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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Johnston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Johnston 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 Johnston:
    • 39.758427, -77.754994
    • 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 Johnston
  • 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 Johnston is near Washington County and also Berkeley County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Berkeley 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 Johnston

Communities Also Named Johnston ...

We found eleven communities that are also named Johnston.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Johnston is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of eleven communities that are located 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 ...
    • Alaska
      • 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 Alaska community of Johnston.
    • Arkansas
      • Columbia County
      • This Johnston is located in Columbia County and lies 963 miles [1,549.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Johnston that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Johnston.
    • California
      • Sacramento 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 California community of Johnston [Sacramento County].
    • Iowa
      • Polk County
      • This Johnston is located in Polk County and lies 844 miles [1,358.3 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Johnston that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Johnston.
    • Manitoba
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Michigan
      • Otsego 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 Michigan community of Johnston [Otsego County].
    • Mississippi
      • Lincoln County
      • This Johnston is located in Lincoln County and lies 853 miles [1,372.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Johnston that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Johnston.
    • Ohio
      • Trumbull County
      • This Johnston is located in Trumbull County and lies 189 miles [304.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Johnston that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Trumbull County community of Johnston.
      • Tuscarawas County
      • This Johnston is located in Tuscarawas County and lies 198 miles [318.7 km] to the west northwest of the Johnston that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscarawas County community of Johnston.
    • South Carolina
      • Edgefield County
      • This Johnston is located in Edgefield County and lies 466 miles [750 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Johnston that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Edgefield County community of Johnston.
    • Tennessee
      • Shelby 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 Tennessee community of Johnston [Shelby County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Johnston ...

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.

  • Clay Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Clay Hill is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Hill
  • Clearview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Clearview is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearview
  • Countryside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Countryside is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
  • Fountain Head
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Fountain Head is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Head
  • Gardenspot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Gardenspot is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenspot
  • Greencastle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Gristmill Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gristmill Hill is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gristmill Hill
  • Hunter Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hunter Hill is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hill
  • Long Meadow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
  • Martins Crossroads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Martins Crossroads is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Crossroads
  • Mason and Dixon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Mason and Dixon is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason and Dixon
  • Nova
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Nova is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nova
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Orchard Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
    • Paramount
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Paramount is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount
    • Rockdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockdale is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
    • Shady Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Shady Grove is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Spring Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Valley is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Terrace Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Terrace Hills is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrace Hills
    • Welsh Run
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Welsh Run is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh Run
    • Wood Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Wood Point is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Point

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

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

  • Chambersburg, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Johnston to Chambersburg, 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.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 58 miles [93.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 70 miles [112.7 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,891 miles [9,480.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,601 miles [10,623.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,477 miles [7,205 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 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 Johnston 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Johnston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Johnston 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 Johnston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7584, Longitude: -77.7550       In this case, the coordinates for Johnston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.262 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.995 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.689 degrees.