BlockLeicester, Massachusetts
42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Leicester town. It lies in ZIP code area 01524. It stands on Leicester Hill. The Survey maps it on the Leicester quadrangle.
Then and now
1889 to 1989The same ground, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
On record in Leicester
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 1 record
Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records
- Milestone, Route 9 at Collier's Corner, Leicesterfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Milestone, Route 9, Leicesterfederal building survey, 1 photograph
Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 12 of 31 shown
- Congregational ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1889 to 1910
- Valley Wollen MillMill, in the atlas of 1888 to 1910
- Chapel Mills Mfg CoMill, in the atlas of 1904 to 1910
- Darling, A. W., Woolen MillMill, in the atlas of 1888 to 1904
- Jr Woolen MillMill, in the atlas of 1888 to 1904
- Leicester AcademyIce House, in the atlas of 1889 to 1910
- Satinette MillMill, in the atlas of 1889 to 1904
- Unitarian ChurchChurch, in the atlas of 1889 to 1910
- Woolen MillsMill, in the atlas of 1889 to 1910
- American Card Clothing Co.,Leather Shop, 3Shop, in the atlas of 1904
- Bottomly MillMill, in the atlas of 1904
- Bottomly Woolen Mills, at Cherry Valley, 6Mill, in the atlas of 1904
Topographic sheets covering this place
19 surveys from 42 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1889 USGS Webster quadrangle1:62500
- 1892 USGS Webster quadrangle1:62500, 9 printings
- 1908 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1921 USGS Webster quadrangle1:62500
- 1937 USGS Leicester quadrangle1:24000
- 1941 USGS Leicester quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1943 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000
- 1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Leicester quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Leicester quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Leicester quadrangle1:24000
- 1969 USGS Leicester quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
- 1975 USGS Leicester quadrangle1:25000
- 1983 USGS Worcester South quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
31,610 words on this townshipHistory of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Leicester Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
The town of Leicester stands upon the ridge of the water-shed of Central Massachusetts, one thousand and seven feet above the sea level. Its waters flow easterly, through Lynde and Kettle Brooks, into the Blackstone River; southerly, through French Eiver, into the Quinebaug and Thames, and westerly from Shaw Pond, through the Chicopee River, into the Connecticut. Lynde Brook Reservoir, on the east, is one of the sources of water supply for Worcester, and Shaw Pond, on the we.st, is the source of the supply for Spencer. Leicester is about forty-eight miles from Boston. It is six miles west of Worcester and five hundred feet above that city. Its location is 42° 14' 49" north latitude, and 71° 54' 47" west longitude.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
Its villages are the Centre, at first called Strawberry Hill ; Cherry Valley, two miles east of the Centre, generally so-called since 1820; Rochdale, at first South Leicester, named Clappville, from Joshua Clapp, who purchased the mill property in 1829, and changed to Roiihdale in November, 1869; Greenville, which about the middle of the present century began to be so called from its founder. Captain Samuel Green ; Manuville, two miles north of the Centre, which was named after Mr. Billings Mann about the year 1856 ; and Lakeside, which has come to be so called within a few years. The northeast part of the town is called " Mulberry Grove," the name being first given in 1827 to the estate of Silas Earle, on wbich he raised mulberry trees and produced silk from the silk-worm.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
At the time of its original purchase the township of l^eicester was a part of the extended domain of the Nipmuck tribe of Indians. The character of this tribe had been greatly changed, and many of its members had been converted to Christianity through the labors of John Eliot and Daniel Gookin. Gookin, in his " Historical Collections," mentions seven " new praying towns" among the Nipmuck Indians. One of these was in Oxford and another was Pacachoag, in Worcester and the southeastern border of Leicester. That the Indians of Leicester had been brought under the same influences is indicated by the fact that one of the signers of the deed is styled '" deacon." Few Indian relics have been found here, there are few Indian traditions, and there is little to indicate that the place ever had a considerable native population, although it was of sufficient importance to have a sachem.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, 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 Leicester Town - it names this place 110 more 110 times.
Fires near this place
89 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 89 fires within 5 miles of Leicester between 2015 and 2020, burning about 75 acres in total. None started naturally. 8 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 30 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 20 |
| Smoking | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 3 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 2 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 14 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 1 September 2020 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 1 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 31 August 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 31 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:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 1,650 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,650 specimens collected within 10 miles of Leicester between 1839 and 1974: 995 Plantae, 371 Animalia, 262 Fungi, 16 Unrecorded, 4 Protozoa, 2 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A E WOODHEAD, A. A. Eaton, A. B. Seymour 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 | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) | 1900 | Roscoe I. Giles | |
 | Ochrolechia tartarea (L.) A.Massal. | 1839 | E. Tuckerman | |
 | Carex laxiflora Lam. | 1840 | Thomas Nuttall | Cambridge. |
 | Carex vestita Willd. | 1840 | Thomas Nuttall | Cambridge. |
 | Mycobilimbia hypnorum (Lib.) Kalb & Hafellner | 1848 | E. Tuckerman | |
 | Tamias striatus lysteri (Richardson, 1829) | 1848 | L Agassiz | PARSONS ISLAND |
 | Cladonia cornucopioides F.Wilson | 1850 | J. L. Russell | Leicester |
 | Geranium maculatum L. | 1850 | not recorded | |
 | Packera aurea (L.) Á.Löve & D.Löve | 1850 | not recorded | |
| Elymus repens (L.) Gould | 1892 | Arthur B. Seymour | Cambridge. | |
| Festuca pratensis Huds. | 1892 | Arthur B. Seymour | Cambridge. | |
| Hepatica americana (DC.) Ker Gawl. | 1892 | Clarence Kinney |
All 1,650 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Leicester: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capa Corporation | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kittredge Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Town of Spencer | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Vandale Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Wiley Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
11 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Leicester in 11 storm reports between 2000 and 2022: 7 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leicester | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leicester | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leicester | $800 | In Leicester, there was a tree and wires down on Grove St. |
| March 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leicester | - | In Leicester, a trained spotter measured a wind gust to 59 mph. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Leicester | - | At 3 PM EST, an amateur radio operator reported 1-inch diameter hail in Leicester. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Leicester | - | At 301 PM, an amateur radio operator reported 1.25 inch diameter hail at Leicester. |
| May 2014 | Hail | Leicester | - | Nickel to quarter size hail fell in Leicester. |
| August 2014 | Hail | Leicester | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Leicester | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Leicester | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Leicester | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Valley | 1.9 miles | 44 | |
| Tafts Corner | 2.8 miles | 42 | |
| Valley Falls (historical) | 2.8 miles | 44 | |
| Greenville | 2.9 miles | 42 | |
| Jamesville | 3.0 miles | 44 | |
| Proctors corner | 3.0 miles | 42 | |
| West Tatnuck | 3.2 miles | 45 | |
| Ludlow | 3.2 miles | 44 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 610365. 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.