BlockBefore

Bolton, Massachusetts

43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1997. It stands in Bolton town. It lies in ZIP code area 01740. It lies near Powder House Hill. The Survey maps it on the Hudson quadrangle.

Bolton within Worcester County

Then and now

1887 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bolton, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Bolton, surveyed 1887

Compare 1887 against another survey:

On record in Bolton

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 5 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

19 surveys from 43 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.

In the county-history sources

3,062 words on this township

History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Bolton Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The town of Bolton is located in the eastern part of the county and is bounded as follows : on the north by Harvard, on the east by the towns of Hudson and Stow, on the south by Berlin and Hudson, and on the west by Clinton and Lancaster. Bolton originally formed a portion of Berlin, and was incorporated as a district of Berlin in March, 1738. It was incorporated as a town February 6, 1812, and named in honor of Charles Powlet, third Duke of Bolton.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

The town retained its original boundaries until 1868, when about two square miles of the most populous portion of Bolton was annexed to the town of Hudson, in Middlesex County. The inhabitants of the annexed portion continned to vote in this town in State and national elections until 1876.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

Atherton, Amsden, Babcock, Ball, Baker, Bacon, Barrett, a once large and influential family that settle \ on Long Hill, from which is descended Roswell B;irrett, Esq. ; Barnard, Bayley, Bigelow, Brooks, Bruce, Butler, Burnam, Carter, Caswell, Cooledge, Chaplin, Chase, Clark, Danforth, Davis, Divoll, Daikiu, Edwards, Ellis, Ellinwood, Fairbanks, Farnsworth, Faulkner, Farwell, Fife, Fuller, Fosket, Foster, Fry, a once numerous family, principally among the " Friends '' or " Quakers " ; Fletcher, Gardner, a name which did not come in with the first settlement, but which belonged, at a comparatively early period, to one of the most influential men the town has ever had, Stephen P.Gardner; Gates, Gibbs, Goss, Goddard, Greenleaf, Goodnow, Gould, Hale, Haven, Harris, Heraenway, Hastings, Holder, Howe, Houghton, a numerously represented family in all periods of the town's history, and associated with some of Bolton's most valued institutions; Holman, a family which has produced individuals who have exercised a most marked influence in all the affairs of the place, among whom were General Silas and his son. General Amory ; Howard, Jacobs, Jewett, Johnson, Jones, Keys, Knight, Kimmens, Earned, Lawrence, Longley, a family which produced several highly useful citizens among whom were three of our town clerks, grandfather, father and son, who held oflSce successively after each other; Maynard, Marble, jNIeriam, Mac- Bride, MacWain, Moore, a name largely represented in several families, remotely, if at all, connected with each other, which has been borne by three of our town treasurers, a father and two sons, one of whom was C. C. Moore, treasurer for more than thirty years; Newton, two or three distinct families ; Nicholls, Nurse, modernized into Nourse; Oaks, Osborn, Pierce, Parker, Pratt, Pollard, Rice, Richardson, Reed, Russell, Ross, Robins, Sawyer, Stearns, Sawtell, Stiles, Swan, Stone, Stratton, Tinney,Townsend and Tombs ; Whitcomb, of whom were Colonel John, his son Jonathan, and his grandson, 'Squire Edwin A., and many more; Wolcott, Whitney, White, Welsh, Wheeler, Woodbury, Wood, Wetherbee and Wheeler.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., 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 Bolton Town - it names this place 13 more 13 times.

Fires near this place

113 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 113 fires within 5 miles of Bolton between 2002 and 2020, burning about 2,441 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 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 burning58
Missing data/not specified/undetermined20
Recreation and ceremony19
Arson/incendiarism5
Smoking4
Equipment and vehicle use4
Misuse of fire by a minor3

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
7 September 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
5 September 2016Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
20 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
20 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
14 September 2016Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
12 September 2016Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
30 August 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,984 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,984 specimens collected within 10 miles of Bolton between 1858 and 1974: 1,208 Animalia, 511 Plantae, 254 Fungi, 6 Unrecorded, 4 Chromista, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. Gibson, A. Ferrett, A. G. Chandler 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook.Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook.1899E. F. Williams
A photograph of the species Quercus velutina, not of this specimenQuercus velutina Lam.1858E. S. HoarRoad to Marlboro, Concord.
A photograph of the species Condylura cristata, not of this specimenCondylura cristata cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)1859E S WheelerBERLIN
A photograph of the species Dryobates pubescens, not of this specimenDryobates pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832)1861not recordedBolton
Clemmys insculpta Fitzinger, 18351864Agassiz
A photograph of the species Bromus sterilis, not of this specimenBromus sterilis L.1879C. E. Faxon
A photograph of the species Merulius lacrymans, not of this specimenMerulius lacrymans (Wulfen) Schumach.1879Howes, A.Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Icterus galbula, not of this specimenIcterus galbula (Linnaeus, 1758)1881G. L. BrighamBolton
Nitella megacarpa (T.F.A.) R.D.W.1881T. F. AllenNashua River
Arphia sulphurea (Fabricius, 1781)1892unknownWellesley
Arthuriomyces peckianus (Howe) Cummins & Y.Hirats.1892W. B. Hosmer
A photograph of the species Castilleja coccinea, not of this specimenCastilleja coccinea (L.) Spreng.1892E. C. SmithMarboro.

All 1,984 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Bolton: 12 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Dimension, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Berlin Stone Co QuarryStone, DimensionProducer
Gneiss QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Bates Sand and Gravel Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Berin PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Berlin PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Berlin Town PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Bolton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Casaceli TruckingSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Casaceli Trucking PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Kanis PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this place

9 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bolton in 9 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado, 1 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2025Thunderstorm WindBolton$10,000In Bolton, two trees were down on a truck.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindBolton$5,000In Bolton, a tree was down on a car occupied by a person on Main St.
November 2021FloodSouth Bolton$5,000In Bolton, there was a public report (via MPING) of a river/creek overflowing with cropland/yard/basement flooding.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBolton$5,000Trees on Brook Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindBolton$3,000In Bolton, 5-6 trees were snapped in a straight line along Rt 117/Main St.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindBolton$2,500Between 2 PM and 205 PM EST, a tree and wires were brought down on Long Hill Road in Bolton, and a tree was down on Teele Road in Bolton.
August 2021Tornado (EF0)East Bolton$2,000In Bolton, a small, brief tornado touched down, causing minor damage between roughly 175 and 198 Main Street. One tree was knocked down onto wires and a large branch was ripped from another tree. It is believed that a funnel cloud initially formed a short distance to the southeast of where the damage was observed, and as it moved northwest, it briefly touched down. Radar data indicated rotation associated with a shower that moved over the area to be very similar to what was observed with the Marlborough tornado a short while earlier.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindEast Bolton$500In Bolton, a tree was down on Sugar Road.
June 2017HailBolton-At 419 PM EST, an amateur radio operator reported dime-size hail at Bolton.

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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Camp Resolute1.3 miles43
Camp Virginia1.6 miles43
Fryville1.8 miles43
Seventh Day Adventist Village2.1 miles43
South Bolton2.5 miles43
East Bolton2.6 miles43
Brockway Corner2.6 miles43
East Berlin3.0 miles43

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611192. 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.