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Medfield, Massachusetts

43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Medfield town. It lies in ZIP code area 02052. It lies near Mount Nebo. The Survey maps it on the Medfield quadrangle. 6,939 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 187 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Medfield within Norfolk County

Then and now

1887 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 102 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Medfield, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Medfield, surveyed 1887

On record in Medfield

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 7 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 10 records

Population over time

2 figures

Medfield grew from 6,483 to 6,939 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
20106,483
20206,939+456 (+7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

21 surveys from 43 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

10,627 words on this township

Norfolk County Manual, and Year Book for 1876, published 1877; History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884 names this settlement in its chapter on Medfield Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

CHRIST CHURCH (Episcopal). Organized 1704. - Rector, Rev. Reginald H. Howe, settled Dec. 1, 1871; Wardens, William L. Wainwright, Braintree, and William Greenough, Quincy; Vestrymen, Charles F. Shimmin, of Ilingham, Peter Butler, of Quincy, Samuel G. Wyman, of Baltimore, Arthur L. Walker, of Braintree, G. S. Coffin, of Quincy ; Clerk and Treasurer, William Greenough. Communicants, ICO. Supt. of Sunday School, The Rector. 9 teachers, 120 scholars.

Passage source: Norfolk County Manual, and Year Book for 1876, published 1877.

Pearl and High Streets, near their old quarters, and, in order to keep pace with the demands of their trade, they purchased and fitted for their use the meetinghouse situated near their factory. At present theirs ranks among the largest factories of Eastern Massachusetts, and they turn out weekly from six to nine hundred cases of goods.

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

TuIs region of country lying to the southwest of Boston was, when first known to white men, the home of several Indian tribes. Among these were the Naticks, the Neponsets, and to the westward of Norfolk County, the Nipmucks. These tribes were at the beginning of their acquaintance with the English settlers quite friendly to them ; indeed, when John Oldham and three others, in 1633, went overland as friendly disposition existing among the Indians all along his journey. It was only after the encroachments of the whites upon their domain, and after some wrongs committed by the English, that the temper of the Indians toward them suffered a change. The aboriginal tribes scattered over this part of the country were known under the general designation of '"' Massachusetts; and Charles River was at first known There is no account extant of any exploration of Charles River Valley during the first decade after the establishment of the Bay colony, though doubtless it was not long before adventurous pioneers became acto Englishmen as the ' Massachusetts River."

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

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 Medfield Town - it names this place 29 more 29 times.

Photographs

1 photograph,

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.

The Peak House, Main Street, Medfield, Norfolk County, MA
The Peak House, Main Street, Medfield, Norfolk County, MA
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

90 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 90 fires within 5 miles of Medfield between 2007 and 2020, burning about 32 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 1 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined27
Recreation and ceremony26
Debris and open burning18
Smoking9
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Natural3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Arson/incendiarism1
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
9 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlDOVER
26 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
25 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMEDFIELD
22 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
18 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
12 September 2017Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWALPOLE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Norfolk County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 9,105 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 9,105 specimens collected within 10 miles of Medfield between 1832 and 1975: 4,413 Animalia, 2,433 Plantae, 2,042 Fungi, 146 Protozoa, 37 Chromista, 29 Unrecorded, 5 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. A. Eaton, A. B. Seymour, A. B. Seymour & A. C. 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Hypoprepia fucosa Hübner, 1831Hypoprepia fucosa Hübner, 18311900not recordedSherborn
A photograph of the species Bartramia pomiformis, not of this specimenBartramia pomiformis Hedw.1832C. E. Cummings
A photograph of the species Galium verum, not of this specimenGalium verum L.1846Kupell
A photograph of the species Dichanthelium acuminatum, not of this specimenDichanthelium acuminatum var. acuminatum1849Ernest Charles SmithFramingham.
A photograph of the species Ameiurus nebulosus, not of this specimenAmeiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819)1852S. BairdFramingham, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Boleosoma fusiforme, not of this specimenBoleosoma fusiforme Girard, 18541852S. BairdFramingham, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Pristiphora Latreille, not of this specimenPristiphora Latreille, 18101856not recorded
A photograph of the species Grammia arge, not of this specimenGrammia arge Drury, 17731867not recordedSherborn
A photograph of the species Polygonum coccineum, not of this specimenPolygonum coccineum Muhl. ex Willd.1869Morong, T.Natick
A photograph of the species Carex swanii, not of this specimenCarex swanii (Fernald) Mack.1870Joseph BlakeSharon
A photograph of the species Chamaecyparis thyoides, not of this specimenChamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.1870Joseph BlakeSharon
Chantransia hermannii (Roth) Desvaux1870F. W. Dewart

All 9,105 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 17 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 17 workings within 5 miles of Medfield: 8 past producers, 8 producers, 1 unknown. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Granite, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Needham PitStonePast Producer
Walpole QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Bates Bros QuarryGraniteProducer
Hopkinton QuarryGraniteProducer
Dedham Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Dedham Sand and Gravel CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Holliston PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Medway PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Millis Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Norfolk Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Norfolk County

Storms near this place

8 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Medfield in 8 storm reports between 1998 and 2020: 6 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. 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
October 2020Thunderstorm WindMedfield$18,000In Walpole, multiple trees were down, snapped, or uprooted from Mill Brook Avenue to Pine Hill Drive. Four trees were downed onto houses.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindMedfield$8,000In Medfield, a large tree was down on Lowell Mason Road. A large tree was down on Main Street. A large tree was down on Pound Street. Three large trees were down into the back part of an apartment house on Wilkins Glen Road.
October 2020Thunderstorm WindMedfield$1,500In Medfield, multiple trees were down around South Street.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindMedfield$500In Medfield, a tree was down on Pound Street.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindMedfield$500In Medfield, a tree was down on Granite Street.
May 2002HailMedfield-no account filed
June 2002HailMedfield-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindMedfield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Norfolk 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
Crownridge Estates0.8 miles43
Medfield Junction1.2 miles43
Harding1.4 miles43
Farm Street Station1.7 miles43
Clicquot2.7 miles43
Millis3.1 miles43
West Walpole3.6 miles43
Cedar Hill3.9 miles43

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 MedfieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6805284The 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 611950. 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.