Dickinson

Communities Also Named Dickinson ...

We found ten communities that are also named Dickinson.

Within Maryland, the name Dickinson is unique.

Beyond Maryland, we know of ten communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Clarke County
      • This Dickinson is located in Clarke County and lies 794 miles [1,277.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Dickinson that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clarke County community of Dickinson.
    • Kansas
      • Morris 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 Kansas community of Dickinson [Morris County].
    • Michigan
      • Newaygo 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 Dickinson [Newaygo County].
    • New York
      • Franklin County
      • This Dickinson is located in Franklin County and lies 403 miles [648.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Dickinson that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Dickinson.
    • North Carolina
      • Harnett 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 North Carolina community of Dickinson [Harnett County].
    • North Dakota
      • Stark County
      • This Dickinson is located in Stark County and lies 1,404 miles [2,259.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Dickinson that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Dickinson.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cumberland County
      • This Dickinson is located in Cumberland County and lies 70 miles [112.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Dickinson that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Dickinson.
    • Texas
      • Galveston County
      • This Dickinson is located in Galveston County and lies 1,231 miles [1,981.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Dickinson that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Galveston County community of Dickinson.
    • Virginia
      • Franklin County
      • This Dickinson is located in Franklin County and lies 218 miles [350.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Dickinson that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Dickinson.
    • West Virginia
      • Kanawha County
      • This Dickinson is located in Kanawha County and lies 258 miles [415.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Dickinson that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Dickinson.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Dickinson ...

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.

  • Arrowhead
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Arrowhead is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
  • Cedar Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Woods is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Woods
  • Chase Eden
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Chase Eden is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase Eden
  • Dasher Green
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Dasher Green is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher Green
  • Elkhorn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Elkhorn is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Flamewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Flamewood is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamewood
  • Fox Pause
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox Pause is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Pause
  • Harpers Choice
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Harpers Choice is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpers Choice
  • Heritage Woods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Heritage Woods is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Woods
  • High Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • High Ridge is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Ridge
  • Holiday Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Holiday Hills is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
  • Hopewell
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hopewell is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hopkins Mead
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Hopkins Mead is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins Mead
    • Howard Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Howard Hills is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Hills
    • Lakeview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Lakeview is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Locust Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Locust Park is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Park
    • Magnolia ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Mission Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Mission Heights is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Heights
    • Pleasant Grove
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • River Island
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • River Island is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Island
    • Robinsons Promise
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Robinsons Promise is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Promise
    • Savage
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Settlers Landing
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Settlers Landing is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Settlers Landing
    • Stonebrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Stonebrook is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonebrook
    • Twin Oaks
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Twin Oaks is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Oaks
    • Woodvalley
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Woodvalley is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodvalley

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

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

  • Ellicott City, which is the Seat of Howard County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 23 miles [37 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could walk a straight line from Dickinson to Annapolis, with an average speed<4> 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.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 20 miles [32.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,879 miles [9,461.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,585 miles [10,597.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,462 miles [7,180.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dickinson) 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 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 Dickinson 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1646, Longitude: -76.8678       In this case, the coordinates for Dickinson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.772 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.347 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.539 degrees.