RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maine >> Franklin County >> Riley >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Riley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Riley 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 Riley:
    • 44.505064, -70.246727
    • 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 Riley
  • 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Since Riley is near Oxford County and also Androscoggin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Oxford County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Androscoggin 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 Riley

Communities Also Named Riley ...

We found 23 communities that are also named Riley.

Within Maine, the name Riley is unique.

Beyond Maine, we know of 23 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 23 communities, 22 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Monroe County
      • This Riley is located in Monroe County and lies 1,267 miles [2,039 km]<1> to the southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Riley.
    • Arkansas
      • Ashley County
      • This Riley is located in Ashley County and lies 1,379 miles [2,219.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ashley County community of Riley.
      • Yell 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 Arkansas community of Riley [Yell County].
    • British Columbia
      • This Riley lies 2,134 miles [3,434.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
    • California
      • Tehama 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 Riley [Tehama County].
    • Illinois
      • McHenry County
      • This Riley is located in McHenry County and lies 934 miles [1,503.1 km]<1> to the west of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McHenry County community of Riley.
    • Indiana
      • Hancock County
      • This Riley is located in Hancock County and lies 855 miles [1,376 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Riley.
      • Vigo County
      • This Riley is located in Vigo County and lies 942 miles [1,516 km] to the west southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vigo County community of Riley.
    • Kansas
      • Riley County
      • This Riley is located in Riley County and lies 1,405 miles [2,261.1 km]<1> to the west of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Riley County community of Riley.
    • Kentucky
      • Marion County
      • This Riley is located in Marion County and lies 908 miles [1,461.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Riley.
    • Michigan
      • Clinton County
      • This Riley is located in Clinton County and lies 727 miles [1,170 km]<1> to the west of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clinton County community of Riley.
    • Minnesota
      • Saint Louis County
      • This Riley is located in Saint Louis County and lies 1,102 miles [1,773.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Riley.
    • Mississippi
      • Attala 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 Mississippi community of Riley [Attala County].
    • New Mexico
      • Socorro 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 New Mexico community of Riley [Socorro County].
    • North Carolina
      • Franklin County
      • This Riley is located in Franklin County and lies 729 miles [1,173.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Riley.
    • Ohio
      • Vinton County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Vinton County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vinton County community of Riley.
    • Oklahoma
      • Riley #
      • 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 Oklahoma community of Riley.
    • Oregon
      • Harney County
      • This Riley is located in Harney County and lies 2,408 miles [3,875.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harney County community of Riley.
    • South Carolina
      • Calhoun County
      • This Riley is located in Calhoun County and lies 938 miles [1,509.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calhoun County community of Riley.
    • Tennessee
      • Claiborne County
      • This Riley is located in Claiborne County and lies 882 miles [1,419.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Claiborne County community of Riley.
    • Utah
      • Davis County
      • This Riley is located in Davis County and lies 2,104 miles [3,386.1 km]<1> to the west of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davis County community of Riley.
    • West Virginia
      • Raleigh County
      • This Riley is located in Raleigh County and lies 730 miles [1,174.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Raleigh County community of Riley.
    • Wisconsin
      • Dane County
      • This Riley is located in Dane County and lies 969 miles [1,559.5 km]<1> to the west of the Riley that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dane County community of Riley.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Riley ...

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.

  • Gilbertville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gilbertville is located in Oxford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
  • Jay
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jay is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,598 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jay <4>
  • Livermore
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Meadowview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadowview is located in Oxford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowview
  • Peru
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Peru is located in Oxford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,509 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <4>
  • Shy Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Shy Corner is located in Androscoggin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shy Corner
  • Stones Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Stones Corner is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stones Corner
  • Tainter Corner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Tainter Corner is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Corner
  • Twelve Corners
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Twelve Corners is located in Kennebec County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Corners

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

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

  • Farmington, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Riley to Farmington, with an average speed<5> 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.
  • Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 26 miles [41.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 521 miles [838.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 30 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,388 miles [8,671.1 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 6,103 miles [9,821.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,978 miles [6,402 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Riley) 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 Riley 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 Riley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Riley 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 Riley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5051, Longitude: -70.2467       In this case, the coordinates for Riley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 303.129 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 298.989 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 299.047 degrees.