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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Speedwell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Speedwell 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 Speedwell:
    • 40.208705, -76.321901
    • 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 Speedwell
  • 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 Lancaster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
    • Since Speedwell is near Lebanon County and also Bedford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lebanon County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bedford 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 Speedwell

Communities Also Named Speedwell ...

We found seven communities that are also named Speedwell.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Speedwell is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Madison County
      • This Speedwell is located in Madison County and lies 456 miles [733.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Speedwell that is located in Lancaster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Speedwell.
    • New Jersey
      • Burlington County
      • This Speedwell is located in Burlington County and lies 98 miles [157.7 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Speedwell that is located in Lancaster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burlington County community of Speedwell.
    • North Carolina
      • Jackson County
      • This Speedwell is located in Jackson County and lies 505 miles [812.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Speedwell that is located in Lancaster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Speedwell.
    • Ontario
      • This Speedwell lies 305 miles [490.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Speedwell that is located in Lancaster County.
    • Tennessee
      • Claiborne County
      • This Speedwell is located in Claiborne County and lies 483 miles [777.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Speedwell that is located in Lancaster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Claiborne County community of Speedwell.
    • Texas
      • Hale County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Hale County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hale County community of Speedwell.
    • Virginia
      • Wythe County
      • This Speedwell is located in Wythe County and lies 351 miles [564.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Speedwell that is located in Lancaster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wythe County community of Speedwell.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Speedwell ...

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.

  • Brickerville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Buffalo Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo Springs is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
  • Clay
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Clay is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
  • Dogtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dogtown is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
  • Elm
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Elm is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
  • Halfville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Halfville is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfville
  • Hopeland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hopeland is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland
  • Johnstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
  • Limerock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Limerock is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerock
  • Miners Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
  • Moonstown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Moonstown is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moonstown
  • Mount Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
  • Poplar Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Poplar Grove is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Springhaven
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Springhaven is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhaven

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

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

  • Lancaster, which is the Seat of Lancaster County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Speedwell to Lancaster, with an average speed<4> 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 29 miles [46.7 km] to the west (W). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 98 miles [157.7 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,812 miles [9,353.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,521 miles [10,494.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,397 miles [7,076.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Speedwell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Speedwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Speedwell 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 Speedwell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2087, Longitude: -76.3219       In this case, the coordinates for Speedwell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.37 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.053 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.887 degrees.