BlockBaldwinville, Massachusetts
33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Templeton town. It lies in ZIP code area 01436. It stands on Trout Brook. The Survey maps it on the Templeton quadrangle. 2,117 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 889 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1887 to 1988The 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.
On record in Baldwinville
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 within a mile 1 record
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
Baldwinville Village Historic Districtlisted 1986 · 0.2 miles away
Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 12 of 16 shown
- Narragansett HotelHotel, in the atlas of 1900 to 1905
- Turner, A. H.,"Shoddy-millMill, in the atlas of 1900 to 1905
- Unitarian ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1900 to 1905
- B. & A. R. R. Depot, at Templeton CentreDepot, in the atlas of 1905
- Bishop & Dickinson, Reed & Rattan ChairsShop, in the atlas of 1905
- Depot PandDepot, in the atlas of 1905
- Methodist ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1900
- Methodist Episcopal ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1905
- Mill, at TempletonMill, in the atlas of 1905
- Mooney, Geo. T., Wood-turning ShopShop, in the atlas of 1900
- River MillsMill, in the atlas of 1900
- School, at Otter RiveiSchool, in the atlas of 1900
Population over time
2 figuresBaldwinville grew from 2,028 to 2,117 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, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. 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 | 2,028 | |
| 2020 | 2,117 | +89 (+4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
18 surveys from 33 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.
- 1887 USGS Winchendon quadrangle1:62500
- 1890 USGS Winchendon quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Winchendon quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1935 USGS Winchendon quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1942 USGS Keene quadrangle1:125000
- 1946 USGS Templeton quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Templeton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Templeton quadrangle1:31680
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1970 USGS Templeton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1970 USGS Templeton quadrangle1:25000
- 1975 USGS Templeton quadrangle1:25000
- 1986 USGS Keene quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 1988 USGS Athol quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
30,079 words on this townshipHistory of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Templeton Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Templeton is situated on a high elevation. The village at the centre of the town is not less than twelve hundred feet above the level of the sea. Some hills rise even higher than that. There is an elevated plateau reaching from Wachusett Mountain, in the central part of Worcester County, to Monadnock, in Southern New Hampshire. This town lies on the western edge of this plateau, where it begins to slope toward the Connecticut River, as the eastern side of the plateau slopes toward the Merrimac. There are no mountainous elevations in the town, although the whole surface is hilly. The hills are rounded masses, usually fertile to the summit. The crests of some of these hills and ridges command extensive views of the surrounding country, as from Dolbear Hill, near the village at the centre of the town. Mine Hill, in the eastern part of the town, and from the high ridges of laud in the southern and also in the northwestern parts of the town. It is a notal.ile feature of this portion of Worcester County that it lies in long ridges or swells of land extending in a northerly and southerly line, with corresponding valleys between. Roads running north and south find locations quite nearly level ; but running east and west it is one continuous couree of up hill and down. The Ware River Railroad finds ea.sy grades through one of these valleys. The situation of this town, just on the western edge of the plateau, brings it just barely within the Connecticut River basin, into which river all of its surplus waters flow. The towns lying next easterly of this, send a portion of their waters into the Merrimac. The largest stream of water in town is Otter River. This stream has its sources in Hubbardston and Gardner, flows through the southeasterly portion of this town, and the southwesterly part of Gardner, forms the boundary line between the two towns for some distance, then flows in a northwesterly direction through the northerly part of the town, yielding an abundant water-power at the villages of Otter River and Baldwinville. Just outside of this town it unites with Miller's River, a tributary of the Connecticut. Otter River has several tributaries in this town. Mill Brook, with several reservoirs for the storage of water, furnishes several water privileges at P^irtridgeville and East Templeton. Trout Brook, with several mill privileges, flows in a direct northerly course through one of the valleys and falls into Otter River a little below Baldwinville. Beaver Brook flows in a northerly course through another of the valleys in the extreme westerly part of the town, falling into Miller's River near South Royalston. There were formerly two saw-mills on this brook. There are several small tributaries of Otter River, some of which have in the past furnished mill-sites. The Burnshirt River drains the southwesterly part of the town and furnishes several mill privileges. This stream falls into Ware River, and thence by way of the Chicopee River reaches the Connecticut. On these various streams there are not less than thirty-five mill-sites, the water-power of which has at some time been turned to practical use. But some of them have in later times been given up.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
Baldwinville is in the northerly part of the town, well toward the Winchendon line and about four miles from the Centre village. It has excellent railroad facilities, being situated at the junction of the Ware River Railroad with the Fitchburg. The Baptist Church and the Goodell Memorial Church are both in this village. There is also a public hall, named Union Hall. George E. Bryant is postmaster of the village. For several years Mr. George Partridge has been the proprietor of the hotel. The Templeton Savings Bank has its place of business in this village. Mr. Louis Leland has kept a store at the " Lee" stand in this village since 1870, keeping a supply of dry goods, groceries and miscellaneous articles. In the Cady & Brooks block, near the railroad bridge, Mr. C. S. Dickin.son keeps drugs and medicines and a slock of furnishing goods in one store, and Messrs. C. S. Dickinson & Co. keep groceries in an adjoining store, in one portion of which is the post-office. Supplies of coal are furnished by Messrs. Evans & Bowker. Otter River Hows directly through the village and furnishes a liberal supply of water-power, which is industriously used. The shop at the uppermost privilege is owned and occupied by Messrs. Smith, Day & Co., in the manufacture of chairs. A portion of the water-power here is used to turn the machinery of the paper-mill, where sheathing, roofing and fire-proof paper is manufactured by Mr. H. M. Small, formerly Small, Gould & Co. Mr. George A. Brooks is a contractor and builder, as well as a dealer in lumber. Following down the river, we come to what was formerly known as the " Red Mill." Here the Waite Chair Company manufecture children's chairs in a variety of patterns and with various ingenious devices for changing their form and rolling them about. At the "Lower mill " chairs of various patterns are manufactured by Messrs. D. L. Thompson & Son. On the north side of the river Messrs. Baker & Wilson manufacture children's wagons and carts at the lower shop, and carry on an extensive business of grinding and selling corn at the upper shop, formerly known as the "Hat-shop." There is a machine-shop near the railroad bridge in which William E. Nichols manufactures band-saw machines and chair machinery of various kinds and does other machinist's work. Messrs. Holman & Harris have built a new shop in the northerly part of the village, close by the railroad. They use steampower only, and make large quantities of pails, buckets and other wooden-ware. This account of the business of the village would not be complete without mentioning an enterprise in which Mr. Frank L. Hosmer and Mr. E. W. Lund are separately engaged. Each has a green-house, heated by steam, in which cucumbers are raised during the winter, and are ready in the very early spring for the New York and Boston markets, to which they are daily sent.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
However this may be, it seems to be fettled that at about this same date of 1754 a saw-mill and gristmill was erected by this same Thomas Sawyer, of Bolton, in what is now the village of Baldwinville, on the site of the shop now occupied by the Waite Chair Company.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Templeton Town - it names this place 37 more 37 times.
Fires near this place
29 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 29 fires within 5 miles of Baldwinville between 2015 and 2020, burning about 19 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 August 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 July 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 24 July 2016 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 24 July 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 1 July 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 9 June 2016 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 27 June 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 23 June 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 680 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 680 specimens collected within 10 miles of Baldwinville between 1856 and 1975: 364 Plantae, 168 Fungi, 139 Animalia, 6 Unrecorded, 3 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A., A. F. Newton, A. J. Stone 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.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Osmunda regalis L. | 1900 | Bates, J.A. | Royalston. |
 | Pyxine sorediata (Ach.) Mont. | 1856 | Charles C. Frost | |
 | Carex maritima Gunnerus | 1870 | J. W. Congdon | Wellville |
 | Veronica L. | 1871 | not recorded | |
 | Drosera rotundifolia L. | 1882 | not recorded | |
 | Linnaea borealis subsp. longiflora (Torrey) Hultén | 1882 | not recorded | |
 | Moneses uniflora (L.) A.Gray | 1882 | M. A. M. | Winchendon |
 | Polygala paucifolia Willd. | 1882 | M. A. M. | |
 | Utricularia vulgaris subsp. macrorhiza (Leconte) Clausen | 1886 | M., K. M. | |
 | Peltandra virginica (L.) Schott | 1892 | A. | |
| Rosa rubiginosa L. | 1892 | not recorded | ||
| Carex scoparia Schkuhr ex Willd. | 1896 | W. Deane |
All 680 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
10 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Baldwinville: 6 past producers, 2 producers, 2 occurrences. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Mica. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Royalston Mica Mine | Mica | Occurrence | Mica | |
| South Royalston Mica Mine | Mica | Occurrence | ||
| City of Gardner | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Dines Roger Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Highway Pit & Gardner Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Otter River Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sibley Road Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Templeton Hwy Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Templeton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Templeton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
3 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Baldwinville in 3 storm reports between 2014 and 2022: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baldwinville | $5,000 | A tree and wires on River Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2018 | Lightning | Baldwinville | $2,000 | At 5:42 PM EST, lightning struck a transformer on Royalston Road near Baldwinville and caused a power outage. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baldwinville | $1,400 | In Templeton, a tree and wires were down on Bridge Street, near Elm Street. Also, a large branch and wires were down on Highland Avenue. Report relayed by amateur radio. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter River | 1.5 miles | 33 | |
| Parkers Station | 3.0 miles | 36 | |
| Templeton Station | 3.4 miles | 33 | |
| Brooks Village | 3.6 miles | 33 | |
| Templeton | 3.7 miles | 33 | |
| East Templeton | 3.7 miles | 33 | |
| Phillipston Four Corners | 4.0 miles | 32 | |
| Winchendon Center | 4.1 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 Baldwinville | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q25564 | 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 609877. 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.