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

Colrain, Massachusetts

36 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Colrain town. It lies in ZIP code area 01340. It stands on Chandler Hill. The Survey maps it on the Colrain quadrangle.

Colrain within Franklin County

Then and now

1890 to 1998

The same ground, surveyed 108 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Colrain, surveyed 1998
Topographic sheet of Colrain, surveyed 1890

Topographic sheets covering this place

36 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.

Fires nearby

26 since 2002

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 26 fires within 5 miles of Colrain between 2002 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 burning19
Recreation and ceremony5
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Other causes1

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
11 June 2018Other causes3.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 May 2004Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
17 May 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 April 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
30 April 2017Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 April 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 April 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
19 April 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 602 shown

Museums hold 602 specimens collected within 10 miles of Colrain between 1847 and 1975: 296 Plantae, 111 Animalia, 106 Fungi, 82 Unrecorded, 7 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. S. Pease, A. T. Beals, A. W. Cheever 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 Cardamine diphylla (Michx.) A.W.WoodCardamine diphylla (Michx.) A.W.Wood1900F. F. Forbes
A photograph of the species Cinna latifolia, not of this specimenCinna latifolia (Trevir. ex Göpp.) Griseb.1847Russell
Botrychium virginianum subsp. typicum R.T.Clausen1872Johnston, A.F.Bald Mountain.
A photograph of the species Alnus viridis, not of this specimenAlnus viridis (Chaix) DC.1874E. F. BishopDeerfield River
A photograph of the species Equisetum variegatum, not of this specimenEquisetum variegatum Schleich. ex F.Weber & D.Mohr1874H. G. JesupSands of Deerfield River, Conway, Mass.
unnamed (fossil)1876Oscar H. LebourveauLily Pond quarry, W side of Lily Pond on property of Dr. Roswell Field, N side of Connecticut River, & 1.0 mi S60E of dam at Turners Falls, & .8 mi SE of Riverside, town of Gill
A photograph of the species Spiranthes ochroleuca, not of this specimenSpiranthes ochroleuca (Rydb.) Rydb.1894Swinerton, J.R.Greenfield
A photograph of the species Juglans cinerea, not of this specimenJuglans cinerea L.1895C. W. TrowBuckland.
A photograph of the species Carex plantaginea, not of this specimenCarex plantaginea Lam.1896Sydney HarrisWoods near Factory Village [Note: Location found by Geolocate is in Franklin County]
A photograph of the species Daedalea confragosa, not of this specimenDaedalea confragosa (Bolton) Pers.1927Hansbrough J. R.Greenfield
A photograph of the species Dasyscyphus calycinus, not of this specimenDasyscyphus calycinus (Schumach.) Fuckel1927Hansbrough J. R.; Skellenger L. E.Charlemont
A photograph of the species Fomes fomentarius, not of this specimenFomes fomentarius (L.) Fr.1927Skellanger L. E.Colrain

All 602 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

4 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Colrain: 1 producer, 1 past producer, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Dimension, Sulfides, Sulfur. 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
West Leyden Copper ProspectSulfidesOccurrenceReplacement
West Leyden Copper ProspectSulfurProspect
Gneiss QuarryStone, DimensionProducer
Gneiss QuarryStone, DimensionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms nearby

21 since 1995

The National Weather Service names Colrain in 21 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 7 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
October 2014Thunderstorm WindColrain$100,000Numerous large trees and wires on York Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. Trees fell on several houses and cars causing damage.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindColrain$100,000A microburst occurred in the northwestern part of Greenfield and the southeastern portions of Leyden and Colrain, downing numerous trees and wires. Barton, Country Club, Bernardston, Plain, South Green River, Nelson, and Smead Hill Roads were all affected with a few trees that were downed onto houses. A utility pole was downed on Barton Road.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindColrain$15,000State police reported winds gusting up to 40 mph downed three trees and some wires, blocking Foundry Village Road. Heavy rain over the previous several days had saturated the ground allowing for lighter winds downing trees.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindColrain$15,000Large trees on Main Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindColrain$10,000no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindColrain$5,000A tree and wires were downed onto a car on Calvin Coombs Road by thunderstorm winds.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindColrain$5,000A tree and wires on Route 112 South were downed by thunderstorm winds.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindColrain$5,000A tree on Jacksonville Road was downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindColrain$3,000A tree in Colrain was downed onto wires by thunderstorm winds.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindColrain$2,500At 650 PM EST, a tree was brought down on power lines on Greenfield Road in Colrain. Also, a tree was brought down on West Leyden Road.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindColrain$2,000At 4:15 PM EST, a tree was reported down on wires on West Leyden Road in Colrain.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindColrain$800In Colrain, a tree and wires were down on Shelburne Line Road. Time estimated based on radar.
June 2025HailColrain-In Colrain, a trained spotter reported quarter to half-dollar sized hail. Report relayed via amateur radio.
May 2024HailColrain-In Colrain there were multiple reports of 1 inch hail covering the ground.
May 2024HailColrain-In Colrain, half dollar sized hail was reported.
June 2008HailColrain-Pea to marble size hail fell in a swath from Colrain to Shelburne damaging apple and peach orchards from Colrain to Shelburne to Deerfield. An estimated 45 acres of apples and two to three acres of peaches were damaged by the hail.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindColrain-Trees down. Route 112 closed as a result.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindColrain-Trees down.
May 1995HailColrain-Severe thunderstorms produced large hail. There were no reports of damage received.
August 2013HailColrain-no account filed
July 1996HailColrain-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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
Lyonsville1.0 miles36
Foundry Village1.1 miles36
Fort Lucas1.2 miles36
Griswoldville1.5 miles36
Fort Morrison1.7 miles36
Fort Morris1.7 miles36
Elm Grove2.6 miles36
West Leyden2.6 miles36

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 608156. 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.