RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative Quarter for Maine







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Amherst, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Amherst 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 Amherst:
    • 44.833404, -68.364188
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Amherst
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Amherst ...

We found 24 communities that share the name Amherst.

Within Maine, the name Amherst is unique.

Beyond Maine, we know of another 24 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 24 communities, 21 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Phillips County
      • This Amherst is located in Phillips County and lies 1,724 miles [2,774.5 km]<1> to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Amherst.
    • Florida
      • Brevard 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 Amherst [Brevard County].
    • Illinois
      • Lake County
      • This Amherst is located in Lake County and lies 1,002 miles [1,612.6 km]<1> to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Amherst.
    • Kansas
      • Geary 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 Amherst [Geary County].
      • Russell 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 Amherst [Russell County].
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampshire County
      • This Amherst is located in Hampshire County and lies 268 miles [431.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampshire County community of Amherst.
    • Minnesota
      • Fillmore County
      • This Amherst is located in Fillmore County and lies 1,163 miles [1,871.7 km]<1> to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fillmore County community of Amherst.
    • Montana
      • Fergus County
      • This Amherst is located in Fergus County and lies 1,962 miles [3,157.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fergus County community of Amherst.
    • Nebraska
      • Buffalo County
      • This Amherst is located in Buffalo County and lies 1,579 miles [2,541.2 km]<1> to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buffalo County community of Amherst.
    • New Hampshire
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Amherst is located in Hillsborough County and lies 211 miles [339.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Amherst.
    • New York
      • Erie County
      • This Amherst is located in Erie County and lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<1> to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Amherst.
      • Genesee County
      • This Amherst is located in Genesee County and lies 533 miles [857.8 km] to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Genesee County community of Amherst.
    • North Carolina
      • Burke County
      • This Amherst is located in Burke County and lies 932 miles [1,499.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burke County community of Amherst.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Amherst lies 213 miles [342.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
    • Ohio
      • Lorain County
      • This Amherst is located in Lorain County and lies 736 miles [1,184.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lorain County community of Amherst.
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Amherst.
    • Quebec
      • This Amherst lies 321 miles [516.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
    • South Dakota
      • Marshall County
      • This Amherst is located in Marshall County and lies 1,429 miles [2,299.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Amherst.
    • Tennessee
      • Knox County
      • This Amherst is located in Knox County and lies 1,023 miles [1,646.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Amherst.
    • Texas
      • Lamar County
      • This Amherst is located in Lamar County and lies 1,628 miles [2,620 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamar County community of Amherst.
      • Lamb County
      • This Amherst is located in Lamb County and lies 1,946 miles [3,131.8 km] to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamb County community of Amherst.
    • Virginia
      • Amherst County
      • This Amherst is located in Amherst County and lies 746 miles [1,200.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Amherst County community of Amherst.
      • Fairfax 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 Virginia community of Amherst [Fairfax County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Portage County
      • This Amherst is located in Portage County and lies 1,025 miles [1,649.6 km]<1> to the west of the Amherst that is located in Hancock County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Portage County community of Amherst.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Amherst ...

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.

  • Aurora
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
    • Aurora is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <4>
  • Dog Corners
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dog Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Corners
    • Dog Corners is located in Hancock County
  • Great Pond
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Pond
    • Great Pond is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
  • Great Works
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Works have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Works
    • Great Works is located in Penobscot County
  • Green Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lake
    • Green Lake is located in Hancock County
  • Greenfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Greenfield is located in Penobscot County
  • Mariaville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mariaville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
    • Mariaville is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
  • Steep Landing
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steep Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steep Landing
    • Steep Landing is located in Hancock County
  • Stillwater
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stillwater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
    • Stillwater is located in Penobscot County

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

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

  • Ellsworth, which is the Seat of Hancock County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Amherst to Ellsworth, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 78 miles [125.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 605 miles [973.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,298 miles [8,526.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,010 miles [9,672.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,886 miles [6,253.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Amherst. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Hancock County: www.co.hancock.me.us/

The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Amherst) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Amherst. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.8334, Longitude: -68.3642       In this case, the coordinates for Amherst have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Amherst 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>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Amherst to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 301.905 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 297.679 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 297.952 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024