RoadsideThoughts
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Somerville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Somerville 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 Somerville:
    • 40.960619, -79.653937
    • 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 Somerville
  • 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 Somerville ...

We found seventeen communities that share the name Somerville.

There are two communities within Pennsylvania that are also named Somerville.

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

  • Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
    • Philadelphia County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Somerville [Philadelphia County].
    • Tioga 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 Pennsylvania community of Somerville [Tioga County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Morgan County
      • This Somerville is located in Morgan County and lies 593 miles [954.3 km]<3> to the southwest of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Somerville.
    • Indiana
      • Gibson County
      • This Somerville is located in Gibson County and lies 450 miles [724.2 km]<3> to the west southwest of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gibson County community of Somerville.
    • Kansas
      • Leavenworth 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 Somerville [Leavenworth County].
    • Maine
      • Lincoln County
      • This Somerville is located in Lincoln County and lies 565 miles [909.3 km]<3> to the east northeast of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Somerville.
    • Massachusetts
      • Middlesex County
      • This Somerville is located in Middlesex County and lies 451 miles [725.8 km]<3> to the east northeast of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Somerville.
    • Mississippi
      • Leflore County
      • This Somerville is located in Leflore County and lies 763 miles [1,227.9 km]<3> to the southwest of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leflore County community of Somerville.
    • Missouri
      • Clinton County
      • Although located in Clinton County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clinton County community of Somerville.
    • New Brunswick
      • This Somerville lies 707 miles [1,137.8 km]<3> to the northeast of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
    • New Jersey
      • Somerset 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 New Jersey community of Somerville [Somerset County].
    • New York
      • Queens County
      • This Somerville is located in Queens County and lies 307 miles [494.1 km]<3> to the east of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Queens County community of Somerville.
      • Saint Lawrence County
      • This Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County and lies 309 miles [497.3 km] to the northeast of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Lawrence County community of Somerville.
    • Ohio
      • Butler County
      • This Somerville is located in Butler County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<3> to the west southwest of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Somerville.
    • Tennessee
      • Fayette County
      • This Somerville is located in Fayette County and lies 657 miles [1,057.3 km]<3> to the west southwest of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Somerville.
    • Texas
      • Burleson County
      • This Somerville is located in Burleson County and lies 1,193 miles [1,919.9 km]<3> to the west southwest of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burleson County community of Somerville.
    • Virginia
      • Fauquier County
      • This Somerville is located in Fauquier County and lies 200 miles [321.9 km]<3> to the south southeast of the Somerville that is located in Armstrong County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fauquier County community of Somerville.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Somerville ...

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.

  • Bradys Bend
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradys Bend
    • Bradys Bend is located in Armstrong County
  • Catfish
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catfish have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
    • Catfish is located in Clarion County
  • Fredericksburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
    • Fredericksburg is located in Armstrong County
  • Frogtown
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frogtown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
    • Frogtown is located in Armstrong County
  • Greenville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
    • Greenville is located in Armstrong County
  • Haysville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haysville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysville
    • Haysville is located in Butler County
  • Queenstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queenstown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
    • Queenstown is located in Armstrong County
  • Riverview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Riverview is located in Clarion County
  • Sarah Furnace
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sarah Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarah Furnace
    • Sarah Furnace is located in Clarion County

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

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

  • Kittanning, which is the Seat of Armstrong County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Somerville to Kittanning, 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.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 152 miles [244.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 198 miles [318.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,917 miles [9,522.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,636 miles [10,679.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,512 miles [7,261.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

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

The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Somerville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Somerville 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Somerville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Somerville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9606, Longitude: -79.6539       In this case, the coordinates for Somerville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<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 Somerville 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 309.347 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.411 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.077 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024