Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Athol, Massachusetts

32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Athol town. It lies in ZIP code area 01331. It stands on Mill Brook. The Survey maps it on the Athol quadrangle. 8,486 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 558 feet above sea level.

Athol within Worcester County

Population over time

2 figures

Athol grew from 8,265 to 8,486 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	8,265
2020	8,486	+221 (+3%)

Then and now

1887 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 101 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Athol, surveyed 1988

Topographic sheet of Athol, surveyed 1887

Topographic sheets covering this place

32 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 nearby

37 since 2004

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 37 fires within 5 miles of Athol between 2004 and 2020, burning about 177 acres in total. 1 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
Debris and open burning	22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	5
Smoking	3
Arson/incendiarism	2
Natural	1
Equipment and vehicle use	1
Recreation and ceremony	1
Railroad operations and maintenance	1
Fireworks	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
28 September 2020	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
22 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
23 August 2020	Natural	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
10 August 2020	Fireworks	1.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	TULLY MT FIRE
24 July 2015	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
30 June 2016	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
16 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
15 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 1,380 shown

Museums hold 1,380 specimens collected within 10 miles of Athol between 1856 and 1975: 714 Animalia, 442 Fungi, 200 Plantae, 15 Unrecorded, 9 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. Melander, A. Melander & A. Melander, A. P. Baker and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Osmunda regalis L.	1900	Bates, J.A.	Royalston.
Pyxine sorediata (Ach.) Mont.	1856	Charles C. Frost
Hemitrichia vesparia (Batsch) T.Macbr., 1899	1882	not recorded	Petersham
Solidago uliginosa Nutt.	1896	G. T. Hastings	Tully. Tully Lake.
Botrychium dissectum Spreng.	1898	not recorded
Juncus nodosus L.	1898	G. T. Hastings	Tully Lake.
Antennaria howellii subsp. canadensis (Greene) R.J.Bayer	1899	Bates, J.A.
Bulbostylis capillaris (L.) Kunth ex C.B.Clarke	1899	J. A. Bates
Carex normalis Mack.	1899	not recorded
Carex pallescens L.	1899	J. A. Bates
Carex radiata (Wahlenb.) Small	1899	J. A. Bates
Cyperus lupulinus var. macilentus (Fernald) A.Haines	1899	not recorded

All 1,380 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

8 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Athol: 5 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Mica, Talc-Soapstone, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Jagger Mine	Iron	Occurrence	1845
Town Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Talc Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	Producer	Metamorphic
Talc Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	Past Producer
Pegmatite Occurrence	Mica	Occurrence	Mica
Pegmatite Occurrence	Mica	Occurrence
South Royalston Mica Mine	Mica	Occurrence	Mica
South Royalston Mica Mine	Mica	Occurrence

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms nearby

36 since 1994

The National Weather Service names Athol in 36 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 25 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 2 lightning. 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
February 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$20,000	A tree was downed onto a car at the intersection of Partridgeville and Coolidge Roads in Athol.
July 2006	Lightning	Athol	$15,000	no account filed
October 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$10,000	Two trees were downed by thunderstorm winds on Chestnut Hill Avenue.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$10,000	no account filed
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$10,000	no account filed
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$7,000	In Athol, a tree was down on a house on Roosevelt Ave. Also, a large tree was down on Orchard Hill Rd, and a tree was down on wires on Orchard Hill Rd.
June 2025	Lightning	Athol	$5,000	Garage fire due to lightning on Old Keene Rd.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$5,000	In Athol, multiple trees were downed. On Chester St, OLD Keen Rd, and Silver Lake Rd. There was a tree through the roof of a house on Hillside Terrace.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$5,000	A tree on South Athol Road was downed onto wires by thunderstorm winds.
September 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$5,000	Large limbs were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
August 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$5,000	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$5,000	no account filed
March 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$4,000	In Athol, a tree was down on a car on Goodale Street, with a branch broken through the windshield.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	South Athol	$4,000	At 626 PM EST, in Athol, trees and wires were down on Partridgeville Road and Daniel Shays Highway. Tree and wires were also down on Chestnut Hill Avenue.
March 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$3,000	In Athol, a tree was down on a car on Main Street.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	$3,000	At 620 PM EST, a large portion of a tree was down in the parking lot of the Athol Savings Bank in Athol. Another tree was down on wires.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	South Athol	$1,500	In Athol there was a tree down on a house near Gage Rd. There were also trees and wires down on Pleasant St and Riverview Ave as well as powerlines down on Brookside Rd.
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	South Athol	$1,300	In Athol, trees and wires were down on South Athol Road.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	South Athol	$1,100	In Athol, a tree branch was down on a house on Jeri Drive and a tree was down on Metropolitan Court. A transformer was blown and wires were down on Pequoig Avenue.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	South Athol	$1,000	A large tree limb and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2022	Hail	Athol	-	In Athol, quarter size hail was reported... street was unspecified.
September 2010	Hail	Athol	-	Nickel size hail fell on White Pond Road.
August 2007	Hail	Athol	-	Quarter size hail.
August 2007	Hail	Athol	-	Quarter size hail was reported all throughout Athol.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	-	Trees and wires down.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	-	Trees and wires down on several roads including Route 2.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	-	Also affected Phillipston.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	-	A fast-moving microburst toppled or sheared off sturdy trees along about a 0.3 mile long path. No property damage was reported, but several trees fell against public buildings and had to be cut down.
August 2015	Hail	Athol	-	no account filed
July 2008	Hail	Athol	-	no account filed
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	-	no account filed
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	-	no account filed
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Athol	-	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Athol	-	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Athol	-	no account filed
May 1995	Hail	Athol	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Worcester 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Pinedale	1.3 miles	32
The Street	1.5 miles	32
Fryeville	2.2 miles	36
Partridgeville	2.3 miles	32
Eaglesville	3.9 miles	32
South Athol	4.8 miles	32
South Royalston	4.8 miles	36
Camp Caravan	5.0 miles	36

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 Athol	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4815620	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 609627. 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.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

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.