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Grantville, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Wellesley town. It lies in ZIP code area 02481. It lies near Maugus Hill. The Survey maps it on the Natick quadrangle.

Grantville within Norfolk 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 Grantville, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Grantville, surveyed 1886

On record in Grantville

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 within a mile 4 records

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Topographic sheets covering this place

19 surveys from 46 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

9,330 words on this township

History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884 names this settlement in its chapter on Wellesley Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The church at Wellesley Hills (Grantville) was built in 1847, and the church was organized Feb. 24, 1847, with thirty members. John Batchelder and Reuel Ware were chosen deacons, and Rey. Harvey Newcomb was installed as pastor Dec. 9, 1847, and dismissed Noy. 8, 1849; Rev. William Barrows, settled Aug. 22,1850, dismissed Jan. 22, 1856; Edward

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

his business and shortly after engaged in Philadelphia in the business of poultry-raising on an extensive scale, and by the use of an artificial incubator hatched This business proved to bea failure, for, while the hatching was a complete success, Mr. Wood returned to Boston, and with characteristic en- He also put to good use his knowledge of chemistry, as applied to the manufacture of colors, and found he could manufacture at a handsome profit. For the second time he sold out his paper-hanging business and commenced to make colorsin a house on Middlesex Street, Boston, doing the work by hand, producing from six About this time he purchased a farm in Grantville, Mass., now Wellesley Hills, the same being a part of the property now owned by Judge Abbott. Here he continued the he found it necessary to procure a place where power could be used, and leased of Charles Rice, of Newton, Lower Falls, a building where there was a water-power, and here enlarged his business, which soon became extensive and profitable.

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

his colors, Mr. Wood found it necessary to procure a more extensive place for manufacture, and selling his farm at Grantville, he purchased the water-power and additions to the buildings from time to time. while manufacturing at Lake Crossing that Mr. Wood took into partnership his son, under the firm-name of 'Henry Wood & Son, and the business continued to be profitable and extensive. In 1866, Mr. Wood withdrew from the firm and his son continued, taking for a partner Horace Humphrey, the new firm paying a royalty per pound to Mr. Wood up to the time of his death.

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

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

Fires near this place

113 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 113 fires within 5 miles of Grantville between 2015 and 2020, burning about 82 acres in total. 1 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
Recreation and ceremony56
Missing data/not specified/undetermined36
Debris and open burning12
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Smoking3
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Other causes1
Natural1

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
9 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
3 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
23 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWELLESLEY
22 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
14 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Norfolk County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 13,292 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 13,292 specimens collected within 10 miles of Grantville between 1805 and 1975: 5,490 Animalia, 3,786 Fungi, 3,578 Plantae, 192 Protozoa, 168 Chromista, 46 Unrecorded, 32 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, ? ex Herb. W.G. Farlow, A C Gibson 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 Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.1900R. ThaxterStony Brook
Specimen of Hypoprepia fucosa Hübner, 1831Hypoprepia fucosa Hübner, 18311900not recordedSherborn
A photograph of the species Margaritifera margaritifera, not of this specimenMargaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758)1805Bryant, O.Wash Brook, So. Sudbury, Mass.
A photograph of the species Corydalis Vent., not of this specimenCorydalis Vent.1815Boott, F.M.B.Worcester turnpike, 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Corylus L., not of this specimenCorylus L.1815not recordedCambridge Port, 2 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Hepatica Mill., not of this specimenHepatica Mill.1815Boott, F.M.B.Sweet Auburn.
A photograph of the species Nuphar Sm., not of this specimenNuphar Sm.1815Boott, J.W.Worcester Turnpike 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Populus L., not of this specimenPopulus L.1815not recordedCambridgeport, 1 mile from Boston.
A photograph of the species Salix L., not of this specimenSalix L.1815not recordedCambridge, 3 1/2 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Sassafras J.Presl, not of this specimenSassafras J.Presl1815Boott, F.M.B.Worcester Turnpike, 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Thalictrum L., not of this specimenThalictrum L.1815not recordedWorcester Turnpike.
A photograph of the species Viola L., not of this specimenViola L.1815Boott, J.W.Worcester Turnpike, 7 miles from Boston, U.S.A. [Identical locality information is written on the reverse of the sheet.]

All 13,292 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Grantville: 8 past producers, 2 producers, 1 plant. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Tantalum. 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
Nrc Inc--Newton, Ma.Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium)Plant
Walpole QuarryStonePast Producer
Massachusetts Broken Stone CoStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Weston MineStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Burton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Greendale PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hi-Way Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Town of NatickSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Town of NeedhamSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Town of WellesleySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Norfolk 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
Wellesley Hills0.4 miles46
Wellesley Farms0.6 miles46
Babson Park1.2 miles46
Wellesley1.5 miles46
Wellesley Fells2.2 miles46
Needham Heights2.5 miles46
Overbrook2.7 miles46
Needham3.0 miles46

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 617133. 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.