Harvard, Massachusetts

41 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Harvard town. It lies in ZIP code area 01451. It lies near Pin Hill. The Survey maps it on the Hudson quadrangle.

Harvard within Worcester County

Then and now

1893 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 95 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Harvard, surveyed 1988

Topographic sheet of Harvard, surveyed 1893

On record in Harvard

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 6 records

FruitlandsNational Historic Landmark · listed 1974
Fruitlands Museums Historic Districtlisted 1997
Harvard Center Historic Districtlisted 1997
Harvard Shaker Village Historic Districtlisted 1989
Still River Baptist Churchlisted 1996
Frederick Fiske and Gretchen Osgood Warren Houselisted 1996

Surveyed buildings and structures 12 of 19 shown

"Fruitlands", Fruitlands Museum, Prospect Hill Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 9 photographs
Harvard Shaker House, Fruitlands Museum, Prospect Hill Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 5 photographs
Shaker Church Family Barn (Ruins), Shaker Road vicinity, Harvardfederal building survey, 4 photographs
Shaker Church Family Dwelling House (second), Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 8 photographs
Shaker Church Family Herb Drying House, Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 4 photographs
Shaker Church Family Square House, Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 8 photographs
Shaker Church Family Tailors' Shop, Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 2 photographs
Shaker Church Family Trustees' Office (second), Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 10 photographs
Shaker Family Church, General Views, Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 1 photograph
Shaker Holy Hill Outdoor Worship Area, Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 2 photographs
Shaker Meetinghouse, Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 10 photographs
Shaker Ministry's Shop, Shaker Road, Harvardfederal building survey, 8 photographs

Every surveyed structure in Worcester County

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 surveys from 41 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.

1893 USGS Groton quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
1935 USGS Ayer quadrangle1:24000
1935 USGS Groton quadrangle1:62500
1936 USGS Groton quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
1939 USGS Ayer quadrangle1:31680, 6 printings
1943 USGS Fitchburg quadrangle1:125000
1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1950 USGS Ayer quadrangle1:24000
1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1966 USGS Ayer quadrangle1:25000
1966 USGS Ayer quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1984 USGS Lowell quadrangle1:100000
1988 USGS Ayer quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
1988 USGS Lowell quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

In the county-history sources

585 words on this township

History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Harvard Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The town of Harvard is located in the eastern part of the county and is bounded as follows : on the north by Ayer ; on the east by Littleton, Boxborough and Stow; on the south by Bolton ; and on the west by Lancaster and Shirley. This town was originally a portion of Lancaster,' and was incorporated January 29, 1732, and named in honor of John Harvard, founder of Harvard University. Portions of Groton and Stow were subsequently added to the town.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

The Public Library building and library owe their existence to the sime spirit of benevolence that founded the Bromfield School. The library building was erected at a cost of about ten thousand dollars, all of which, except thirty-nine hundred dollars, raised by the town, was given by former citizens of Harvard. The laru-est amount was a legacy left by Mrs. Hannah W. C. Sawyer, principally from the estate of her husband, A. J. Sawyer, a citizen of Harvard. Warren Hapgood, Esq., of Boston, generously contributed twenty-six hundred dollars, and W. Channing Whitney, of Minneapolis, architect, presented the plans and specifications.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

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 Harvard Town.

Photographs

5 photographs, 1939

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.

Cambridge, Massachusetts. Historic churchyard near Harvard Square
Vanderbilt, Paul, photographer, 1939. Library of Congress

Cambridge, Massachusetts. View across Harvard Yard
Vanderbilt, Paul, photographer, 1939. Library of Congress

Shaker Church Family Barn (Ruins), Shaker Road vicinity, Harvard, Worcester County, MA
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Shaker Holy Hill Outdoor Worship Area, Shaker Road, Harvard, Worcester County, MA
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

69 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 69 fires within 5 miles of Harvard between 2002 and 2020, burning about 2,684 acres in total. None 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
Debris and open burning	29
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	23
Recreation and ceremony	7
Equipment and vehicle use	5
Smoking	3
Railroad operations and maintenance	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
5 September 2016	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
20 September 2015	Railroad operations and maintenance	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
1 September 2017	Smoking	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
30 August 2015	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
27 August 2017	Smoking	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
14 August 2002	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	300 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	DEVENS
13 August 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	STOW
10 August 2015	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 2,084 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,084 specimens collected within 10 miles of Harvard between 1859 and 1974: 1,214 Animalia, 508 Plantae, 344 Fungi, 9 Unrecorded, 8 Chromista, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. C. Gibson, A. Ferrett 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Exidia glandulosa (Bull.) Fr.	1896	F. O. Grover	Prospect Hill
Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook.	1899	E. F. Williams
Condylura cristata cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)	1859	E S Wheeler	BERLIN
Dryobates pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832)	1861	not recorded	Bolton
Clemmys insculpta Fitzinger, 1835	1864	Agassiz
Bromus sterilis L.	1879	C. E. Faxon
Megascops asio asio (Linnaeus, 1758)	1879	Smith, J. C.; Thomas Wilmer Dewing collection	Groton
Strix varia varia Barton, 1799	1880	Smith, J. C.; Thomas Wilmer Dewing collection	Groton
unnamed	1881	Sargent, F. L.	Groton, Mass. [Massachusetts]
Conocephalum conicum (L.) Underw.	1881	Charles W. Swan
Hypericum gentianoides (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.	1881	Fredrick L Sargent	Lunenburg
Arthuriomyces peckianus (Howe) Cummins & Y.Hirats.	1892	W. B. Hosmer

All 2,084 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 Harvard: 10 past producers, 4 producers, 1 occurrence. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Kyanite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Oak Hill Andalusite Occurrence	Kyanite	Occurrence	Metamorphic
Bolton Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Boxborough Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
D. B. Raymond Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Hazen Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Joy Contracting Tc	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Kanis Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Lancaster Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Landfill Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
San Vel Contracting Co	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this place

13 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Harvard in 13 storm reports between 1994 and 2021: 9 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 lightning. 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	$20,000	Multiple trees were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	$15,000	Trees on Scott Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2016	Lightning	Harvard	$10,000	A barn on Still River Depot Road was struck by lightning, causing a small fire on the 2nd floor.
August 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	$5,000	Two trees were downed by thunderstorm winds, one of them was blocking one side of Route 111.
May 2014	Hail	Harvard	$5,000	Golfball size hail damaged a Massachusetts Environmental Police cruiser as they traveled between Interstate 495 and Route 2 through the center of Harvard.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	$2,000	In Harvard, multiple trees were down on Houghton Lane.
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	$2,000	At 5:35 PM EST a large tree and wires were reported down on Warren Avenue in Harvard.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	-	Trees and power lines down near Bull Park.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	-	Trees and power poles downed.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	-	Trees down on Warren Road.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Harvard	-	Trees were reported uprooted and wires knocked down. About 1500 electrical customers lost power.
July 1999	Hail	Harvard	-	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Harvard	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Worcester 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Camp Green Eyrie	0.8 miles	43
Harvard Station	1.8 miles	41
Still River	1.9 miles	43
Shaker Village	2.9 miles	41
Devens	3.5 miles	41
East Bolton	3.9 miles	43
Brockway Corner	4.1 miles	43
Bolton	4.8 miles	43

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611121. 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.