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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Houcks Mill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Houcks Mill 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 Houcks Mill:
    • 39.586217, -76.548023
    • 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 Houcks Mill
  • 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 Houcks Mill is near Harford County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Harford 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 Houcks Mill

Curious and Interesting Names Near Houcks Mill ...

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.

  • Blackhorse
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Blackhorse is located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhorse
  • Fern Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Fern Valley is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Valley
  • Fox Meadows
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Fox Meadows is located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Meadows
  • Fox Meadows Woods
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Fox Meadows Woods is located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Meadows Woods
  • Foxwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Foxwood is located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxwood
  • Furnace
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Furnace is located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace
  • Greenfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Greenfield is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
  • Greenfields
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Greenfields is located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfields
  • Henrys Bridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Henrys Bridge is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Bridge
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Hunt Crest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hunt Crest is located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Crest
    • Madonna
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Madonna is located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonna
    • Manor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Manor is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor
    • Manor Brook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Manor Brook is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor Brook
    • Manor View Farms
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Manor View Farms is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor View Farms
    • Quiet Inheritance
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Quiet Inheritance is located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Inheritance

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Houcks Mill and extending to:

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Houcks Mill to Towson, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 42 miles [67.6 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 54 miles [86.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,848 miles [9,411.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,554 miles [10,547.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,431 miles [7,131 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Houcks Mill) 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 Houcks Mill 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 Houcks Mill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5862, Longitude: -76.5480       In this case, the coordinates for Houcks Mill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.553 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.163 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.237 degrees.