BlockBefore

Wells, New York

26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1997. It stands in Wells town. It lies in ZIP code area 12190. It stands on Elbow Creek. The Survey maps it on the Wells quadrangle. 531 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,007 feet above sea level.

Wells within Hamilton County

Then and now

1907 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 90 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Wells, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Wells, surveyed 1907

Compare 1907 against another survey:

On record in Wells

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 26 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

26 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 26 fires within 5 miles of Wells between 2002 and 2020, burning about 35 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 2 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
Natural8
Recreation and ceremony6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Arson/incendiarism2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 September 2010Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreNew York Forest RangersINDIAN LAKE ISLANDS
3 September 2007Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
11 September 2002Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
5 August 2020Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresFire Department of New YorkNA
22 August 2005Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
14 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.1 acresFire Department of New Yorknot named
13 August 2002Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
7 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hamilton County

Storms near this place

11 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wells in 11 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 7 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWells$4,000no account filed
April 2025Thunderstorm WindWells-A state official reported trees down in Wells, NY.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindWells-Tree was downed onto wires.
July 2014HailWells-Quarter size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in Wells.
May 2013HailWells-Local media reported ping pong ball size hail from a thunderstorm in Wells.
May 2011HailWells-Penny size hail was reported in Wells during a thunderstorm.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindWells-Trees were reported blown down by strong thunderstorm winds in Wells.
May 2006HailWells-Three quarter inch hail was reported at Wells.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindWells-Powerlines were blown down in Wells.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindWells-Trees were blown down onto Route 8.
November 2006Thunderstorm WindWells-Tree and wires reported down near Wells and Raquette Lake.

Every storm recorded in Hamilton County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Blackbridge2.5 miles26
Gilmantown3.2 miles26
Pumpkin Hollow3.4 miles26
Griffin6.3 miles23
Hope6.8 miles23
Girards Sugarbush7.1 miles23
Speculator8.0 miles26
Lake Pleasant8.3 miles26

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 WellsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q48739667The 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 969038. 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.

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.