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

Faulkner, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Malden City. It lies in ZIP code area 02148. It stands on Waitts Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Boston North quadrangle.

Faulkner 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 Faulkner, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Faulkner, 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.

In the county-history sources

49,084 words on this township

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

Retaining about one third of its original territory, ilalden is bounded southerly by Everett^ westerly by Medford, northerly by Melrose, and easterly by Saugus and Revere. Its greatest length from east to west is about three miles, and its average width about one and one half miles. Its northern portion comprises a region of rocky hills, which, a few years since, were generally wooded, and which abound in many natural beauties. This section has, in recent years, been invaded by the builder, and has afforded many j^leasant and romantic sites. The eastern division, where the thriving villages of Faulkner's, Maplewood, and Linden - stations upon the Eastern Railroad - have, as before mentioned, grown with great rapidity, is probably that which will receive the largest growth in the early future, as its romantic scenery and the comparative cheajniess of its lands offer inducements which will not be uinioticed in the return of general prosperity. At Belmont, on the highlands at the southern border of the town, and at Oak Grove, at its opposite extremity, similar growths have occurred, with fair prospects of the future ; while at Edgeworth a vigorous community of mechanics and laborers has gathered around the manufactories which are there established.

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

The bridge over the Mystic Biver was formally opened to the public " by firing of a cannon and the regailing of the workmen at the expense of the proprietors," September 29, 1787. Tliis bridge, affording a direct way to Charlestown and Boston, was of immediate benefit to Maiden and the towns above it^ which were formerly obliged to follow a circuitous route tlirough Medford or seek tlie inconvenient passage at Wiunisimmet or Penny Ferry. Hie building of the bridge, which was strongly urged by the Maiden people, was bitterly opposed by the inhabitants of Medford, who lost both reason and temper in the contest. '^ Fools/' '^ Maiden miserables/' and ^' ignoramuses " were some of tlie names which the staid Bev. Dr. Osgood of Medford applied to liis neighbors, whom lie represented as '' distracted creatures,'^ who '' leave their corn unhoed^ and their grass not cut, to carry petitions to court for a bridge,'^ in consequence of which ''their families next winter will Iiave no bread and their cattle no liay.'^ The opening of the bridge was followed, before the close of the century, by the building of a direct road to Black Ann's Comer in East Maiden, which liad been reached by a winding way through Chelsea. Later still, the Newburypprt turnpike traversed the town from its northeastern borders to the bridge, and increased travel by offering a well-made road which avoided the many niindiugs of its predecessors.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, published 1880.

1797 by the venerable itinerant, Samuel Shepard, which is said to hii\-e been the first Baptist discourse delivered in liie town, was received with much favor; and was i'ollowed by a revival whicli resulted in regular Sabbath services being held in a school-house that stood under a large buttonwood tree where Sprague Street now enters Salem Street. These regular services were commenced in 1800, and received much bitter op])osition from those of the " standing order." Finding the schoolhouse at last closed to them, the " Schismatics," as they were called, took refuge in a barn belonging to Benjamin Faulkner, which until within a few years stood on Salem Street; and here, December %1, lSfi:5, the First Baptist Thureh, with a membership of forty-two persons, was recognized by a council of three neighboring churches. To counteract this movement, Dr. David Osgood of Medford preached two energetic sermons, in defence of infant baptism and the validity of sprinkling,, in the pulpit of the old church. These sermons were much esteemed at the time, and were printed in two rival editions with a title-page stating that they were " occasioned by the setting up of a Baptist Society." Nevertheless, the new church and society prospered; and the next year they built a meeting-house on Salem Street, then, and for half a century after, known as Baptist Row, on a site now enclosed in the Salem Street Cemetery. This exceedingly plain house, with its ge windows and square belfry, was occupied until 1843, when a new church was built at the corner of Main and Salem streets. The present church building is the third which has stood upon that site, the others having been destroyed by fire.

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 Malden City - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Fires near this place

87 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 87 fires within 5 miles of Faulkner between 2015 and 2020, burning about 112 acres in total. None started naturally. 30 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/incendiarism30
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Recreation and ceremony14
Debris and open burning11
Smoking5
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
4 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
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
23 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 September 2020Missing 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 Middlesex County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,561 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,561 specimens collected within 10 miles of Faulkner between 1898 and 1975: 667 Animalia, 495 Plantae, 338 Fungi, 26 Protozoa, 17 Bacteria, 10 Chromista, 8 Unrecorded. 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 Crataegus coccinea, not of this specimenCrataegus coccinea L.1898NoneHarvard University Arboretum
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.

All 1,561 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Faulkner: 6 plants, 4 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Lead, Gypsum-Anhydrite, 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
(Facility) Vulcan Smelter--Chelsea, Ma.Copper, LeadPlant
C. J. MabardySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Syncor Prdts Co--Malden, Ma.SilicaPlant
Us Gypsum Co--BostonGypsum-AnhydritePast Producer
Us Steel Supply Div--BostonIronPlant
Whittemore Prdts Inc--BostonPerlitePlant
General Metals & Smelting--BostonLeadPlant
Somerville Smelting Co.LeadPlant
Malden QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Malden QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working 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
Maplewood0.5 miles46
Malden Centre0.6 miles46
Malden0.7 miles46
Oak Grove1.1 miles46
Glendale1.1 miles46
Fells1.2 miles46
Linden1.3 miles46
West Everett1.3 miles46

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612741. 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.