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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Point-of-Rocks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Point-of-Rocks 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 Point-of-Rocks:
    • 39.278626, -77.532868
    • 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 Point-of-Rocks
  • 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 Point-of-Rocks is near Loudoun County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Loudoun 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 Point-of-Rocks

Communities Also Named Point-of-Rocks ...

We found ten communities that are also named Point-of-Rocks.

Within Maryland, the name Point-of-Rocks is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Maricopa County
      • This Point-of-Rocks is located in Maricopa County and lies 1,998 miles [3,215.5 km]<1> to the west of the Point-of-Rocks that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Point-of-Rocks.
      • Yavapai 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 Arizona community of Point-of-Rocks [Yavapai County].
    • California
      • San Bernardino 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 California community of Point-of-Rocks [San Bernardino County].
    • Kansas
      • Gray 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 Point-of-Rocks [Gray County].
      • Hodgeman 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 Kansas community of Point-of-Rocks [Hodgeman County].
    • Nebraska
      • Cheyenne County
      • This Point-of-Rocks is located in Cheyenne County and lies 1,356 miles [2,182.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Point-of-Rocks that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheyenne County community of Point-of-Rocks.
    • Nevada
      • Elko County
      • This Point-of-Rocks is located in Elko County and lies 1,998 miles [3,215.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Point-of-Rocks that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elko County community of Point-of-Rocks.
      • Nye County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Nye County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nye County community of Point-of-Rocks.
    • Wyoming
      • Albany County
      • This Point-of-Rocks is located in Albany County and lies 1,458 miles [2,346.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Point-of-Rocks that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albany County community of Point-of-Rocks.
      • Sweetwater County
      • This Point-of-Rocks is located in Sweetwater County and lies 1,640 miles [2,639.3 km] to the west northwest of the Point-of-Rocks that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sweetwater County community of Point-of-Rocks.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Point-of-Rocks ...

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.

  • Boss Arnold Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Boss Arnold Village is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boss Arnold Village
  • Copperfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Copperfield is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copperfield
  • Furnace Ford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Furnace Ford is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Ford
  • Furnace Mountain
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Furnace Mountain is located in Loudoun County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Mountain
  • Goresville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Goresville is located in Loudoun County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goresville
  • Greenfield Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Greenfield Mills is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
  • Loyalty
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Loyalty is located in Loudoun County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalty
  • Manor Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Manor Village is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor Village
  • Merry Midnight
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Merry Midnight is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Midnight
  • Milltown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Milltown is located in Loudoun County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
  • Olive
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant View
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Pleasant View is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Poplar Thicket
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Poplar Thicket is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Thicket
    • Potomac Overlook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Potomac Overlook is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac Overlook
    • Rock Hall
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Rock Hall is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hall
    • Roundtree
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Roundtree is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roundtree
    • Scattersville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Scattersville is located in Loudoun County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scattersville
    • Springview
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Springview is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springview
    • Stumptown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Stumptown is located in Loudoun County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
    • Sunrise
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunrise is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise

How Far From Point-of-Rocks 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 Point-of-Rocks to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Frederick, which is the Seat of Frederick County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Point-of-Rocks to Frederick, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 59 miles [95 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 37 miles [59.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,902 miles [9,498.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,610 miles [10,637.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,486 miles [7,219.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Point-of-Rocks) 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 Point-of-Rocks 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>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Point-of-Rocks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Point-of-Rocks 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 Point-of-Rocks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2786, Longitude: -77.5329    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.159 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.804 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.778 degrees.