RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Adams County >> Centennial >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Centennial, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Centennial 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 Centennial:
    • 39.815376, -77.058871
    • 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 Centennial
  • 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 Adams County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Adams County
    • Since Centennial is near York County and also Carroll County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll 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 Centennial

Communities Also Named Centennial ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Centennial.

There is one other community in Pennsylvania that is also named Centennial.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
    • Centre County
      • This Centennial is located in Centre County and lies 84 miles [135.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Centre County community of Centennial.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • La Paz County
      • This Centennial is located in La Paz County and lies 2,040 miles [3,283.1 km]<1> to the west of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the La Paz County community of Centennial.
    • Colorado
      • Arapahoe County
      • This Centennial is located in Arapahoe County and lies 1,471 miles [2,367.3 km]<1> to the west of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Arapahoe County community of Centennial.
    • Georgia
      • Morgan County
      • This Centennial is located in Morgan County and lies 562 miles [904.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Centennial.
    • Indiana
      • Fountain County
      • This Centennial is located in Fountain County and lies 539 miles [867.4 km]<1> to the west of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fountain County community of Centennial.
    • Kansas
      • Sumner 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 Centennial [Sumner County].
    • Maryland
      • Howard 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 Maryland community of Centennial [Howard County].
    • Michigan
      • Houghton County
      • This Centennial is located in Houghton County and lies 765 miles [1,231.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Houghton County community of Centennial.
    • Montana
      • Madison 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 Montana community of Centennial [Madison County].
      • Yellowstone 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 Montana community of Centennial [Yellowstone County].
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Centennial lies 889 miles [1,430.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
    • Ohio
      • Lucas 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 Centennial [Lucas County].
    • 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 Centennial.
    • Oregon
      • Multnomah 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 Oregon community of Centennial [Multnomah County].
    • Texas
      • Panola County
      • This Centennial is located in Panola County and lies 1,082 miles [1,741.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Panola County community of Centennial.
    • West Virginia
      • Monroe County
      • This Centennial is located in Monroe County and lies 234 miles [376.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Centennial.
    • Wyoming
      • Albany County
      • This Centennial is located in Albany County and lies 1,521 miles [2,447.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Centennial that is located in Adams County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albany County community of Centennial.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Centennial ...

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.

  • Brush Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Brush Run is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Run
  • Brushtown
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Brushtown is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushtown
  • Cedar Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Ridge is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Ridge
  • Cross Keys
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cross Keys is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
  • Green Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Springs is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Springs
  • Irishtown
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Irishtown is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irishtown
  • Mount Misery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Mount Misery is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Misery
  • Mount Pleasant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Square Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Square Corner is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Square Corner

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

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

  • Gettysburg, which is the Seat of Adams County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Centennial to Gettysburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 33 miles [53.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 63 miles [101.4 km] to the south (S). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,859 miles [9,429.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,568 miles [10,570.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,444 miles [7,151.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Centennial) 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 Centennial 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 Centennial, 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 Centennial 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 Centennial. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8154, Longitude: -77.0589       In this case, the coordinates for Centennial have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.841 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.526 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.365 degrees.