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







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hector, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hector 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 Hector:
    • 41.862646, -77.618613
    • 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 Hector
  • 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 Hector ...

We found eleven communities that share the name Hector.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Hector is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Bullock County
      • This Hector is located in Bullock County and lies 812 miles [1,306.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bullock County community of Hector.
    • Arkansas
      • Pope County
      • This Hector is located in Pope County and lies 936 miles [1,506.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pope County community of Hector.
    • British Columbia
      • This Hector lies 1,923 miles [3,094.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
    • California
      • San Bernardino County
      • This Hector is located in San Bernardino County and lies 2,139 miles [3,442.4 km]<1> to the west of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Bernardino County community of Hector.
    • Indiana
      • Jay 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 Indiana community of Hector [Jay County].
    • Kansas
      • Greeley 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 Hector [Greeley County].
      • Johnson 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 Hector [Johnson County].
    • Kentucky
      • Clay County
      • This Hector is located in Clay County and lies 457 miles [735.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Hector.
    • Minnesota
      • Renville County
      • This Hector is located in Renville County and lies 879 miles [1,414.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Renville County community of Hector.
    • New York
      • Schuyler County
      • This Hector is located in Schuyler County and lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuyler County community of Hector.
    • Ohio
      • Putnam County
      • This Hector is located in Putnam County and lies 345 miles [555.2 km]<1> to the west of the Hector that is located in Potter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Hector.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hector ...

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.

  • Alice
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alice have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
    • Alice is located in Steuben County (NY)
  • Elmer
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
    • Elmer is located in Potter County
  • Fox Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hill
    • Fox Hill is located in Potter County
  • Gold
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold
    • Gold is located in Potter County
  • Little Marsh
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Marsh have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Marsh
    • Little Marsh is located in Tioga County
  • Marsh Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marsh Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek
    • Marsh Creek is located in Tioga County
  • Marshlands
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshlands have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshlands
    • Marshlands is located in Tioga County
  • Mixtown
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mixtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixtown
    • Mixtown is located in Tioga County
  • Purple Brook ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purple Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purple Brook
    • Purple Brook is located in Tioga County
  • Raymond
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Raymond is located in Potter County
  • Spring Mills
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
    • Spring Mills is located in Allegany County (NY)
  • Telescope
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Telescope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telescope
    • Telescope is located in Potter County

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

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

  • Coudersport, which is the Seat of Potter County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Hector to Coudersport, with an average speed<4> 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.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 115 miles [185.1 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 207 miles [333.1 km] to the south (S). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,796 miles [9,327.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,514 miles [10,483.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,389 miles [7,063.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>

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

The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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- Hector) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hector. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8626, Longitude: -77.6186    
<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 Hector 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 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 Hector to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.023 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.052 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.787 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024