BlockBefore

Malden, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Malden City. It lies in ZIP code area 02148. It lies near Belmont Hill. The Survey maps it on the Boston North quadrangle. 66,263 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 13 feet above sea level.

Malden within Middlesex County

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 Malden, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Malden, surveyed 1893

On record in Malden

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 12 of 13 shown

Every listing in Middlesex County

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 7 records

Population over time

2 figures

Malden grew from 59,450 to 66,263 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, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. 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
201059,450
202066,263+6,813 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

17 surveys from 46 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.

In the county-history sources

49,084 words on this township

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Malden City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

As we tread the threshold of the Bevolution it may not be unprofitable to inquire into the state of the town as it approached the close of the colonial period. Materials to satisfy such an inquiry,, though scattered, are happily not insufficient for our purpose. In common witli the great body of the people of Massachusetts Bay, the inhabitants of Maiden were alive to the great dangers of the time. They were heartily in sympathy with the cause of liberty, and evinced their readiness to act in its. defence. Their actiou at a later period we sliall consider in its place. The inhabitants of the town, in 1765, were divided into one hundred and seventy-four families, inliabiting ^ne hundred and forty-four houses. Of the aggregate number of nine hundred and eighty-three, fortyeight were negroes and four hundred and sixteen were under sixteen years of age. During the next eleven years the population increased to one thousand and thirty. In 1767 seven* work-houses ^or shops are mentioned \ and £ 244 was the value di the " Trading Stock *' of the community. Of money at interest £1,169 6*. 8rf. api)ears; and the live stock of the farmers consisted of eighty-four horses, one hundred oxen, and four hundred and eighty-six cows, besides sheep and a few swine. The taxable products of the Land were fifty-eight hundred and thirty-nine bushels of grain and six hundred and fifty-two barrels of "Cyder,'* with one thousand and fifty- t>\'o tons of liay, of Which but two hundred and thirty-four tons were of English grass, the salt marshes then, and in earlier years, furnishing a large pro]X)rtion of the hay obtained. By these figures the sparseness of the population of the territory now covered by the towns of Maiden, Melrose, and Everett may be understood. Tlie simplicity of their (condition may appear in the fact that, eight years before, one ' chaise and fourteen chairs were the wheel calriages sufficient for the wants of this community.- Travelling was performed U2X)n foot and on horseback;' ' and a few years earlier the purchase of a '^shay" was the plentiful source of spiritual disquiet in the soul of Mr. Emerson.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, published 1880.

Kniglits, who, with his worthy and industrious wife, is w6ll remembered by many. He Iiad been a sbtre of Bernard Green, and was a sincere and consistent Christian and a member of the Baptist Church.' He lived many years in a small house, as black as himself, which stood in Haskin's Jjane, not &r from the site of the Unitarian Chapel, and died in July, 1847. His funeral service, wliich was held in the Baptist Church, was attended by the towns*peopIe as that of a neighbor and friend. '

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, published 1880.

The next year another call for soldiers was made, and the town responded with thirty men, who enlisted for three years ; and she furnished her proportion of men for service in Bhode Island, which was then threatened by a British force. At the head of the quota of 1779 stands the name of Pomp Magus. Old residents of Maiden will remember him as the aged negro inmate of the almshouse, who on Independence days indulged in reminiscences of his campaigning life by donning his ragged and faded regimentals and shouting '^ Cambridge ! '' Under a demand for four thousand men from ^fasjBachusetts in the fall of 1780, Maiden promptly famished her quota of thirteen men ; and the next year seven men are enumerated who enlisted for the war. Substitutes were often furnished by men liable to be drafted. In one case, in 1781, the 8um of "Twelve Pounds Solid Coin *' was paid for a substitute for three years; and in 1782 the sum of sixty pounds was paid for the same service.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, published 1880.

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 Malden City.

Fires near this place

101 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 101 fires within 5 miles of Malden between 2015 and 2020, burning about 116 acres in total. None started naturally. 31 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
Arson/incendiarism31
Missing data/not specified/undetermined26
Recreation and ceremony16
Debris and open burning15
Smoking9
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
4 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 September 2020Missing 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 1,630 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,630 specimens collected within 10 miles of Malden between 1898 and 1975: 707 Animalia, 503 Plantae, 359 Fungi, 26 Protozoa, 17 Bacteria, 10 Chromista, 8 Unrecorded. 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 Trientalis borealis Raf.Trientalis borealis Raf.1900A. P. Chute
Aglaospora profusa (Fr.) De Not.1898Collector unspecified
A photograph of the species Bulbostylis capillaris, not of this specimenBulbostylis capillaris var. crebra Fernald1898C. H. KnowltonBoston.
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 Crataegus coccinea, not of this specimenCrataegus coccinea L.1898not recordedHarvard University Arboretum
A photograph of the species Ctenidium malacodes, not of this specimenCtenidium malacodes Mitt.1898not recorded
A photograph of the species Acer carpinifolium, not of this specimenAcer carpinifolium Siebold & Zucc.1900A. K. HarrisonHarvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge.
A photograph of the species Acer palmatum, not of this specimenAcer palmatum var. dissectum (Thunb.) Miq.1900A. K. HarrisonHarvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge.

All 1,630 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 Malden: 9 plants, 3 past producers, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 11 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Iron, Lead, Gypsum-Anhydrite. 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
(Facility) Vulcan Smelter--Chelsea, Ma.Copper, LeadPlant
C. J. MabardySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Syncor Prdts Co--Malden, Ma.SilicaPlant
Us Gypsum Co--BostonGypsum-AnhydritePast Producer
Whittemore Prdts Inc--BostonPerlitePlant
(Facility) Cambridge Smelter CoLeadPlant
General Metals & Smelting--BostonLeadPlant
Industrial Serv. Centers--CambridgeIronPlant
Somerville Smelting Co.LeadPlant
Us Steel Supply Div--BostonIronPlant

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

6 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Malden in 6 storm reports between 2007 and 2021: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 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 2021Thunderstorm WindMalden$10,000In Malden, a tree was down on a car on Clinton Street. In Medford, a tree was down on Cushing Street. Also in Medford, a tree was down on Carberry Street. A tree and wires were down and leaning on a house on Governor's Avenue.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindMalden$500In Medford, there was a tree down on the 900 block of Highland Ave.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindMalden$500In Malden, a tree was down on Fellsway East.
November 2018FloodMalden-In Malden, a portion of Highland Avenue was flooded and closed for a time, shortly after midnight.
June 2012FloodMalden-Pleasant Street was flooded with eight to twelve inches of water.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindMalden-Trees and power lines down on Newton Street.

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
Malden Centre0.1 miles46
Faulkner0.7 miles46
Oak Grove0.8 miles46
Edgeworth0.8 miles46
West Everett1.0 miles46
Maplewood1.1 miles46
Malden Highlands1.2 miles46
Fells1.2 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.

Wikipedia article on MaldenAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q54149The 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 612773. 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.