BlockBefore

Easton, Massachusetts

40 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Easton town. It lies in ZIP code area 02375. It stands on Beaver Brook. The Survey maps it on the Mansfield quadrangle.

Easton within Bristol County

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 Easton, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Easton, surveyed 1886

On record in Easton

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

17 surveys from 40 printed 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

40,759 words on this township

History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Easton Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The town of Easton is situated in the northeast corner of Bristol County. It is bounded on the north by Stoughton and Sharon, on the east by Brockton and West Bridgewater, on the south by Raynham, Taunton, and Norton, and on the west by Norton and Mansfield. It derived its name from its location with reference to the town of Norton, of which it originally formed a part ; it was the East Precinct of that town, and became the East Town, or Easton. lis area is twenty-nine square miles, or, more precisely, eighteen thousand five hundred and eighty-four square acres, of which three hundred and seventy acres are water. The underlying geological formation is in the northerly half sienite, and in the southern half a conglomerate sometimes called graywacke. There are a number of acres, perhaps two or three hundred, in which bog-iron ore is found, and where it has been dug with profit. The surface of Easton is quite level, the north part of the town having, however, a pleasant variety of elevation. Considerable swamp-land exists, especially in the southern portion, where is located what is known as the Great Cedar Swamp. There are some ponds artificially made for manufacturing purposes, and occupying altogether about three hundred and seventy acres. The two largest streams are Leach's Stream, once called Mulberry Meadow Brook, in the west part, and Queset River, which is in the northeastern part, and on .which stand the Ames Shovel-Works. The soil is not above the average quality for this section. Wise management and hard work are needed to make farming pay even a small profit.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

The population of Easton is about four thousand. At the census of 1880 it was precisely three thousand nine hundred and one. Easton Centre is twenty-four miles south of Boston, twelve north of Taunton, and twenty-seven north of Fall River. It is twentytwo miles from the sea-shore in a direct line. It is on the Old Colony Railroad, on the main line from Boston to Fall River and Newport, and has two railroad stations. It has three villages, each with a post-office. The principal village is North Easton, which contained a population of two thousand one hundred and fifty-six in 1880, considerably over half of the whole population of the town. The other villages are Easton, or the Furnace village, and South Easton. The chief industry of North Easton, the industry in fact which has built up this village, is shovel-making. Another important business here is the manufacture of hinges. There are two bootand shoe-factories, and the New England Specialty Company, which manufactures screw-drivers and a variety of similar articles. There are also twelve stores, including markets, drug-store, etc. South Easton has the cotton-thread factory of E. J. W. Morse & Co., a grist-mill, machine-shop, two shoefactories, a wheelwright-shop, and two stores. The Furnace village (post-office address, Easton) has two foundries or furnaces, two saw-mills, and two stores. In the southeast part of the town mathematical and scientific instruments are manufactured. These is also a small grist-mill in the west part, and one in the northeast part. All these industries of the town are merely alluded to here; they will be more particularly -described farther on.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

North Easton village presents many points of special interest and attraction. There are several costly and other handsome dwelling-houses, among which may be mentioned those of F. L. Ames, Oliver Ames, Oakes A. Ames, Mrs. Oliver Ames, E. W. Gilmore, George W. Kennedy, and Unity Church parsonage. The residences of F. L. Ames and Oliver Ames are within a large and beautiful park, which is open to the public for driving and walking, a privilege that is highly appreciated. An immense greenhouse filled with rare and costly plants, and containing a collection of orchids hardly second to any in the United States, forms a great attraction. At one of the entrances to these grounds has been recently erected a most unique and interesting lodge-house. It is built of large, roundish, moss-covered stones taken from stone walls or from the surface of the ground and cemented together. Its two sections are connected by a massive and splendid archway which forms the entrance to the park. The walls are low, the chimneys large and of stone like the walls, and the roof is covered with red tiles.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

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 Easton Town - it names this place 37 more 37 times.

Fires near this place

72 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 72 fires within 5 miles of Easton between 2002 and 2020, burning about 42 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
Debris and open burning37
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Recreation and ceremony6
Fireworks2
Arson/incendiarism2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Smoking1

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
8 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
7 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlSTOUGHTON
20 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBROCKTON
18 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWEST BRIDGEWATER
17 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 August 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBROCKTON

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bristol County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,447 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,447 specimens collected within 10 miles of Easton between 1860 and 1975: 951 Animalia, 309 Plantae, 183 Fungi, 3 Chromista, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. A. Eaton, 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
A photograph of the species Astur Lacepède, not of this specimenAstur Lacepède, 17991860C. D. LincolnTaunton
A photograph of the species Carex panicea, not of this specimenCarex panicea L.1863J. H. Dean
A photograph of the species Carex L., not of this specimenCarex L.1864J. H. DeanTaunton.
A photograph of the species Carex vulpinoidea, not of this specimenCarex vulpinoidea Michx.1864J. H. Dean
A photograph of the species Chelidonium majus, not of this specimenChelidonium majus L.1875not recorded
A photograph of the species Lygodium palmatum, not of this specimenLygodium palmatum (Bernh.) Sw.1875not recorded
A photograph of the species Berberis vulgaris, not of this specimenBerberis vulgaris L.1876not recorded
A photograph of the species Empidonax minimus, not of this specimenEmpidonax minimus (W.M.Baird & S.F.Baird, 1843)1877C.P. SnowTaunton, North
A photograph of the species Chaetura pelagica, not of this specimenChaetura pelagica (Linnaeus, 1758)1878C. F. SnowMASSACHUSETTS: Bristol County; Taunton
A photograph of the species Coccyzus erythropthalmus, not of this specimenCoccyzus erythropthalmus (A.Wilson, 1811)1878not recordedTaunton
A photograph of the species Dichelyma capillaceum, not of this specimenDichelyma capillaceum (Dicks.) Myrin1878PiperEast Bridgewater
A photograph of the species Dryobates pubescens, not of this specimenDryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766)1878C. F. SnowMASSACHUSETTS: Bristol County; Taunton

All 1,447 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Easton: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Easton PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Brockton Sand & Gravel Company PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Easton Sand and Gravel CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Bristol County

Storms near this place

7 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Easton in 7 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2023Thunderstorm WindNorth Easton$3,000In Easton, trees were down on Poquanticut Ave with one on a house. A tree and wires were down on Heath Rd at Prospect St. A tree was down on wires on School St.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindNorth Easton$1,500In Easton, a large tree and wires were down at the intersection of Bay Rd and Summer St.
October 2017FloodSouth Easton-Flooding in Easton on Belmont Street in front of the 99 Restaurant. There was a public report of a Storm Total Rainfall of 2.96 inches in nearby Brockton.
July 1994HailNorth Easton-Dime-size hail and a wind gust to 57 mph was reported by a spotter. Lightning strikes knocked out power at the high school, fire station, and town hall, and started a fire in the attic of a house.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindNorth Easton-Dime-size hail and a wind gust to 57 mph was reported by a spotter. Lightning strikes knocked out power at the high school, fire station, and town hall, and started a fire in the attic of a house.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindEaston-no account filed
August 1996HailEaston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bristol 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
Five Corners0.4 miles39
Easton Center1.9 miles39
Pratts Corner1.9 miles39
Ginty Corner1.9 miles40
Easton Station2.0 miles39
Morris Corner2.3 miles39
East Mansfield2.6 miles40
Morse Corner2.9 miles39

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 617621. 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.