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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Franklintown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Franklintown 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 Franklintown:
    • 39.306361, -76.709986
    • 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 Franklintown
  • 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 Baltimore County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Since Franklintown is near Baltimore City and also Howard County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Howard 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 Franklintown

Communities Also Named Franklintown ...

We found three communities that are also named Franklintown.

Within Maryland, the name Franklintown is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Nassau County
      • This Franklintown is located in Nassau County and lies 660 miles [1,062.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Franklintown that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nassau County community of Franklintown.
    • Pennsylvania
      • York County
      • This Franklintown is located in York County and lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<1> to the north of the Franklintown that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of Franklintown.
    • West Virginia
      • Jefferson County
      • This Franklintown is located in Jefferson County and lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<1> to the west of the Franklintown that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Franklintown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Franklintown ...

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.

  • Asylum ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Asylum is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asylum
  • Colonial Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Colonial Village is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
  • Dickeyville
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Dickeyville is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickeyville
  • Euclid Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Euclid Heights is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euclid Heights
  • Fair Brook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Fair Brook is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Brook
  • Featherbed
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Featherbed is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Featherbed
  • Forest Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest Park is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
  • Harristown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Harristown is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
  • Heraldry Square
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Heraldry Square is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heraldry Square
  • Howard Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Howard Park is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Park
  • Howardsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Howardsville is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardsville
  • Hunting Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Hunting Ridge is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Ridge
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Kingswood Common
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kingswood Common is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingswood Common
    • Mount Hope
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Mount Hope is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
    • Paradise
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Paradise is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
    • Rolling Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Rolling Heights is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Heights
    • Rolling Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rolling Ridge is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Ridge
    • Television Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Television Hill is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Television Hill
    • Violetville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Willow Glen
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Willow Glen is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Glen
    • Woodlawn
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Woodlawn is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn

How Far From Franklintown to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Franklintown to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Franklintown to Annapolis, 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 most of a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 33 miles [53.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,866 miles [9,440.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,572 miles [10,576.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,449 miles [7,160 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Franklintown) 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 Franklintown 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 Franklintown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3064, Longitude: -76.7100       In this case, the coordinates for Franklintown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.669 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.252 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.417 degrees.