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

Farm Hill, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Stoneham town. It lies in ZIP code area 02180. It stands on Farm Hill. The Survey maps it on the Boston North quadrangle.

Farm Hill within Middlesex County

Then and now

1893 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Farm Hill, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Farm Hill, surveyed 1893

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.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Stoneham town, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880 - Stoneham Town

Died Of Wounds

> Jarob Pnrker Gould, (i son of Jacob and Pbcbo C, was born >Iiiy 15, 1822, graduated at Norwicli Uuivers'ly, Virmout; was a i-ivil engineer; wns major of the 13lh Regiment XIassacluisetts Voluuteeii; afterwards colonel of the 59th Massachusetts rcginiciit ; wounded nt the battle of Petersburg, Virginia, bod B leg aniputated, and died at Pliiladelphia, July 21.

Read the rest of this passage

In the county-history sources

13,956 words on this township

The county-history sources names this settlement in its chapter on Stoneham Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

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

Fires near this place

89 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 89 fires within 5 miles of Farm Hill between 2003 and 2020, burning about 109 acres in total. None started naturally. 29 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
Arson/incendiarism29
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Recreation and ceremony16
Debris and open burning14
Smoking5
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2

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
25 September 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlSAUGUS
23 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
18 September 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMELROSE
18 September 2015Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMELROSE
5 August 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMEDFORD
5 August 2015Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMEDFORD
4 August 2015Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlAMESBURY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Middlesex County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,234 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,234 specimens collected within 10 miles of Farm Hill between 1898 and 1975: 507 Animalia, 417 Plantae, 273 Fungi, 17 Bacteria, 8 Unrecorded, 7 Protozoa, 5 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A B Seymour, A B. Proper 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 Trientalis borealis Raf.Trientalis borealis Raf.1900A. P. Chute
Aglaospora profusa (Fr.) De Not.1898Collector unspecified
A photograph of the species Bulbostylis capillaris, not of this specimenBulbostylis capillaris var. crebra Fernald1898C. H. KnowltonBoston.
A photograph of the species Cantharellus infundibuliformis, not of this specimenCantharellus infundibuliformis (Scop.) Fr.1898not recordedMelrose.
A photograph of the species Cladonia coccifera, not of this specimenCladonia coccifera (L.) Willd.1898Francis P DanielsCambridge
A photograph of the species Cladonia rangiferina, not of this specimenCladonia rangiferina (L.) Weber1898Francis P DanielsArlington Heights
A photograph of the species Cordyceps capitata, not of this specimenCordyceps capitata (Holmsk.) Link1898Conant, [?] F.Middlesex Fells
A photograph of the species Ctenidium malacodes, not of this specimenCtenidium malacodes Mitt.1898not recorded
A photograph of the species Cucurbitaria elongata, not of this specimenCucurbitaria elongata (Fr.) Grev.1898J. G. Hall
A photograph of the species Acer carpinifolium, not of this specimenAcer carpinifolium Siebold & Zucc.1900A. K. HarrisonHarvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge.
A photograph of the species Acer palmatum, not of this specimenAcer palmatum var. dissectum (Thunb.) Miq.1900A. K. HarrisonHarvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge.
A photograph of the species Aphanochaete repens, not of this specimenAphanochaete repens A.Braun1900F. S. CollinsMiddlesex Fells, Wright's Pond, on Oedogonium, etc.

All 1,234 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Farm Hill: 7 past producers, 5 producers, 3 plants. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica, Peat. 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
Austin Hastings--Woburn, Ma.IronPlant
Mahoney:S Rocky LedgePeatPast ProducerPeat
Rocky Ledge PitClayPast Producer
Ferro Ceramic Grinding--WakefieldSilicaPlant
Syncor Prdts Co--Malden, Ma.SilicaPlant
Drinkwater QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
New England Crushing CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Philip DrinkwaterSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Malden QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Marlborough Plant/Polishing PlatesStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

11 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Farm Hill in 11 storm reports between 2010 and 2021: 5 flood, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 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
March 2010FloodFarm Hill$8,810,000Four to seven inches of rain fell across Middlesex County resulting in each of the seven gaged mainstem rivers in Middlesex County to rise above flood stage. The Assabet River at Maynard and the Sudbury River at Saxonville both reached major flood with the Sudbury River setting a new flood of record. The Nashua River at East Pepperell, the Shawsheen River at Wilmington, and the Merrimack River at Lowell reached moderate flood. ||Several small streams rose above flood stage in Middlesex County, including the Aberjona River at Winchester and the Charles River at Waltham.||Basements flooded in Stoneham and Billerica. Numerous streets were closed due to flooding in Littleton, Concord, Lexington, Holliston, Shirley, Medford, Natick, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Billerica, Arlington, Framingham, Wayland, Waltham and Stoneham, including Route 119 at the Littleton/Ayer town line. The basement of the Bacon Free Library in Natick flooded, but did not sustain any damage to its collection.||Residents on Circle Drive in Framingham were evacuated after the Sudbury River sent at least a foot of water into most of the houses. Wayland's Pelham Island neighborhood (about 63 homes) was cut off by a tributary to the Sudbury River. The town ran a school bus and then a Boston Duck Tours amphibious vehicle as a shuttle between the neighborhood and a downtown parking lot where residents were asked to move their cars. Several apartments on Linden Street (roughly 30 people) in Waltham were evacuated.||In Littleton and Ayer, the five foot diameter culvert that links Spectacle Pond with Gilson Brook collapsed resulting in a build up of water in the pond. It subsequently backed up into a nearby neighborhood. This build up also forced the town of Ayer to shut off its wells by the pond that supply drinking water to most of the town. PanAm Railways halted all freight trains from traveling through the area after the tracks became flooded.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindFarm Hill$20,000Trees and wires were downed on several streets in Stoneham and Wakefield. These included Westwood Road in Stoneham and Summer and Richardson Streets in Wakefield.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindFarm Hill$15,000Trees and wires on Summer Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
November 2021FloodFarm Hill$5,000In Stoneham, there was a public report via MPING - unspecified location -- of a river/creek overflowing with cropland/yard/basement flooding.
August 2018FloodFarm Hill$5,000At 8:22 AM EST, a car was trapped in floodwaters on Oak Street in Stoneham.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindFarm Hill$5,000A tree on Pearl Street was downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindFarm Hill$4,000In Stoneham, a tree was down on a car on Franklin St.
April 2018FloodFarm Hill-At 5:50 PM EST an amateur radio operator reported Elm Street at Central Street in Stoneham was flooded and impassable.
August 2017HailFarm Hill-At 208 PM EST, mixed pea to dime size hail fell in Stoneham.
April 2010FloodFarm Hill-Four to seven inches of rain fell across Middlesex County resulting in each of the seven gaged mainstem rivers in Middlesex County to rise above flood stage. The Assabet River at Maynard and the Sudbury River at Saxonville both reached major flood with the Sudbury River setting a new flood of record. The Nashua River at East Pepperell, the Shawsheen River at Wilmington, and the Merrimack River at Lowell reached moderate flood.||Several small streams rose above flood stage in Middlesex County, including the Aberjona River at Winchester and the Charles River at Waltham.||Basements flooded in Stoneham and Billerica. Numerous streets were closed due to flooding in Littleton, Concord, Lexington, Holliston, Shirley, Medford, Natick, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Billerica, Arlington, Framingham, Wayland, Waltham, and Stoneham, including Route 119 at the Littleton/Ayer town line. The basement of the Bacon Free Library in Natick flooded, but did not sustain any damage to its collection.||Residents on Circle Drive in Framingham were evacuated after the Sudbury River sent at least a foot of water into most of the houses. Wayland's Pelham Island neighborhood (about 63 homes) was cut off by a tributary to the Sudbury River. The town ran a school bus and then a Boston Duck Tours amphibious vehicle as a shuttle between the neighborhood and a downtown parking lot where residents were asked to move their cars. Several apartments on Linden Street (roughly 30 people) in Waltham were evacuated.||In Littleton and Ayer, the five foot diameter culvert that links Spectacle Pond with Gilson Brook collapsed resulting in a build up of water in the pond. It subsequently backed up into a nearby neighborhood. This build up also forced the town of Ayer to shut off its wells by the pond that supply drinking water to most of the town. PanAm Railways halted all freight trains from traveling through the area after the tracks became flooded.||Damage amounts can be found in the March Storm Data when the majority of the damage occurred. Rivers and small streams remained in flood into April.
July 2012HailFarm Hill-no account filed

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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Stoneham1.1 miles46
Wakefield Junction1.1 miles46
Lindenwood1.2 miles46
Wakefield1.3 miles40
Greenwood1.7 miles46
Walnut Hill2.0 miles46
Haywardville2.1 miles46
Montvale2.1 miles46

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 606455. 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.