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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Vaughn, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vaughn 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 Vaughn:
    • 40.321756, -76.784693
    • 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 Vaughn
  • 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 Dauphin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dauphin County
    • Since Vaughn is near Cumberland County and also Perry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cumberland County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Perry 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 Vaughn

Communities Also Named Vaughn ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Vaughn.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Vaughn is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Baldwin County
      • This Vaughn is located in Baldwin County and lies 891 miles [1,433.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baldwin County community of Vaughn.
    • Arkansas
      • Benton County
      • This Vaughn is located in Benton County and lies 986 miles [1,586.8 km]<1> to the west of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Vaughn.
    • Florida
      • Palm Beach County
      • This Vaughn is located in Palm Beach County and lies 973 miles [1,565.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Palm Beach County community of Vaughn.
    • Georgia
      • Spalding County
      • This Vaughn is located in Spalding County and lies 642 miles [1,033.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spalding County community of Vaughn.
    • Kansas
      • Pawnee County
      • This Vaughn is located in Pawnee County and lies 1,206 miles [1,940.9 km]<1> to the west of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pawnee County community of Vaughn.
      • Rawlins 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 Vaughn [Rawlins County].
    • Louisiana
      • Morehouse Parish
      • This Vaughn is located in Morehouse Parish and lies 980 miles [1,577.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morehouse Parish community of Vaughn.
    • Mississippi
      • Leflore 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 Mississippi community of Vaughn [Leflore County].
      • Lincoln County
      • This Vaughn is located in Lincoln County and lies 977 miles [1,572.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Vaughn.
    • Montana
      • Cascade County
      • This Vaughn is located in Cascade County and lies 1,782 miles [2,867.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cascade County community of Vaughn.
    • New Mexico
      • Guadalupe County
      • This Vaughn is located in Guadalupe County and lies 1,599 miles [2,573.3 km]<1> to the west of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Guadalupe County community of Vaughn.
    • Oregon
      • Lane County
      • This Vaughn is located in Lane County and lies 2,369 miles [3,812.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lane County community of Vaughn.
    • Tennessee
      • Davidson 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 Tennessee community of Vaughn [Davidson County].
    • Virginia
      • Floyd 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 Virginia community of Vaughn [Floyd County].
      • Page County
      • This Vaughn is located in Page County and lies 140 miles [225.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Page County community of Vaughn.
    • Washington
      • Pierce County
      • This Vaughn is located in Pierce County and lies 2,305 miles [3,709.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Vaughn that is located in Dauphin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pierce County community of Vaughn.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Vaughn ...

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.

  • Chartwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Chartwood is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartwood
  • Fox Chase
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox Chase is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Chase
  • Haven Croft
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Haven Croft is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven Croft
  • Hillymeade
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillymeade is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillymeade
  • Holiday Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Holiday Park is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Park
  • Kent Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Kent Gardens is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Gardens
  • Lakeview Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeview Heights is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Heights
  • Locust Lane Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Locust Lane Gardens is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lane Gardens
  • Mountain View
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Mountain View is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
  • Pleasant Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Pleasant Hills is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
  • Poplar Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Poplar Gardens is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Gardens
  • Progress
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Progress is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Ridgeview
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Ridgeview is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeview
    • Rustic Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Rustic Hills is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustic Hills
    • Skyline View
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Skyline View is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline View
    • Spring Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Valley is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Twin Lakes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Twin Lakes is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
    • Twin Lakes Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Twin Lakes Park is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes Park

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

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

  • Harrisburg, which is the Seat of Dauphin County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies just to the west southwest (WSW).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 99 miles [159.3 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Vaughn to White House, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,827 miles [9,377.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,537 miles [10,520.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,413 miles [7,102 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Vaughn) 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 Vaughn 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>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.
<4>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 Vaughn 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 Vaughn. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3218, Longitude: -76.7847       In this case, the coordinates for Vaughn have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.639 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.375 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.043 degrees.