BlockBlackstone, Massachusetts
50 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Blackstone town. It lies in ZIP code area 01504. It stands on Fox Brook. The Survey maps it on the Blackstone quadrangle.
Then and now
1886 to 1989The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
On record in Blackstone
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 7 records
Blackstone Manufacturing Company Historic Districtlisted 1995
Blackstone Viaductlisted 2002
East Blackstone Friends Meetinghouselisted 1995
East Blackstone Village Historic Districtlisted 1995
Farnum's Gate Historic Districtlisted 1995
Southwick-Daniels Farmlisted 1995
Benjamin Thayer Houselisted 2009
Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record
- Old Stone Building, Blackstonefederal building survey, 2 photographs
Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 12 of 14 shown
- Congregational ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1893 to 1910
- Lincoln HotelHotel, in the atlas of 1893 to 1903
- Union HotelHotel, in the atlas of 1893 to 1910
- Baptist ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1893
- Evans, Seagrave Co.'s Woolen MillMill, in the atlas of 1893
- M'fg Co.,Cotton MillMill, in the atlas of 1910
- Mill, Bast sideMill, in the atlas of 1893
- Miller, G. H., Ice HouseMill, in the atlas of 1910
- Miller, Geo. H., Ice HousesMill, in the atlas of 1898
- Old& Vac. MillMill, in the atlas of 1898
- Post Office BlockIce House, in the atlas of 1910
- Saranae MillMill, in the atlas of 1903
Topographic sheets covering this place
21 surveys from 50 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 Blackstone quadrangle1:62500
- 1889 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:62500
- 1893 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1900 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:62500, 7 printings
- 1908 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1919 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1943 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000
- 1944 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:31680, 5 printings
- 1948 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:25000
- 1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1969 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
- 1977 USGS Blackstone quadrangle1:25000
- 1982 USGS Uxbridge quadrangle1:25000
- 1985 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
18,023 words on this townshipHistory of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Blackstone Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
To the whole of the purchase then made the name of Mendon was soon afterwards given. The town of Blackstone, the last of several towns carved, in whole or in part, out of that territory, was really marked out by the estaldishment of the so-called South Precinct in 1766, but it was nearly eighty years later before the town was incorporated.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
The town has no natural lakes or large ponds, and the area occupied by its streams is stated by Mr. Walling to be ninety acres. The highest land is found in the extreme northwest, in the hills collectively known as Chestnut Hill. More isolated are the Daniels Hill, north of the centre of the town, and Waterbug Hill, a little southwest of the centre. East of Mill River, Candlewood Hill stretches north and south a distance of about two miles. Pond's Hill overlooks the village of Waterford, and presents abrupt sides, both towards Fox Brook on the west and Blackstone River on the south.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
G. The Earliest Settlers. - The town of Mendon was settled under the proprietary system, each settler having his grant, his common right in all the unappropriated land, and his share when any section was divided. It is probable that the earliest settlers took up their abode here not far fiom the year 1700. They entered the town from two points - on the west at Chestnut Hill, whence they passed down to the Blackstone River at Millville; on the east they settled up and down the Mill Riveras far as Woonsocket Falls. Exact knowledge as to the earliest proprietors is perhaps unobtainable. Some who came very early,. however, are mentioned in the records so definitely that we can grasp the fact.
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 Blackstone Town - it names this place 82 more 82 times.
Photographs
2 photographs,Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fires near this place
127 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 127 fires within 5 miles of Blackstone between 2002 and 2020, burning about 99 acres in total. None started naturally. 26 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 26 |
| Debris and open burning | 22 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 17 |
| Smoking | 10 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Rhode Island Division of Forest Environment | not named |
| 8 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 8 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 8 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Rhode Island Division of Forest Environment | not named |
| 3 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 29 September 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 27 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Rhode Island Division of Forest Environment | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 268 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 268 specimens collected within 10 miles of Blackstone between 1844 and 1974: 130 Plantae, 101 Animalia, 23 Fungi, 9 Protozoa, 3 Unrecorded, 2 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh. | 1896 | Henderson | |
 | Coryneum pulvinatum Kunze | 1897 | D. Murray | |
 | Trichophorum planifolium (Spreng.) Palla | 1844 | Collector unspecified | Uxbridge |
 | Carex vesicaria L. | 1848 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Potamogeton epihydrus Raf. | 1848 | J. W. Robbins | Uxbridge |
 | Potamogeton bicupulatus Fernald | 1854 | W. J. Robbins | Uxbridge |
 | Carex brevior (Dewey) Mack. | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Carex normalis Mack. | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Carex siccata Dewey | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Carex straminea Willd. ex Schkuhr | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Hyla versicolor LeConte, 1825 | 1857 | Weinland, David Friedrich | |
| Sterna hirundo hirundo Linnaeus, 1758 | 1892 | Babbitt, J P | Massachusetts |
All 268 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 26 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 26 workings within 5 miles of Blackstone: 14 past producers, 6 producers, 3 unknowns, 2 occurrences. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Titanium, Metal, Vanadium, Molybdenum. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Hill | Molybdenum | Occurrence | Chalcopyrite, Molybdenite, Scheelite | |
| Copper Mine Hill | Tungsten, Copper, Garnet, Molybdenum, Iron | Occurrence | Magnetite, Scheelite | |
| Iron Mine Hill | Iron, Titanium | Prospect | ||
| Iron Mine Hill Deposit | Iron, Titanium, Metal, Vanadium | Past Producer | ||
| Iron Mine Hill Deposit | Iron, Copper | Past Producer | Magnetite | |
| Manville Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Unknown | ||
| C Pezza and Son Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Candlewood Recreation Area | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Fortes Brothers Co Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Greenville Road Mine | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
11 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Blackstone in 11 storm reports between 1999 and 2020: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. The reports record 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2004 | Lightning | Blackstone | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blackstone | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Flood | East Blackstone | $5,000 | At 5:23 PM EST, Main Street in Blackstone was flooded and impassable. A car was trapped in the floodwaters and towed out. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Blackstone | $5,000 | A tree was downed onto wires at the intersection of Milk and Chestnut Streets in Blackstone. |
| June 2020 | Flash Flood | Blackstone | $4,000 | In Blackstone, two cars were stuck in flood waters on Rathbun Street. Roadway was impassable. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Blackstone | $1,000 | In Blackstone, a tree was down on Federal Street near the Hartnett Middle School. Trees and wires were down on Farm Street. |
| August 2019 | Flood | Blackstone | $500 | In Blackstone, a car was stuck in flood waters on Rathbun Street. |
| July 2018 | Flash Flood | Blackstone | - | At 4:22 pm EST heavy rain in Blackstone made Rathbun Street at Champlain Avenue flooded and impassable. |
| November 2018 | Flood | East Blackstone | - | In Blackstone, Main Street was closed due to flooding. A car was stuck in flood waters on Main Street near CVS Pharmacy. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Blackstone | - | no account filed |
| September 1999 | Heavy Rain | Blackstone | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millville | 2.2 miles | 50 | |
| Millerville | 2.2 miles | 44 | |
| East Blackstone | 2.3 miles | 50 | |
| Chestnut Hill Meeting House | 2.7 miles | 50 | |
| Ironstone | 3.8 miles | 50 | |
| Centerville | 5.4 miles | 50 | |
| Wheelockville | 5.8 miles | 50 | |
| Mendon | 6.1 miles | 50 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611608. 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.