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

Lexington, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Lexington town. It lies in ZIP code area 02420. It stands on Merriam Hill. The Survey maps it on the Lexington quadrangle. 34,454 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Lexington within Middlesex County

Population over time

2 figures

Lexington grew from 31,394 to 34,454 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201031,394
202034,454+3,060 (+10%)

Then and now

1893 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Lexington, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Lexington, surveyed 1893

Topographic sheets covering this place

46 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.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Lexington town, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1868, with a Genealogical Register of Lexington Families, published 1868 - Lexington Town

Farmer

He was first taxed in 1748< He was a member of Capt. Parker's company on the morning of 19 April 1775, and was severely wounded by a bullet which struck his right arm, and so fractured the bone that he was not only disabled for a long time, but pieces of bone were extracted from it for several months afterward.

Read the rest of this passage

In the county-history sources

391,247 words on this township

History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1868, with a Genealogical Register of Lexington Families, published 1868 names this settlement in its chapter on Lexington Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Of the illustrations bound witli this work, the portraits of Rev. Mr. Hancock, Col. INIunroe, and the author were furnished by their respective descendants ; and those of Theodore Parker, Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Follen, and Rev. Mr. Stetson, by their numerous friends resident in the vicinity. The views of dwelling-houses, including the Lexington House, Avere, except as stated below, sup])lied by their present or late owners ; and those of public buildings by citizens' subscriptions.

Passage source: History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1868, with a Genealogical Register of Lexington Families, published 1868.

After a considerable progress had been made in the printing, the author apprised us that the amount of matter prepared by him would probably exceed, in print, the number of pages he had contemplated ; but that he could not materially abridge the History without departing from his original plan, and impairing the symmetry and completeness of the work. Much interesting matter on the subject of slavery has been omitted. But we fuvmd that tlie great length of the manuscript was principally due to the minuteness with which the author had told the story of the nineteenth of April, 1775, and set forth the causes and consequences of the events recited. The citizens of Lexington will not need to be convinced, that on no account should such a narrative be abridged in the annals of such a town.

Passage source: History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1868, with a Genealogical Register of Lexington Families, published 1868.

In preparing tlie following History, I have labored under the embarrassments felt by every one who undertakes to compile the annals of a town, arising from the meagre and imperfect character of municipal records. This is particularly true of the records of births, deaths, and marriages. There is scarcely a family whose genealogy can be accurately traced, in our public archives, through two generations. There will be omissions of births and deaths, or a minute so brief that it is next to impossible to determine whether the child born belongs to this family or that ; or whether the person who died is the father or the son in the particular funnily, or whether he belongs to this family or another

Passage source: History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1868, with a Genealogical Register of Lexington Families, published 1868.

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 Lexington Town - it names this place 62 more 62 times.

Fires near this place

31 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 31 fires within 5 miles of Lexington between 1992 and 2020, burning about 26 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 3 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 burning13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined11
Arson/incendiarism3
Other causes1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
8 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
5 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
1 September 2001Naturalunder an acreMinute Man National Historical ParkFISKEHILL
26 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
13 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Middlesex County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,831 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,831 specimens collected within 10 miles of Lexington between 1898 and 1975: 798 Animalia, 569 Plantae, 407 Fungi, 23 Protozoa, 17 Bacteria, 9 Unrecorded, 8 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A B Seymour, A B. Proper 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 Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 18221900not recordedWayland
Specimen of Trientalis borealis Raf.Trientalis borealis Raf.1900A. P. Chute
Aglaospora profusa (Fr.) De Not.1898Collector unspecified
A photograph of the species Boletus griseus, not of this specimenBoletus griseus Frost1898H. Webster
A photograph of the species Cantharellus cinnabarinus, not of this specimenCantharellus cinnabarinus (Schwein.) Schwein.1898not recordedNewton.
A photograph of the species Cantharellus infundibuliformis, not of this specimenCantharellus infundibuliformis (Scop.) Fr.1898not recordedMelrose.
A photograph of the species Cladonia coccifera, not of this specimenCladonia coccifera (L.) Willd.1898Francis P DanielsCambridge
A photograph of the species Cladonia rangiferina, not of this specimenCladonia rangiferina (L.) Weber1898Francis P DanielsArlington Heights
A photograph of the species Cordyceps capitata, not of this specimenCordyceps capitata (Holmsk.) Link1898Conant, [?] F.Middlesex Fells
A photograph of the species Ctenidium malacodes, not of this specimenCtenidium malacodes Mitt.1898not recorded
A photograph of the species Cucurbitaria elongata, not of this specimenCucurbitaria elongata (Fr.) Grev.1898J. G. Hall
A photograph of the species Acer carpinifolium, not of this specimenAcer carpinifolium Siebold & Zucc.1900A. K. HarrisonHarvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge.

All 1,831 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 Lexington: 7 past producers, 2 producers, 2 plants. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Peat, Clay, Iron. 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
Austin Hastings--Woburn, Ma.IronPlant
Dynamet Tech--Burlington, Ma.TitaniumPlant
Mahoney:S Rocky LedgePeatPast ProducerPeat
Rocky Ledge PitClayPast Producer
Burlington S & G Co., Inc. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Burlington Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
D R RaymondSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Joseph Roberto IncSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Joseph Roberto PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Quinn-Perkins PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

14 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lexington in 14 storm reports between 1997 and 2022: 6 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood, 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
July 2014LightningLexington$100,000Lightning struck a house on Todd Road, setting it on fire.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindLexington$15,000Trees, wires, and a street light on Massachusetts Avenue were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindEast Lexington$4,500In Arlington, numerous trees were downed. Locations included... Kipling Road, Charles Street, Walnut Street, Stowecroft Road, and Kensington Park.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindLexington$1,000In Lexington, police reported a large tree down on Fairview Avenue. Report relayed by amateur radio.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindLexington$1,000A large limb on Hancock Street was downed onto power lines by thunderstorm winds.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindLexington$1,000Wires on Waltham Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2019HailLexington-A trained spotter reported dime size hail in Lexington.
July 2016HailLexington-Penny to nickel size hail fell in Lexington.
August 2014FloodNorth Lexington-Three lanes of Route 128 in Burlington were closed due to flooding. There was also 6 inches of flooding across the all lanes of Route 128 near North Street in Reading.
July 2016HailLexington-no account filed
May 2007Thunderstorm WindLexington-no account filed
July 2004HailLexington-no account filed
July 1998HailLexington-no account filed
May 1997HailLexington-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Middlesex 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
Fuller Heights0.6 miles46
Munroe Station0.8 miles46
Follen Heights1.2 miles46
North Lexington1.3 miles46
Shaker Glen1.5 miles46
Countryside1.7 miles46
Idylwide1.8 miles48
East Lexington1.8 miles46

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikidata item Q16302292The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612190. 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.