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

Falmouth, Massachusetts

41 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Falmouth town. It lies in ZIP code area 02540. It stands on Riddle Hill. The Survey maps it on the Falmouth quadrangle. 3,818 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 7 feet above sea level.

Research this city

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Falmouth within Barnstable County

Population over time

2 figures

Falmouth grew from 3,799 to 3,818 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.

YearPeople Change
20103,799
20203,818+19 (+1%)

Then and now

1886 to 1994

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 Falmouth, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Falmouth, 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 1890 county history

40 words on this township

The county history of 1890 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for the smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Falmouth Town covers the township.

Read the chapter on Falmouth Town - 40 words.

Photographs

2 photographs, 1940 to 1941

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Manuel J. Roberts, Portuguese vegetable farmer near Falmouth, Massachusetts. He runs a ten-acre farm and goes scalloping in the autumn. During the summer months they take tourists and also boarded some men working for a nearby Army camp
Manuel J. Roberts, Portuguese vegetable farmer near Falmouth, Massachusetts. He runs a ten-acre farm and goes scalloping in the autumn. During the summer months they take tourists and also boarded some men working for a nearby Army camp
Delano, Jack, 1941. Library of Congress
Manuel J. Roberts, Portuguese FSA (Farm Security Administration) client near Falmouth, Massachusetts. He has a ten-acre truck farm, goes scalloping in the fall and takes in tourists in the summer
Manuel J. Roberts, Portuguese FSA (Farm Security Administration) client near Falmouth, Massachusetts. He has a ten-acre truck farm, goes scalloping in the fall and takes in tourists in the summer
Delano, Jack, 1940. Library of Congress

Fires nearby

39 since 2017

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 39 fires within 5 miles of Falmouth between 2017 and 2020, burning about 20 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined20
Debris and open burning12
Recreation and ceremony4
Arson/incendiarism2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
7 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
25 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
19 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
17 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
16 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
12 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Barnstable County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 9,400 shown

Museums hold 9,400 specimens collected within 10 miles of Falmouth between 1791 and 1975: 4,710 Animalia, 2,913 Plantae, 800 Fungi, 778 Chromista, 155 Bacteria, 23 Unrecorded, 21 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A B Seymour, A. A. Cohen, A. B. Harvey 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 Enallagma civile (Hagen, 1861)Enallagma civile (Hagen, 1861)1899J. BenedictWoods Hole
Specimen of Erythemis simplicicollis (Say, 1840)Erythemis simplicicollis (Say, 1840)1899J. BenedictWoods Hole
Specimen of Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 18611899J. BenedictWoods Hole
A photograph of the species Drosera filiformis, not of this specimenDrosera filiformis var. filiformis1791not recorded
A photograph of the species Polysiphonia flexicaulis, not of this specimenPolysiphonia flexicaulis (Harvey) F.S.Collins1839unknownWoods Hole
A photograph of the species Ectocarpus littoralis, not of this specimenEctocarpus littoralis (L.) Lyngb.1841B. F. D. RunkWoods Hole, Nobska Point, wash
A photograph of the species Polysiphonia fibrata, not of this specimenPolysiphonia fibrata (Dillwyn) Harvey1844Collector unknown
A photograph of the species Alosa aestivalis, not of this specimenAlosa aestivalis (Mitchill, 1814)1852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Clupea harengus, not of this specimenClupea harengus Linnaeus, 17581852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Menidia menidia, not of this specimenMenidia menidia (Linnaeus, 1766)1852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Prionotus evolans, not of this specimenPrionotus evolans (Linnaeus, 1766)1852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Ulva clathrata, not of this specimenUlva clathrata (Roth) C.Agardh1852G. W. Perry

All 9,400 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

9 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Falmouth: 5 past producers, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
De Pontes Topsoil PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Falmouth Concrete PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Falmouth Concrete and Builders SuppSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Falmouth PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hyannis Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Lawrence Lynch CorpSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Lawrence Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Moniz Crushing Co Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Moniz PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Barnstable County

Storms nearby

22 since 1998

The National Weather Service names Falmouth in 22 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 16 thunderstorm wind, 2 heavy rain, 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
April 2011FloodFalmouth$40,000Two to six inches of rain fell over portions of Cape Cod. This resulted in flooding of roads, mainly in Falmouth. The Falmouth Fire Department made several trips to rescue people from cars in water up to three feet deep. Route 28 or Main Street in Falmouth was flooded along with Route 130 in Sandwich.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$15,000Wires on Rydall Mount Drive were downed by thunderstorm winds. Several trees on Woods Hole Road also were downed.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$10,000Trees on Blacksmith Shop Road and Route 151 were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth$5,000Large limbs and wires on Route 28 were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWest Falmouth$5,000A tree was downed at the intersection of Brick Kiln Road and Gifford Street by thunderstorm winds.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWest Falmouth$5,000A tree on Blacksmith Shop Road was downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$5,000Two trees on Moses Road were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$5,000no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$3,000Multiple large tree limbs were downed onto Sandwich Road by thunderstorm winds.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth$800In Falmouth at 845 PM EDT (745 PM EST), a tree was down on Round Pond Drive and wires were down on Crooked Meadow Road.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindWest Falmouth$500Large limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds. A nearby amateur radio operator recorded a 57 mph wind gust on their home weather station.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-At 345 PM EST (445 PM EST), a narrow line of thunderstorms produced a wind gust to 60 mph in East Falmouth.
July 2017Flash FloodFalmouth-At 1248 PM EST, Main Street in Falmouth was closed due to significant street flooding. Water levels near Dunkin Donuts were up to vehicles' hoods. At 1257 PM EST, Palmer Avenue was also flooded and impassable. Rainfall of 3.75 inches was reported in East Falmouth.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindFalmouth-The Automated Weather Observation System at Otis Air National Guard Base (KFMH) recorded a wind gust of 63 mph. No damage was reported.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-A spotter measured a wind gust of 61 mph on their home weather station. No damage was reported with this wind.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindFalmouth-Wires and trees were downed, blocking a road in Falmouth.
November 2006Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-An isolated severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 62 mph in East Falmouth. No damage was reported.
November 2014Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-no account filed
July 2009HailFalmouth-no account filed
July 2006HailFalmouth-no account filed
October 1998Heavy RainEast Falmouth-no account filed
September 1998Heavy RainFalmouth-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Barnstable 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
Falmouth Heights1.1 miles41
Teaticket1.3 miles41
Mara Vista1.5 miles41
Quissett1.9 miles38
Sippewisset1.9 miles38
Acapesket2.1 miles41
Racing Beach2.1 miles38
Saconesset Hills2.3 miles38

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 FalmouthAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5432574The 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 616278. 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.