BlockBarre, Massachusetts
31 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Barre town. It lies in ZIP code area 01005. It stands on Dicks Brook. The Survey maps it on the Barre quadrangle. 1,029 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 912 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.
Compare 1887 against another survey:
On record in Barre
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 2 records
Barre Common Districtlisted 1976
No. 4 Schoolhouselisted 1988
Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 9 records
- Catholie ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1905
- Congregational ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1905
- Depot, at Barre PlaingDepot, in the atlas of 1905
- Foundry QFoundry, in the atlas of 1905
- Knight, H., Plan'g Mill & Razor Strop FacMill, in the atlas of 1905
- Unitarian ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1905
- Whee/ ShopShop, in the atlas of 1905
- White Bros., Ootton MillMill, in the atlas of 1905
- Woods, H., SchoolSchool, in the atlas of 1905
Population over time
2 figuresBarre grew from 1,009 to 1,029 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 | 1,009 | |
| 2020 | 1,029 | +20 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
18 surveys from 31 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 Barre quadrangle1:62500
- 1889 USGS Barre quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Barre quadrangle1:62500, 7 printings
- 1908 USGS Ware quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS Ware quadrangle1:125000
- 1946 USGS Barre quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Barre quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Barre quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Barre quadrangle1:25000
- 1969 USGS Barre quadrangle1:24000
- 1975 USGS Barre quadrangle1:25000
- 1985 USGS Holyoke quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1988 USGS Barre quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
23,544 words on this townshipHistory of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Barre Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
From this time until 1812 the usual order of afl'airs prevailed. Under the pastorate of Dr. Thompson the church was prosperous and the number of members and attendants had increased. Nearly all the people had been united in one parish, holding to the prevailing theological (Congregational) belief of the day. In the east part of the town a few of the more prominent men had banded together to uphold and promote the Baptist scheme, and a number withdrew from the church here to unite with those of the eastern section ; in the south part, in 1820, a few had organized and formed aUniversalist society, attracting to themselves other attendants of the original church. One reason assigned by those of the Baptist persuasion for their withdrawal was the excessive taxes that were assessed for the ministerial support. As at this time the town was legally a whole and united parish, and all were liable to be assessed for the support of the one church, their method of withdrawal was somewhat unique. A committee of the church which they desired to attend certified to the town clerk this fact, the usuil form of certificate being as follows : " We certify that A. B. of the town of Barre is a member of the religious society of the town of Barre called Baptist (or Universalist, as the case might be) and doth associate with them in public worship." This, signed by the church committee and entered upon the town records, was presumed and tacitly acknowledged as a release from their obligations in aiding to support and maintain the original church.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
With other forms of belief, and with a more liberal as well as with a closer construction of the doctrines set forth, bitter controversies became prevalent. The church in the centre of the town adopted the liberal scheme, but many refused to adhere to this party, and, as was to be foreseen, could not act in harmony with them. They withdrew, and Augu-it 15, 1827, were organized by an ecclesiastical council, called for that purpose, as the Evangelical Congregational Chuich in Barre. Aside from the friction of a separation, harmony between these two organizations was somewhat interrupted, but the discords were afterwards allayed and a friendly rivalry sprang up between them.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
In continuing the history of the original parish, or the First Parish in Barre, as it became to be called, as early as 1818, notwithstanding the withdrawal of a number of its members at different times, and more especially those in 1827 who had formed the Evangelical Church, and of the secession of others from 1834 to 1841, the parish prospered. In 1827 a number of the inhabitants who attended its services petitioned that, as the sutferings of the people who attended public worship in the parish during the cold season of the year were very great, the parish should procure a stove, or stoves, with sufficient pipe to warm the meeting-house. This was a decided innovation, but the matter was pressed, and in November it was finally decided to raise one hundred and fifty dollars to defray the expense of stoves and pipe and ground for their location, and a committee of three was chosen to superintend the business of placing them in the house ; this was soon done, and from the year 1827 we may date the introduction of stoves into the churches of the country towns ; these may have been introduced in some other towns at an earlier date, but none of the adjoining ones preceded Barre in this respect.
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 Barre Town - it names this place 36 more 36 times.
Fires near this place
56 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 56 fires within 5 miles of Barre between 2015 and 2018, burning about 64 acres in total. None 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 | 32 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 10 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 7 August 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 23 August 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 28 July 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 28 July 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 1,671 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,671 specimens collected within 10 miles of Barre between 1839 and 1975: 919 Animalia, 443 Fungi, 285 Plantae, 15 Unrecorded, 9 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. V. Schott, A. Melander, A. Melander & A. Melander 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bartramia pomiformis Hedw. | 1839 | unknown | Barre |
 | Carex gracillima Schwein. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Carex intumescens Rudge | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Carex lacustris Willd. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Carex stipata Muhl. ex Willd. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Cypripedium acaule Aiton | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
| Calyptospora goeppertiana J.G.Kühn | 1895 | not recorded | US, Massachusetts, Barre | |
| Vaccinium corymbosum L. | 1895 | not recorded | US, Massachusetts, Barre | |
| Calosoma calidum (Fabricius, 1775) | 1896 | Knab, Frederick (1865-1918) | Massachusetts | |
| Chloealtis conspersa (Harris, 1841) | 1896 | A.P. Morse | ||
| Harpalus affinis (Schrank, 1781) | 1900 | unknown | Mass. |
All 1,671 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Barre: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Sulfur. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubbardston Mine | Iron, Sulfur | Past Producer | ||
| Browns Trucking | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| E. J. Connors Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Legion Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| R Curtis Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary |
Storms near this place
17 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Barre in 17 storm reports between 1998 and 2021: 7 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 lightning, 1 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2006 | Lightning | Barre | $50,000 | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barre | $25,000 | Trees were blown down on power lines. |
| February 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barre | $10,000 | Trees on South Barre Road in Barre were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| September 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barre | $10,000 | A tree was downed onto Sunrise Avenue. Wires were downed onto High Street, near Peach Street. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barre | $10,000 | Trees were downed onto wires by thunderstorm winds on Sunrise Avenue, Williamsville Road, and Pleasant Street. |
| July 2005 | Lightning | Barre | $8,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Lightning | Barre | $5,000 | Lightning struck a home on Grogan Road, causing a fire that resulted in damage to a large bedroom, as well as knocking out the electricity and phone service to the house. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barre | $500 | In Barre a tree was down at Old Cold Brook Road at Walnut Hill Road. |
| August 2015 | Hail | Barre | - | Quarter to ping pong ball size hail fell in Barre. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Barre | - | Penny size hail. |
| July 2000 | Funnel Cloud | Barre | - | Hiller Tanner Airport |
| January 1999 | Flash Flood | Barre | - | Ware River |
| July 2012 | Hail | Barre | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Barre | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barre | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barre | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Barre | - | no account filed |
Newspapers printed here
1 paper1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.
| Newspaper | Published |
|---|---|
| Cronaca Sovversiva | 1903 to 1920 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heald Village | 0.5 miles | 31 | |
| Mill Village | 0.7 miles | 31 | |
| White Valley | 2.6 miles | 31 | |
| South Barre | 2.6 miles | 31 | |
| Barre Plains | 3.1 miles | 31 | |
| Smithville | 3.4 miles | 31 | |
| Coldbrook Springs | 3.7 miles | 31 | |
| Williamsville | 3.9 miles | 31 |
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 Barre | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4863275 | 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 609878. 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.