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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hoffman, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hoffman and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Hoffman:
    • 39.510101, -77.270538
    • 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 Hoffman
  • 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 Frederick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick County
    • Since Hoffman is near Carroll County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll 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 Hoffman

Communities Also Named Hoffman ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Hoffman.

There are two communities within Maryland that are also named Hoffman.

Beyond Maryland, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Maryland ...
    • Allegany County
      • This Hoffman is located in Allegany County and lies 87 miles [140 km]<1> to the west of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Hoffman.
    • Carroll 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 Maryland community of Hoffman [Carroll County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Clinton County
      • This Hoffman is located in Clinton County and lies 646 miles [1,039.6 km]<1> to the west of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clinton County community of Hoffman.
    • Michigan
      • Presque Isle 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 Hoffman [Presque Isle County].
    • Minnesota
      • Grant County
      • This Hoffman is located in Grant County and lies 1,033 miles [1,662.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Hoffman.
    • Mississippi
      • Holmes County
      • This Hoffman is located in Holmes County and lies 823 miles [1,324.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holmes County community of Hoffman.
    • Missouri
      • Cooper County
      • This Hoffman is located in Cooper County and lies 839 miles [1,350.2 km]<1> to the west of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cooper County community of Hoffman.
      • Johnson County
      • This Hoffman is located in Johnson County and lies 881 miles [1,417.8 km] to the west of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Hoffman.
    • Montana
      • Park County
      • This Hoffman is located in Park County and lies 1,741 miles [2,801.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Park County community of Hoffman.
    • New Jersey
      • Middlesex County
      • This Hoffman is located in Middlesex County and lies 161 miles [259.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Hoffman.
    • New York
      • Niagara County
      • This Hoffman is located in Niagara County and lies 258 miles [415.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Niagara County community of Hoffman.
    • North Carolina
      • Richmond County
      • This Hoffman is located in Richmond County and lies 333 miles [535.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richmond County community of Hoffman.
    • Oklahoma
      • Okmulgee County
      • This Hoffman is located in Okmulgee County and lies 1,052 miles [1,693 km]<1> to the west of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Okmulgee County community of Hoffman.
    • Ontario
      • This Hoffman lies 440 miles [708.1 km]<1> to the north of the Hoffman that is located in Frederick County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lehigh 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 Pennsylvania community of Hoffman [Lehigh County].
      • Perry County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Hoffman [Perry County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hoffman ...

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.

  • Campers Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Campers Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campers Hill
  • Centerville
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Centerville is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Chestnut Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Chestnut Grove is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
  • Copper Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Copper Oaks is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper Oaks
  • Fairhaven
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Fairhaven is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
  • Fox Pass
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fox Pass is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Pass
  • Good Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Good Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hill
  • Grossnickle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Grossnickle is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grossnickle
  • Hickory Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
  • Johnsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnsville is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
  • Liberty Forest
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Liberty Forest is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Forest
  • Liberty Knolls
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Liberty Knolls is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Knolls
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Libertytown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Libertytown is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertytown
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant Ridge is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
    • Quarry View
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Quarry View is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry View
    • Scouts Knoll
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Scouts Knoll is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scouts Knoll
    • Winter Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Winter Springs is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Springs

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

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

  • Frederick, which is the Seat of Frederick County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Hoffman to Frederick, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 55 miles [88.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 44 miles [70.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,881 miles [9,464.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,589 miles [10,604 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,466 miles [7,187.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hoffman) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Hoffman 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 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 Hoffman 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 Hoffman. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5101, Longitude: -77.2705       In this case, the coordinates for Hoffman have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.988 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.646 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.576 degrees.