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

Cochituate, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Wayland town. It lies in ZIP code area 01778. It stands on Snake Brook. The Survey maps it on the Natick quadrangle. 6,927 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 174 feet above sea level.

Cochituate within Middlesex County

Population over time

2 figures

Cochituate grew from 6,569 to 6,927 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	6,569
2020	6,927	+358 (+5%)

Then and now

1886 to 1989

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Cochituate, surveyed 1989

Topographic sheet of Cochituate, surveyed 1886

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.

In the county-history sources

21,245 words on this township

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Wayland Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Dr. Ebenezer Roby, Jr., practised with his father, and till his death in 1786. Dr. Joseph Roby (son of Ebenezer, Jr.) was in practice here till ISUl. Dr. Nathan Rice, born atFramingham, settled in town in 1800, and continued in practice till his death in 1814. Dr. Ebenezer Ames, born at Marlborough, came to town in 1814, and was in practice till his death in 1861. Dr. Edward Frost, born at Frainingham, graduated at Harvard in 1823, was in practice here from 1830 till his death in 1838. Dr. Charles W. Barnes, born at Marlborough, was in practice here from 1860 to 1864. Dr. John McL. Hayward, born at Boston, graduated at Harvard Medical School in 1858, settled in town in 1874. Dr. Charles H. Boodey settled at Cochituate Village in 1876.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

Edward Mellen (B. U. 1823), from 1830 to his death. May 31, 1875. Esquire Mellen was born at Westborough, September 26, 1802, and came to Wayland, November, 1S30. As a man he was distinguished for his geniality and public spirit. He took a leading interest in the public schools of the town, and in the public library. As a lawyer ' he was distinguished for his thorough knowledge - of the principles of law, and familiarity with the decisions of the courts. In 1847 he was made justice of the court of common pleas, and in 1855 was raised to the oifice of chief justice of the same court. In 1854 he received from his Alma Mater the degree of LL. D. After retiring from the judgeship he opened an office in Worcester, but retained his home in Wayland.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

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 Wayland Town - it names this place 3 more 3 times.

Fires near this place

117 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 117 fires within 5 miles of Cochituate between 1995 and 2020, burning about 59 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 7 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	43
Debris and open burning	41
Recreation and ceremony	11
Arson/incendiarism	7
Power generation/transmission/distribution	3
Misuse of fire by a minor	3
Railroad operations and maintenance	3
Smoking	3
Fireworks	1
Equipment and vehicle use	1
Natural	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
4 September 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
3 September 2018	Smoking	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
3 September 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
23 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
23 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
23 September 2019	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
22 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
21 September 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 1,509 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,509 specimens collected within 10 miles of Cochituate between 1898 and 1975: 1,033 Animalia, 276 Plantae, 189 Fungi, 6 Protozoa, 4 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
Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822	1900	not recorded	Wayland
Actaea pachypoda Elliott	1898	Ernest Charles Smith
Antennaria howellii subsp. canadensis (Greene) R.J.Bayer	1898	Williams, E.F.
Antennaria parlinii subsp. fallax (Greene) R.J.Bayer & Stebbins	1898	not recorded
Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Hook.	1898	not recorded
Aquilegia canadensis L.	1898	M. I. Gunn	Natick
Agaricus brunnescens Peck	1900	Morris, G. E.	Waltham
Agonopterix atrodorsella Clemens, 1863	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn
Apantesis Walker, 1855	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn
Apatelodes torrefacta J.E.Smith, 1797	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn
Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.	1900	Thaxter, Roland	Stony Brook, Mass. [Massachusetts]
Archips cerasivorana (Fitch, 1856)	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn

All 1,509 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Cochituate: 7 past producers, 1 plant, 1 producer, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Peat. 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
Hawkridge Bros--Ashland, Ma.	Iron	Plant
Panlini Loam Co	Peat	Past Producer	Peat
Arthur Scofield Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Framington Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Hi-Way Pit and Mill	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
New England Sand & Grv Co. Pit & Pl	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Sand & Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Stonebridge Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Town of Natick	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Town of Wayland	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

3 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cochituate in 3 storm reports between 2010 and 2020: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Cochituate	$30,000	Multiple large trees and power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds near the intersection of Route 30 and Oak Street. Five homes sustained minor damage from falling trees.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Cochituate	$2,500	In Wayland, multiple trees and wires were down on Rice Road at Mainstone Road.
July 2014	Flash Flood	Cochituate	$1,000	The entry to the Meditech building on Cochituate Road was flooded.

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
Lake Forest Park	1.0 miles	46
North Natick	1.4 miles	46
Felchville	1.6 miles	46
Saxonville	1.9 miles	40
Camp Mary Day	2.1 miles	46
East Natick	2.4 miles	46
Natick	2.7 miles	46
Lokerville	2.8 miles	40

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Cochituate	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5139342	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611909. 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.