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

Hancock, Massachusetts

38 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Hancock town. It lies in ZIP code area 01237. It stands on Whitman Brook. The Survey maps it on the Hancock quadrangle.

Hancock within Berkshire County

Then and now

1888 to 1998

The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Hancock, surveyed 1998
Topographic sheet of Hancock, surveyed 1888

Topographic sheets covering this place

38 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.

Photographs

8 photographs,

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.

Shaker Ministry's Washhouse, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Ministry's Washhouse, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Church Family Main Dwelling House, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Church Family Main Dwelling House, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Church Family Trustees' Office, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Church Family Trustees' Office, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Church Family Tannery, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Church Family Tannery, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Church Family Brethren's Shop, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Church Family Brethren's Shop, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Meetinghouse (first), U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Meetinghouse (first), U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Church Family Dairy & Weave Shop, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Church Family Dairy & Weave Shop, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Church Family Concrete Barn, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Shaker Church Family Concrete Barn, U.S. Route 20, Hancock, Berkshire County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Fires nearby

91 since 1995

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 91 fires within 5 miles of Hancock between 1995 and 2020, burning about 265 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 15 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/undetermined43
Debris and open burning16
Arson/incendiarism15
Natural10
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony2
Equipment and vehicle use2

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
11 September 2002Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
27 August 2018Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A
26 August 2011Arson/incendiarism4.5 acresFire Department of New Yorknot named
24 August 2018Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A
2 August 2018Naturalunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A
4 July 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
27 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
26 July 2006Equipment and vehicle use2.5 acresFire Department of New Yorknot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Berkshire County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 940 shown

Museums hold 940 specimens collected within 10 miles of Hancock between 1835 and 1975: 414 Plantae, 400 Animalia, 124 Fungi, 2 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A K Harrison, A. K. Harrison, A. K. Harrison, Florence 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 Persicaria amphibia, not of this specimenPersicaria amphibia (L.) Delarbre1835C. A. ShurtleffPittsfield
A photograph of the species Solidago patula, not of this specimenSolidago patula Muhl. ex Willd.1858Brewer; Chickering
A photograph of the species Carex novae-angliae, not of this specimenCarex novae-angliae Schwein.1865W. BoottSaddle Ball Mountain
A photograph of the species Hypnum pallescens, not of this specimenHypnum pallescens (Hedw.) P.Beauv.1866not recordedMts. of [New] Lebanon
A photograph of the species Platyhypnidium riparioides, not of this specimenPlatyhypnidium riparioides (Hedw.) Dixon1866not recordedMts. of New Lebanon
A photograph of the species Potentilla fruticosa, not of this specimenPotentilla fruticosa L.1868Redfield, J.H.Pittsfield
A photograph of the species Carex communis, not of this specimenCarex communis var. communis1874J. H. RedfieldBorders of woods, Pittsfield. [Inferred county from precise loc.]
A photograph of the species Euphorbia cyparissias, not of this specimenEuphorbia cyparissias L.1874Redfield, John H.Pittsfield; [illegible].
A photograph of the species Buteo platypterus, not of this specimenButeo platypterus platypterus (Vieillot, 1823)1896Collector(s): B. HoagStephentown
A photograph of the species Dendroica petechia, not of this specimenDendroica petechia aestiva (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)1896Benjamin HoagStephentown, Garfield
A photograph of the species Empidonax minimus, not of this specimenEmpidonax minimus (W.M.Baird & S.F.Baird, 1843)1896Benjamin HoagStephentown
A photograph of the species Tyrannus tyrannus, not of this specimenTyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus, 1758)1896Benjamin HoagStephenstown

All 940 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

4 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Hancock: 2 past producers, 1 producer, 1 occurrence. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Iron, 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
Morris DevelopmentSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Colby MineIronPast ProducerResidual
Colby MineIronProducer1856
Colby MineIronOccurrence

Every working recorded in Berkshire County

Storms nearby

9 since 2000

The National Weather Service names Hancock in 9 storm reports between 2000 and 2022: 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flash 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 2014Flash FloodHancock$277,000Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms heavily damaged a 1.5 mile stretch of the Berry Pond Circuit Road in the Pittsfield State Forest in Pittsfield. As a result of the flash flooding, 13 popular campsites at Berry Pond had to be closed for the remainder of the summer season due to the damaged access road. A local newspaper reported that when the flash flooding occurred, campers had to be evacuated before water cascading down the mountain gouged out the paved road. The damage to the road and eleven stone culverts was estimated to be significant and will cost between $173,000 and $277,000 to repair.
June 2010LightningHancock$5,000Lightning struck a house and damaged a tree in Hancock during a thunderstorm.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindHancock-A tree was reported down on wires on Route 43.
October 2020Thunderstorm WindHancock-Multiple trees were downed.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindHancock-A tree, along with wires were reported down on Route 43 in Hancock due to strong thunderstorm winds. An estimated wind gust of 60 miles per hour was also reported.
June 2010HailHancock-Nickel size hail was reported in Hancock during a thunderstorm.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindHancock-One tree was reported down in Hancock due to strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2000HailHancock-Thunderstorms developed along a frontal boundary, then moved into Berkshire county very late on August 9. Dime to nickel size hail was reported by a spotter in Hancock.
February 2017Thunderstorm WindHancock-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Berkshire 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
North Hancock5.1 miles38
Greylock Estates5.1 miles40
Camp Witawentin5.1 miles44
Camp Stevenson5.1 miles44
Lanesborough5.4 miles40
Camp Merrill5.6 miles37
Lakeview Terrace5.7 miles37
Pontoosuc Gardens5.7 miles37

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 606673. 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.