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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rockwell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockwell 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 Rockwell:
    • 39.277329, -76.776084
    • 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 Rockwell
  • 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 Rockwell is near Howard County and also Baltimore City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Howard County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore City
  • 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 Rockwell

Communities Also Named Rockwell ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Rockwell.

Within Maryland, the name Rockwell is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Garland County
      • This Rockwell is located in Garland County and lies 961 miles [1,546.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rockwell that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Garland County community of Rockwell.
    • California
      • San Joaquin 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 Rockwell [San Joaquin County].
    • Florida
      • Brevard County
      • This Rockwell is located in Brevard County and lies 790 miles [1,271.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rockwell that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brevard County community of Rockwell.
      • Marion 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 Florida community of Rockwell [Marion County].
    • Illinois
      • La Salle 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 Illinois community of Rockwell [La Salle County].
    • Iowa
      • Cerro Gordo County
      • This Rockwell is located in Cerro Gordo County and lies 889 miles [1,430.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockwell that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cerro Gordo County community of Rockwell.
    • Kansas
      • Norton County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Rockwell [Norton County].
    • Kentucky
      • Clark County
      • This Rockwell is located in Clark County and lies 411 miles [661.4 km]<1> to the west of the Rockwell that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Rockwell.
    • Michigan
      • Berrien 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 Rockwell [Berrien County].
    • North Carolina
      • Rowan County
      • This Rockwell is located in Rowan County and lies 325 miles [523 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rockwell that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rowan County community of Rockwell.
    • Ohio
      • Wood County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Rockwell [Wood County].
    • Texas
      • Lamar County
      • This Rockwell is located in Lamar County and lies 1,111 miles [1,788 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rockwell that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamar County community of Rockwell.
    • Washington
      • Adams County
      • This Rockwell is located in Adams County and lies 2,118 miles [3,408.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockwell that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Rockwell.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockwell ...

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 east)
    • Asylum is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asylum
  • Chapelview
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Chapelview is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapelview
  • Chestnut Farms
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Farms is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Farms
  • Chestnut Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hill is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
  • Fair Brook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Fair Brook is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Brook
  • Frederick Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Frederick Village is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederick Village
  • Gray
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Gray is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
  • Grays Level
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Grays Level is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Level
  • Harristown
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Harristown is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
  • Hilltop
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Hilltop is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
  • Howard Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Howard Heights is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Heights
  • Ivy Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Ivy Hill is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Hill
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Orange Grove ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Orange Grove is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • Rockland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rockland is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rolling Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Rolling Heights is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Heights
    • Rolling Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rolling Ridge is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Ridge
    • Thistle
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Thistle is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thistle
    • Timber Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Timber Point is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Point
    • Toll House
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Toll House is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toll House
    • Wheatfield Way
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wheatfield Way is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatfield Way

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

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

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rockwell to Towson, 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 25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 29 miles [46.7 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,870 miles [9,446.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,576 miles [10,583 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,453 miles [7,166.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Rockwell) 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 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 Rockwell 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 Rockwell, 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 Rockwell 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 Rockwell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2773, Longitude: -76.7761       In this case, the coordinates for Rockwell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.71 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.294 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.456 degrees.