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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in O'Donnell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to O'Donnell 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 O'Donnell:
    • 39.252328, -76.863308
    • 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 O'Donnell
  • 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 O'Donnell is near Baltimore County and also Carroll County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll 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 O'Donnell

Communities Also Named O'Donnell ...

We found five communities that are also named O'Donnell.

Within Maryland, the name O'Donnell is unique.

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

In addition to the above occurrences of O'Donnell, we know of another community located outside of the United States and Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Michigan
      • Barry County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of O'Donnell [Barry County].
    • Ontario
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of O'Donnell.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Jefferson County
      • This O'Donnell is located in Jefferson County and lies 167 miles [268.8 km]<2> to the northwest of the O'Donnell that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of O'Donnell.
    • Texas
      • Lynn County
      • This O'Donnell is located in Lynn County and lies 1,453 miles [2,338.4 km]<2> to the west of the O'Donnell that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lynn County community of O'Donnell.
  • Communities Beyond North America ...
    • Philippines
      • Distance: 8,496 miles [13,673 km]<2> to the north northwest
      • Open a Google Map centered on O'Donnell

Curious and Interesting Names Near O'Donnell ...

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.

  • Cedar Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Woods is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Woods
  • Chapel Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chapel Woods is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Woods
  • Chapelview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Chapelview is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapelview
  • Farside
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Farside is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farside
  • Fox Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Fox Hill is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hill
  • Gray Rock
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Gray Rock is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Rock
  • Gray Rock Farms
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Gray Rock Farms is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Rock Farms
  • Harpers Choice
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Harpers Choice is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpers Choice
  • Hilltop
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hilltop is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
  • Hobbits Glen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hobbits Glen is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbits Glen
  • Howard Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Howard Heights is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Heights
  • Jonestown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jonestown is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Locust Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Locust Park is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Park
    • Locust Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Locust Ridge is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Ridge
    • Long Reach
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Long Reach is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Reach
    • Longfellow
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Longfellow is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longfellow
    • Maplewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Maplewood is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
    • Phelps Luck
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Phelps Luck is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps Luck
    • Pine Orchard
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Pine Orchard is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Orchard
    • Running Brook
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Running Brook is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Running Brook
    • Sky View
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Sky View is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky View
    • Thornbrook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Thornbrook is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornbrook
    • Thunder Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Thunder Hill is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thunder Hill
    • Timber Run
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Timber Run is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Run
    • Toll House
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Toll House is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toll House
    • Vantage Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Vantage Point is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vantage Point
    • Wheatfield Way
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Wheatfield Way is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatfield Way

How Far From O'Donnell 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 O'Donnell to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Ellicott City, which is the Seat of Howard County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from O'Donnell to Annapolis, with an average speed<3> 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.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 26 miles [41.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,875 miles [9,454.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,581 miles [10,591.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,458 miles [7,174.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 O'Donnell 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.
<2>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- O'Donnell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 O'Donnell 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 O'Donnell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2523, Longitude: -76.8633       In this case, the coordinates for O'Donnell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.764 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.351 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.503 degrees.