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

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 stands on 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

Topographic sheets covering this place

41 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

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
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Historic churchyard near Harvard Square
Vanderbilt, Paul, photographer, 1939. Library of Congress
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Historic churchyard near Harvard Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Historic churchyard near Harvard Square
Vanderbilt, Paul, photographer, 1939. Library of Congress
Cambridge, Massachusetts. View across Harvard Yard
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
Shaker Church Family Barn (Ruins), Shaker Road vicinity, Harvard, Worcester County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Shaker Holy Hill Outdoor Worship Area, Shaker Road, Harvard, Worcester County, MA
Shaker Holy Hill Outdoor Worship Area, Shaker Road, Harvard, Worcester County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Fires nearby

69 since 2002

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 burning29
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Recreation and ceremony7
Equipment and vehicle use5
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance2

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
5 September 2016Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
20 September 2015Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
1 September 2017Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
30 August 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
27 August 2017Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
14 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined300 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlDEVENS
13 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlSTOW
10 August 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 2,084 shown

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.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Exidia glandulosa (Bull.) Fr.Exidia glandulosa (Bull.) Fr.1896F. O. GroverProspect Hill
Specimen of Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook.Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook.1899E. F. Williams
A photograph of the species Condylura cristata, not of this specimenCondylura cristata cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)1859E S WheelerBERLIN
A photograph of the species Dryobates pubescens, not of this specimenDryobates pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832)1861not recordedBolton
A photograph of the species Clemmys insculpta, not of this specimenClemmys insculpta Fitzinger, 18351864Agassiz
A photograph of the species Bromus sterilis, not of this specimenBromus sterilis L.1879C. E. Faxon
A photograph of the species Megascops asio, not of this specimenMegascops asio asio (Linnaeus, 1758)1879Smith, J. C.; Thomas Wilmer Dewing collectionGroton
A photograph of the species Strix varia, not of this specimenStrix varia varia Barton, 17991880Smith, J. C.; Thomas Wilmer Dewing collectionGroton
unnamed1881Sargent, F. L.Groton, Mass. [Massachusetts]
A photograph of the species Conocephalum conicum, not of this specimenConocephalum conicum (L.) Underw.1881Charles W. Swan
A photograph of the species Hypericum gentianoides, not of this specimenHypericum gentianoides (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.1881Fredrick L SargentLunenburg
Arthuriomyces peckianus (Howe) Cummins & Y.Hirats.1892W. B. Hosmer

All 2,084 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

10 of 15 shown

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.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Oak Hill Andalusite OccurrenceKyaniteOccurrenceMetamorphic
Bolton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Boxborough PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
D. B. Raymond Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hazen PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Joy Contracting TcSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Kanis PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Lancaster PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Landfill PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
San Vel Contracting CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms nearby

13 since 1994

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.

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

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Camp Green Eyrie0.8 miles43
Harvard Station1.8 miles41
Still River1.9 miles43
Shaker Village2.9 miles41
Devens3.5 miles41
East Bolton3.9 miles43
Brockway Corner4.1 miles43
Bolton4.8 miles43

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.