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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Thistle, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thistle 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 Thistle:
    • 39.253718, -76.766917
    • 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 Thistle
  • 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 Thistle 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 Thistle

Communities Also Named Thistle ...

We found five communities that are also named Thistle.

Within Maryland, the name Thistle is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Montana
      • Jefferson 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 Montana community of Thistle [Jefferson County].
    • Ontario
      • This Thistle lies 394 miles [634.1 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Thistle that is located in Baltimore County.
    • Utah
      • Utah 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 Utah community of Thistle [Utah County].
      • Wasatch County
      • This community is historic and although located in Wasatch County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wasatch County community of Thistle.
    • Virginia
      • Henrico 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 Virginia community of Thistle [Henrico County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Thistle ...

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 northeast)
    • Asylum is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asylum
  • Bonnie Brae
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bonnie Brae is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie Brae
  • Chapelview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chapelview is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapelview
  • Chestnut Farms
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Farms is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Farms
  • Chestnut Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hill is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
  • Elkridge Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Elkridge Heights is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge Heights
  • Frederick Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Frederick Village is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederick Village
  • Gray
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Gray is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
  • Gray Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Gray Rock is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Rock
  • Grays Level
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Grays Level is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Level
  • Harristown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Harristown is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
  • Hilltop
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hilltop is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Howard Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Howard Heights is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Heights
    • Ivy Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Ivy Hill is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Hill
    • Jonestown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jonestown is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
    • Lawyers Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lawyers Hill is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers Hill
    • Long Reach
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Long Reach is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Reach
    • Orange Grove ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Orange Grove is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • Paradise
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Paradise is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
    • Phelps Luck
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Phelps Luck is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps Luck
    • Pleasant View
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Pleasant View is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
    • Quail Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Quail Ridge is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Ridge
    • Relay
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Relay is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relay
    • Rockburn Commons
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockburn Commons is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockburn Commons
    • Rockland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rockland is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Timber Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Timber Point is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Point
    • Timber Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Timber Run is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Run
    • Timberview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Timberview is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberview
    • 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 west)
      • Wheatfield Way is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatfield Way
    • Woodland Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Woodland Village is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village

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

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

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Thistle to Towson, with an average speed<4> 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 24 miles [38.6 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 28 miles [45.1 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 5,871 miles [9,448.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,577 miles [10,584.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,454 miles [7,168 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 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 Thistle 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Thistle) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Thistle, 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 Thistle 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 Thistle. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2537, Longitude: -76.7669       In this case, the coordinates for Thistle have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.706 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.286 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.462 degrees.