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

Brookline, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Brookline town. It lies in ZIP code area 02445. It stands on Aspinwall Hill. The Survey maps it on the Boston South quadrangle.

Brookline within Norfolk County

Then and now

1893 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Brookline, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Brookline, surveyed 1893

Topographic sheets covering this place

46 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.

Photographs

3 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.

Cochituate Aqueduct, Brookline Reservoir Gatehouse, Boylston & Warren Streets, Brookline, Norfolk County, MA
Cochituate Aqueduct, Brookline Reservoir Gatehouse, Boylston & Warren Streets, Brookline, Norfolk County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Fairsted, 99 Warren Street, Brookline, Norfolk County, MA
Fairsted, 99 Warren Street, Brookline, Norfolk County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
West End Street Railway, Cleveland Circle Car House, Chestnut Hill Avenue & Beacon Street vicinity, Brookline, Norfolk County, MA
West End Street Railway, Cleveland Circle Car House, Chestnut Hill Avenue & Beacon Street vicinity, Brookline, Norfolk County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Fires nearby

28 since 2003

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 28 fires within 5 miles of Brookline between 2003 and 2020, burning about 328 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Recreation and ceremony8
Smoking4
Arson/incendiarism2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
23 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 September 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBROOKLINE
2 September 2017Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlQUINCY
6 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMILTON
28 August 2016Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWEYMOUTH
26 August 2017Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBROOKLINE
20 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBOSTON
9 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Norfolk County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 12,934 shown

Museums hold 12,934 specimens collected within 10 miles of Brookline between 1810 and 1975: 5,256 Plantae, 3,907 Fungi, 3,299 Animalia, 193 Protozoa, 180 Chromista, 66 Unrecorded, 33 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by (MARSDEN, H W), ?, ? ex Herb. W.G. Farlow 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 Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.1900R. ThaxterStony Brook
Specimen of Lysimachia × producta (A.Gray) FernaldLysimachia × producta (A.Gray) Fernald1900A. P. Chute
A photograph of the species Thalictrum L., not of this specimenThalictrum L.1810Boott, J.W.Near Boston.
A photograph of the species Anemone L., not of this specimenAnemone L.1815Boott, J.Andover Turnpike, 7 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Corydalis Vent., not of this specimenCorydalis Vent.1815Boott, F.M.B.Worcester turnpike, 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Corylus L., not of this specimenCorylus L.1815not recordedCambridge Port, 2 miles from Boston.
Ericaceae1815BoottBoston, U.S.A.
A photograph of the species Hepatica Mill., not of this specimenHepatica Mill.1815Boott, F.M.B.Sweet Auburn.
A photograph of the species Limonium vulgare, not of this specimenLimonium vulgare Mill.1815not recordedOn Cragies Road [=near Cragies Bridge], 1 1/2 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Mollugo verticillata, not of this specimenMollugo verticillata L.1815Boott, F.M.B.Boston.
A photograph of the species Nuphar Sm., not of this specimenNuphar Sm.1815Boott, J.W.Worcester Turnpike 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Persicaria Mill., not of this specimenPersicaria (L.) Mill.1815Boott, J.W.Craigie's Road, 2 miles from Boston.

All 12,934 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

9 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Brookline: 7 plants, 1 unknown, 1 past producer. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Lead, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Tantalum. 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
C. J. MabardySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Nrc Inc--Newton, Ma.Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium)Plant
West Roxbury Crushed Stone OperatioStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Whittemore Prdts Inc--BostonPerlitePlant
(Facility) Cambridge Smelter CoLeadPlant
General Metals & Smelting--BostonLeadPlant
Industrial Serv. Centers--CambridgeIronPlant
Us Steel Supply Div--BostonIronPlant
Wheelock-Lovejoy--Cambridge, Ma.IronPlant

Every working recorded in Norfolk County

Storms nearby

19 since 1995

The National Weather Service names Brookline in 19 storm reports between 1995 and 2022: 13 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 flood, 1 hail. 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
August 2015Thunderstorm WindBrookline$15,000Several trees and wires on Cottage Street and Dean Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. In addition, an amateur radio operator reported a 58 mph wind gust.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindBrookline$10,000Several trees and wires on Route 9 were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBrookline$10,000A tree on Beacon Street was downed onto a car.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBrookline$10,000no account filed
June 2013Thunderstorm WindBrookline$3,000A tree on Forest Street was downed by thunderstorm winds, blocking the street.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindBrookline$3,000Several large branches near Hellenic College, Lars Anderson Park, and on Park and Avon Streets were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBrookline$2,500In Brookline, at 1259 PM EST (159 PM EDT), a tree was down onto a building on Perry Street. At 101 PM EST (201 PM EDT), a tree was down on the 200 block of Walnut Street.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindBrookline$1,100In Brookline, a tree and power lines were down on Walnut Hill Road and wires were down on Wolcott Road.
October 2022FloodBrookline-In Brookline, street flooding closed Woodland Road at Hammond Street and Goddard Avenue at Cottage Street. Report relayed by amateur radio.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindBrookline-Several trees were downed by thunderstorm winds. Several tents at an amateur radio field day event were blown over.
August 2010FloodBrookline-Portions of Route 9 (Boylston Street) were flooded with up to three feet of water. Newton and South Streets and Clark Road were impassable due to flooding.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBrookline-An anemometer at the Clay Center Observatory recorded a wind gust of 61 mph.
August 2015HailBrookline-no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindBrookline-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindBrookline-no account filed
October 1996Flash FloodBrookline-no account filed
October 1996Flash FloodBrookline-no account filed
October 1996Flash FloodBrookline-no account filed
October 1995Thunderstorm WindBrookline-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Norfolk 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
Brookline Village0.3 miles46
Longwood Station0.9 miles46
Coolidge Corner1.0 miles46
Beaconsfield1.1 miles46
Reservoir1.5 miles46
Westbrook Village2.8 miles46
Milton Upper Mills5.1 miles46
Riverdale5.1 miles46

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 606977. 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.