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

Carlisle, Massachusetts

41 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Carlisle town. It lies in ZIP code area 01741. It stands on Bellows Hill. The Survey maps it on the Billerica quadrangle.

Carlisle within Middlesex County

Then and now

1886 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 102 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Carlisle, surveyed 1988

Topographic sheet of Carlisle, surveyed 1886

Topographic sheets covering this place

41 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

4,881 words on this township

Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts ;, published 1908 names this settlement in its chapter on Carlisle Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Mr. Carlisle married, January 1, 1878, Florena Hortense Hamblen, born in Portland, Maine, daughter of William and Irene (Lunt) Hamblen, whose children are (besides Mrs. Carlisle) William B. Hamblen, residing in Port Angeles, Washington, assistant treasurer of the Fish Products Company; and Edith, married first George Moulton, and (second) George J. Porter. Mr. and Mrs. Carlisle are both prominent in musical circles, having sung for seven years in the choir of the First Baptist church of Boston, and for eighteen years in that of the First Baptist church of Malden. They have one child, Frederick Burton Carlisle, born in Malden, August 1, 1880; was passing through the high school, and is now engaged in the fertilizer business at Port Angeles, Washington. He married, June 29, 1906, Montez A. Appleton, daughter of T. J. Appleton, M. D., and mayor, of Port Angeles, Washington.

Passage source: Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts ;, published 1908.

(Il) James Carlisle, son of Stephen and Sarah (Chase) Carlisle, was born in Limerick, Maine. He was a printer by trade, and came to Boston when a young man. He worked in various printing offices in that city, and was printer and pressman on The Liberator, the famous anti-slavery organ of William Lloyd Garrison, from the beginning until its work was done and it ceased to be. He labored with the Republican party from the beginning of that organization. In religion he was a Congregationalist. He married Jerusha Kennard, descendant of an old family of Kittery and Old Eliot, Maine; and (second) Katherine Parks. By his first marriage he had two children: William Augustus, of whom further; and James, who died quite young. By his second marriage he had two children: James, married Frances Clark, and resides in California; and Sarah E., married William B. Hill, and resides in Worcester, Massachusetts. :

Passage source: Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts ;, published 1908.

(111) William Augustus Carlisle, eldest son of James Carlisle, was born October 28, 1820, in Boston, Massachusetts, died in that city, January 8, 1908, in his eighty-eighth year. As a boy he attended the old Mayhew school, and after his school days entered the printing office of his father. He learned the trade of painter and glazier, and in 1841, being of age and having completed his apprenticeship, he entered the employ of Levi Boles & Company, which was succeeded by the firm of E. A. Carlisle, Pope & Company, in Haymarket square, and was continuously with these companies for sixty-six years. Mr. Carlisle went back and forth from his home to his business twice a day, always walking, which in part aided in keeping him so well and active up to the time of his death. He lived for a time in Monument square, Charlestown, later in Malden, removing from there to his home in Temple street, Boston, where he resided many years. He was regarded most highly for his many excellent traits of character. He was treasurer of the First Free Will Baptist Church in. Boston for about twentyfive years, and for about that length of time was also superintendent of its Sunday school. In recent years he had attended the First Methodist Church in Temple street, near his home, and was deeply interested in its work and affairs. He was a Republican in politics. He was a member of Bethlehem Council, Roy- al Arcanum, Melrose; the Boston Veteran Firemen's Association; the Old Schoolboys' Association of Boston, and the Republican Club. At the annual dinner of the Old Schoolboys' Association held in November, 1907, at Young's Hotel, he recited for his old schoolmates and others one of the "pieces" which he used to declaim when a boy. He married Naomi Georgianna Sherman (see Sherman sketch), born December 3, 1825, died July 11, 1881, and their children were: 1. William Henry, born in Boston, July 3, 1847; married, in Toledo, Ohio, January 11, 1869, Mary E. Wall, who died in Chicago, Illinois, February 15, 1889, leaving four children: Nellie, Wil- Ham. Ay rank HH. and Edwards. 2). Edward Augustus, born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, May 1, 1852; married Ida F. Kent, and resides in Wakefield ; two children: Ralph IX., and Ruby F., who married, June 15, 1907, John B: Stetson, Jr., of Philadelphia. 3. Frank H., of whom further. 4. Emma Frances, born in. Charlestown, March 7, 1861; married, October 17, 1894, E. J. Dillaway, of Malden. 5. Lizzie Ella, born in Charlestown, December 24, 1864, died March 10, 1867. He married (second), September, 1884, Eleanor Reed, of Boston.

Passage source: Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts ;, published 1908.

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 Carlisle Town - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Fires near this place

39 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 39 fires within 5 miles of Carlisle between 2008 and 2020, burning about 19 acres in total. None started naturally. None 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	21
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	16
Recreation and ceremony	2

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
17 August 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
2 July 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
6 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
25 June 2020	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
17 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
8 May 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
8 May 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
8 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:

Every fire recorded in Middlesex County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 535 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 535 specimens collected within 10 miles of Carlisle between 1898 and 1975: 251 Animalia, 199 Plantae, 77 Fungi, 4 Protozoa, 3 Chromista, 1 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. B. Seymour & M. D. Feigley, A. E. Feldman 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Boletus griseus Frost	1898	H. Webster
Dumetella carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)	1898	Collector(s): Will C. Colt	Lincoln
Esox americanus Gmelin, 1789	1898	E. Preble	Maple Meadow Brook near Wilmington, Massachusetts
Exosporium pusillum P.Karst.	1898	King C. A.	Stony Brook
Lophodermium pinastri (Schrad.) Chevall.	1898	Hubbard F. T.; Hall G. G.	Lincoln
Pipilo erythrophthalmus erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758)	1898	not recorded	Lincoln
Podura aquatica C.Linnæus, 1758	1898	not recorded
Rosa nitida Willd.	1898	C. H. Knowlton
Salix eriocephala Michx.	1898	E. F. Williams
Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.	1900	Thaxter, R.	Stony Brook
Betula alleghaniensis Britton	1900	E. F. Williams
Boletus frostii J.L.Russell	1900	A. W. Flint

All 535 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Carlisle: 5 past producers, 2 producers, 1 occurrence. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Carlisle Deposit	Copper	Occurrence
Cu Prospect	Copper	Past Producer
Acton Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Britt Construction	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Britt Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Kennedy Brothers Acton Sand and Gra	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Nardone Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Nardone Sand and Gravel Co	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

3 since 2019

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Carlisle in 3 storm reports between 2019 and 2023: 2 thunderstorm wind, 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Carlisle	$3,500	In Carlisle, a tree was down on the Police station on Lowell Street. Also, there were multiple trees down on both Curve Street and Proctor Road.
September 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Carlisle	$500	In Carlisle, there was a tree blocking Rutland St.
June 2019	Hail	Carlisle	-	At 2:28 PM EST, an amateur radio operator reported three-quarter inch diameter hail in Carlisle.

Every storm recorded in Middlesex 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Riverside	2.5 miles	41
Rio Vista	2.5 miles	41
Carlisle Station	2.6 miles	43
South Chelmsford	3.2 miles	43
Plain	3.4 miles	48
North Acton	3.5 miles	43
South Billerica	3.7 miles	41
West Bedford	4.0 miles	48

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611774. 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.