BlockBrooks, Massachusetts
46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Princeton town. It lies in ZIP code area 01541. It stands on Cobb Brook. The Survey maps it on the Wachusett Mountain quadrangle.
Then and now
1885 to 1989The same ground, surveyed 104 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Topographic sheets covering this place
21 surveys from 46 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.
- 1885 USGS Worcester quadrangle1:62500
- 1886 USGS Worcester quadrangle1:62500
- 1892 USGS Worcester quadrangle1:62500, 10 printings
- 1908 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1939 USGS Wachusett Mtn quadrangle1:31680
- 1940 USGS Wachusett Mtn quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS Wachusett Mtn quadrangle1:31680
- 1942 USGS Wachusett Mtn. quadrangle1:31680
- 1943 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000
- 1946 USGS Wachusett Mtn quadrangle1:31680, 3 printings
- 1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1956 USGS Wachusett Mtn quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1972 USGS Wachusett Mtn quadrangle1:24000
- 1972 USGS Wachusett Mtn quadrangle1:25000
- 1975 USGS Wachusett Mtn. quadrangle1:25000
- 1985 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000
- 1988 USGS Sterling quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
9,344 words on this townshipHistory of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Princeton Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Topography. - Few towns are so diversified by hills, both large and small, of every description. In fact, the place is made up of rough and uneven land, without plains or valleys worthy of notice. It embraces a range of high lands starting with the White Mountains in New Hampshire, running southward and extending through Worcester County into the State of Connecticut. Wachusett is the highest peak in this range and the most attractive mountain in the State, of which a more particular description will be given in another place. The two next highest peaks are Pine Hill in the east, and Little Wachusett near the centre. The high range of land running north and south through the town constitutes a water-shed, so that the waters falling here divide and flow away by small streams in three directions. It will be seen that as no streams run into the town there can be found no large collections of water or much water-power. Thus, the rain falling in drops on the highest points of land, these immediately separate - a part flow into the Atlantic Ocean and a part into Long Island Sound. As these waters gather at the base of the mountain they are called Wachusett's Brooks - East, South and West - -the first entering into the Nashua, the second into the Quinnepoxet Pond, and thence into the Blackstone River, and the West flows into the Ware River and thence into the Connecticut. There are two small ponds in the town - the Quinnepoxet, in the southern part, on the boundary of Holden, and the Wachusett Pond, a part of which is in Westminster. On account of the great number of natural springs in the mountain and hills, the town has for all necessary purposes an aliundance of the purest water.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.
John Brooks was born in Princeton, February "22, 1789, being the ninth of fourteen children. His father was a master carpenter, and built fourteen meeting-houses; the son worked with his father till he was twenty-four years of age, and was a good mechanic. He went to Boston and was in the broker's business there, at the, corner of State and Kilby Streets. The building in which his office was located is still standing. During or soon after the War of 1812 he went to Canada to buy Spanish dollars for the purpose of selling them again for the broker with whom he wiis in business. He thus earned the sobriqiiet of " Broker Brooks," by which name he was called for a long time.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.
He was married, in 1818, to Miss Sarah Eraser, daughter of John Eraser, of Franklin Street, Boston. He went to Princeton in 1824, and took the care of his father's farm and family, the farm being then worth eight hundred dollars, but now it is valued at twelve thousand dollars, the gain being due to the good management of the present owner, his son, John Brooks. He has served in all the offices of the town with the exception of that of town clerk, and has been Representative and Senator in the General Court. He was president of the Worcester Agricultural Society and a member of the State Board of Agriculture, also one of the founders of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of Worcester. He died in Princeton, at the home of his childhood. May 1, 1863. Resolutions were passed on the occasion of his death by the Worcester Agricultural Society and the State Board of Agriculture, both testifying to his useful life as a citizen and a devoted patriot ; to his cultivated mind, his courteous manners and his unswerving integrity, together with his ever-active and earnest labors for the advancements of the pursuits of husbandry. Eev. W. T. Briggs officiated at his funeral and testified to his high character and useful life, and showed that in the midst of life he was prepared for death, and was ready when the summons came to join that innumerable throng of which the poet Bryant so grandly sings.
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.
Fires near this place
34 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 34 fires within 5 miles of Brooks between 2015 and 2020, burning about 16 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 2 August 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 22 July 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 30 June 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 15 June 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 8 May 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 5 May 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 21 May 2020 | 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 575 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 575 specimens collected within 10 miles of Brooks between 1848 and 1974: 329 Plantae, 154 Animalia, 85 Fungi, 4 Protozoa, 2 Unrecorded, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. K. Harrison, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele, A.B. Seymour 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff. | 1895 | James F. Collins | South spur, Mount Wachusett |
 | Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.Clausen | 1900 | Davenport | Pine Hill; Medford |
 | Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) | 1900 | Roscoe I. Giles | |
 | Tamias striatus lysteri (Richardson, 1829) | 1848 | L Agassiz | PARSONS ISLAND |
 | Hygrophorus coccineus (Schaeff.) Fr. | 1856 | D. Murray; C. J. Sprague | [Presumably Massachusetts] |
 | Ripiphorus fasciatus (Say, 1824) | 1867 | not recorded | |
 | Carex foenea Willd. | 1878 | W. Boott | Wachusett Mountain |
 | Merulius lacrymans (Wulfen) Schumach. | 1879 | Howes, A. | Massachusetts |
 | Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (Aiton) Rydb. | 1879 | Bailey, W.W. | summit of Mt. Wachusett |
 | Diploschistes scruposus (Schreb.) Norman | 1880 | Alex Walther | [illegible] |
 | Najas gracillima (A.Braun ex Engelm.) Magnus | 1880 | unknown | |
| Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw. | 1881 | Daniel Cady Eaton | Massachusetts |
All 575 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Brooks: 4 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holden Trap Rock | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Unknown | ||
| Holden Trap Rock Company | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Holden Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Holden Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Intervale Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Princeton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Trulson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Wachusetts Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
1 since 2026Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brooks in 1 storm report in 2026: 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brooks | $1,000 | In Princeton, there were downed trees and wires near Ball Hill Rd. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muschopauge | 1.6 miles | 46 | |
| North Woods | 1.9 miles | 46 | |
| Ruralville | 2.0 miles | 46 | |
| Princeton | 2.6 miles | 46 | |
| Princeton Station | 2.7 miles | 46 | |
| Quinapoxet | 3.5 miles | 46 | |
| Jefferson | 3.6 miles | 42 | |
| Lovellville | 3.9 miles | 45 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 610025. 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.