RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Montgomery County >> Washington Square >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Washington Square, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Washington Square 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 Washington Square:
    • 40.148719, -75.307402
    • 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 Washington Square
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Washington Square is near Indiana County and also Philadelphia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Indiana County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Philadelphia 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 Washington Square

Communities Also Named Washington Square ...

We found six communities that are also named Washington Square.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Washington Square is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Washington Square is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 831 miles [1,337.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Washington Square that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Washington Square.
    • Connecticut
      • New London 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 Connecticut community of Washington Square [New London County].
    • Georgia
      • Peach County
      • This Washington Square is located in Peach County and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Washington Square that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Peach County community of Washington Square.
    • North Carolina
      • Wake County
      • This Washington Square is located in Wake County and lies 350 miles [563.3 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Washington Square that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wake County community of Washington Square.
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Washington Square is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,910 miles [3,073.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Washington Square that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Washington Square.
    • West Virginia
      • Cabell County
      • This Washington Square is located in Cabell County and lies 398 miles [640.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Washington Square that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cabell County community of Washington Square.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Washington Square ...

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.

  • Acorn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Acorn is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
  • Black Horse
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Black Horse is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Horse
  • Blue Bell
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Broad Axe
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Clover Crest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Clover Crest is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Crest
  • Cold Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cold Point is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Point
  • Far-A-Field
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Far-A-Field is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Far-A-Field
  • Five Points
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Five Points is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Harley Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Harley Corners is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harley Corners
  • Hickorytown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickorytown is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickorytown
  • Ivy Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Ivy Rock is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Rock
  • Joshua Knoll
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Joshua Knoll is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Knoll
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Meadow Wick
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Meadow Wick is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Wick
    • Mermaid Estates
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Mermaid Estates is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mermaid Estates
    • Mews at Blue Bell
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Mews at Blue Bell is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mews at Blue Bell
    • Mount Pleasant
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Plymouth Meeting
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Seven Stars
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Seven Stars is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Springtown
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Springtown is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springtown
    • Stuarts Keep
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Stuarts Keep is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuarts Keep
    • Swedesburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Swedesburg is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedesburg
    • Town Court
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Town Court is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Court
    • Townline
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Townline is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townline
    • Village Circle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Village Circle is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Circle

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

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

  • Norristown, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 83 miles [133.6 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Washington Square to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4>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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 126 miles [202.8 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,772 miles [9,289.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,478 miles [10,425.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,355 miles [7,008.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Washington Square) 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 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 Washington Square 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'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 Washington Square 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 Washington Square. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1487, Longitude: -75.3074       In this case, the coordinates for Washington Square have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.771 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.365 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.473 degrees.