Boston, Missouri
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Richland Township. It lies in ZIP code area 64759. It stands on Dorris Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lamar South quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1886 USGS Carthage quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Carthage quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1947 USGS Joplin quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Joplin quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Joplin quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Joplin quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Joplin quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Lamar South quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Joplin quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Joplin quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
39 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 39 fires within 5 miles of Boston between 1992 and 2020, burning about 871 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 20 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 August 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Missouri Department of Conservation | 178089-00625-08022018-1627 |
| 5 July 2000 | Debris and open burning | 100 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 23 May 1994 | Debris and open burning | 40 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 17 May 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | 200515-02439-05172019-0655 |
| 16 May 1994 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 17 April 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.4 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | 178087-00625-04172018-1406 |
| 5 March 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 4 March 2017 | Debris and open burning | 200 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Boston: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown - Clay | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Ls | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Ls | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
50 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Boston in 50 storm reports between 1998 and 2026: 28 flood, 7 hail, 7 flash flood, 6 thunderstorm wind. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2015 | Flood | Boston | 1 killed | A man drowned while attempting to cross a low water crossing on Farm Road SE 80 approximately two miles south of the community of Boston, Missouri. This area is a tributary of the North Fork of the Spring River. Time was estimated. |
| December 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Boston | 1 hurt, $45,000 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Tornado (EF0) | Boston | $3,400,000 | An EF-0 tornado touched down in south-central Barton County in Missouri at 2:29 PM on April 20, 2025, tracking northeast through the city of Lamar before finally lifting northeast of Milford at 2:50 PM. The majority of damage from this tornado was in the city of Lamar, where it caused light to moderate damage to around 200 homes and businesses. Eyewitness accounts report a rain-wrapped tornado, and much of the debris field left behind consisted of light debris like leaf litter pressed to multiple sides of impacted structures by the rain. Straight line wind damage was also found to the east of the path in Lamar. |
| April 2017 | Flash Flood | Boston | $250,000 | Several homes and business sustained flood damage across the county. Several roads and bridges were severely damaged or washed away across the county. This report will contain the total dollar estimate for flood damage to infrastructure, businesses, and homes across Barton County. |
| June 2013 | Flash Flood | Boston | $100,000 | A bridge was washed out from flash flooding of a small tributary of the North Fork of the Spring River. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Boston | $60,000 | Damaging winds downed several power poles and power lines resulting in widespread power outages. |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Boston | - | High winds downed a large tree which fell onto Highway 126 west of I-49. |
| April 2026 | Flash Flood | Boston | - | State Highway J was flooded at several low water areas. |
| April 2026 | Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 126 at the North Fork Spring River, just west of Interstate 49, was flooded and impassable. |
| April 2025 | Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 123 was closed due to flooding at the North Fork Spring River. |
| June 2025 | Flood | Boston | - | Missouri Highway 126 was closed between Interstate 49 and southwest 15th st due to flooding of the North Fork Spring River. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 126 was closed due to flooding of North Fork Spring River. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Boston | - | Outer Road 49 was closed due to flooding of the North Fork Spring River. |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 126 was closed due to flooding of North Fork Spring River. |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Boston | - | Outer Road 49 was closed due to flooding of the North Fork Spring River. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Boston | - | Golf ball sized hail was reported via MPing. |
| May 2022 | Flood | Boston | - | Highway 126 at the low water crossing on the North Fork Spring River was closed due to flooding. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Boston | - | Half dollar sized hail was reported. |
| January 2021 | Flood | Boston | - | Heavy rainfall caused the outer road along Interstate 49 south of Highway 126 to become flooded and impassable. |
| March 2020 | Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 126 was closed due to flooding at the North Fork Spring River. |
| March 2020 | Flood | Boston | - | State highway 126 was closed at the North Fork Spring River due to flooding. |
| May 2020 | Flood | Boston | - | Highway 126 was closed at Muddy Creek due to flooding. |
| May 2020 | Flood | Boston | - | Highway 126 was closed at the North Fork of the Spring River low water crossing due to flooding. |
| May 2020 | Flood | Boston | - | The outer road paralleling I-49 was closed due to high water north of Jasper, MO. |
| February 2020 | Flood | Boston | - | Highway 126 at the Muddy Creek low water crossing was impassible due to flooding over the roadway. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Boston | - | Nickle sized hail was reported. |
| February 2018 | Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 126 was closed due to flooding along the North Fork Spring River. |
| May 2017 | Flash Flood | Boston | - | Highway 126 was flooded and closed at the North Fork of the Spring River. |
| May 2017 | Flood | Boston | - | The outer road of I-49 was closed due to flooding. |
| April 2017 | Flood | Boston | - | Route 126 was closed about a quarter of a mile west of I-49 due to flooding. |
| April 2017 | Flood | Boston | - | The outer road on I-49 was closed due to flooding. |
| August 2017 | Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 126 was closed due to flooding. |
| May 2016 | Flood | Boston | - | MODOT reported that I-49 south bound was closed due to flooding between Highway 126 and the Jasper and Barton County border. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Boston | - | Several trees were blown down near I-49 and Highway 126. |
| December 2015 | Flood | Boston | - | The outer road along I-49 was closed due to flooding of the North Fork Spring River. |
| December 2015 | Flood | Boston | - | State Highway 126 was closed due to flooding of the North Fork Spring River. |
| June 2013 | Flood | Boston | - | Route J was closed. |
| April 2013 | Flood | Boston | - | Highway 126 was closed due to flooding. |
| April 2012 | Flood | Boston | - | Highway 126 was closed to due flooding. |
| March 2012 | Flood | Boston | - | MODOT reported Highway 126 about a mile from Highway 71 was flooded. |
| March 2010 | Flood | Boston | - | The Outer Road near Highway 71 was closed three miles south of Highway 26. |
| March 2010 | Flood | Boston | - | The Outer Road of Highway 71 was closed due to flooding. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Boston | - | Severe thunderstorm wind gusts downed a couple of trees near the intersection of Highway 71 and Highway 126. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Boston | - | Excessive rainfall caused a section of Highway 126 to become flooded and impassable to motorists. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Boston | - | A small area of trees were downed near Highway 71 and Southwest 40th Road. |
| March 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Boston | - | The tornado caused weak intermittent tree damage across rural sections of southern and eastern Barton County. No structures were damaged or destroyed and the tornado eventually crossed into Dade County. |
| March 2007 | Hail | Boston | - | no account filed |
| March 2007 | Hail | Boston | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Boston | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Boston | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esrom | 2.4 miles | 16 | |
| Kenoma | 4.8 miles | 17 | |
| Malty | 4.9 miles | 16 | |
| Oakton | 4.9 miles | 16 | |
| Sherwood (historical) | 5.6 miles | 17 | |
| Lamar Heights | 5.6 miles | 16 | |
| Lamar | 5.7 miles | 16 | |
| Bushnell | 9.0 miles | 17 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Boston | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4947699 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 729848. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.









