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Muschopauge, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Rutland town. It lies in ZIP code area 01543. It lies near Rice Hill. The Survey maps it on the Wachusett Mountain quadrangle.

Muschopauge within Worcester County

Then and now

1885 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 104 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Muschopauge, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Muschopauge, surveyed 1885

Topographic sheets covering this place

21 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

10,800 words on this township

History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Rutland Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

This deed was received April 14, 1714, and entered with the record of deeds for the county of Middlesex, liber 16, page 541 - Samuel Phelps, registrar. This tract of land contained ninety-three thousand one hundred and sixty acres, the south corner butting upon JIuschopauge Lake; the northeast boundary on Worcester - what is now Holden - of about six miles; the northwest, including the larger part of Princeton, by a line running on the south base of Mount Wachusett and the northwest border of Hubbardston, eleven miles ; the southwest being the present southwest boundary of Hubbardston and Barre, thirteen miles ; the southeast answering to the southwest boundary of Barre and Oakham, eleven miles and thence to Worcester line, cutting Paxton into nearly equal halvesby aline running due east through the centre of the town to Worcester line, seven and one-half miles, and thence northwest on Worcester about five miles to the point of beginning, which was probably at the angle marked by a monument standing in the swamp between the land of F. G. Bartlett, in Rutland, and Geo. C. Bond, in Holden, and about two hundred rods south of Muschopauge Lake.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

Muschopauge Hill, one mile northeast of the centre, the highest point of land in town, thirteen hundred and fifty feet above .sea-level, has a commanding view to all points. There is a place on this hill of roots and herbs, called the "Indian Garden." The surface of the town is generally hilly, although the hills are very smooth and well rounded, and - what is quite remarkable - every one has been cultivated at some time on its very top. The soil is a rich loam for the most part, with a clay sub-soil, although along the valley of the Ware River and in some sections of the west part of the town it is somewhat sandy. It is, perhaps, better adapted for grass and grazing than to the raising of grain.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

Muschopauge Lake, or a point near it, is the starting and ending point of the Indian deed. It is situated at the east base of Muschopauge Hill; is a beautiful sheet of water, about three-fourths of a mile long and nearly one-half mile in width. The waters are, as the meaning of the name " Muschopauge " indicates, clear and cold. It is entirely fed by springs, as no stream runs into it. The bottom is hard and gravelly, and can be seen to a great depth. At some places in the lake the water has been found to be nearly one hundred feet deep. This supplies the water-power for Austin's Mills (formerly Broad's Mills) in Holden, although, on account of the deep basin that contains it, it cannot be drawn or lowered only about three or four feet. If this great body of pure water was accessible to some large city, it would be eagerly sought after and highly appreciated. Although there are some excellent fish in the lake, - pickerel, perch and pouts, - yet it is very seldom that a good string can be caught, probably because of the great number of smaller fish which aflbrd a plenty of food for the larger ones.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., 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 Rutland Town - it names this place 3 more 3 times.

Fires near this place

37 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 37 fires within 5 miles of Muschopauge between 2015 and 2020, burning about 22 acres in total. None 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
Debris and open burning20
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Recreation and ceremony6
Equipment and vehicle use2
Arson/incendiarism1

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
14 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
6 July 2016Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 July 2016Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 June 2020Debris and open burning1.5 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
30 June 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 June 2017Debris and open burning1.5 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 May 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 May 2015Missing 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 Worcester County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 714 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 714 specimens collected within 10 miles of Muschopauge between 1839 and 1974: 368 Plantae, 256 Animalia, 87 Fungi, 2 Unrecorded, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. V. Schott, A. K. Harrison, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele 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 Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff.Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff.1895James F. CollinsSouth spur, Mount Wachusett
Specimen of Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.ClausenAthyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.Clausen1900DavenportPine Hill; Medford
Specimen of Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)1900Roscoe I. Giles
A photograph of the species Bartramia pomiformis, not of this specimenBartramia pomiformis Hedw.1839unknownBarre
A photograph of the species Carex gracillima, not of this specimenCarex gracillima Schwein.1839M. S. BebbBarre
A photograph of the species Carex intumescens, not of this specimenCarex intumescens Rudge1839M. S. BebbBarre
A photograph of the species Carex lacustris, not of this specimenCarex lacustris Willd.1839M. S. BebbBarre
A photograph of the species Carex stipata, not of this specimenCarex stipata Muhl. ex Willd.1839M. S. BebbBarre
A photograph of the species Cirsium arvense, not of this specimenCirsium arvense (L.) Scop.1839M. S. BebbBarre
A photograph of the species Cypripedium acaule, not of this specimenCypripedium acaule Aiton1839M. S. BebbBarre
A photograph of the species Moneses uniflora, not of this specimenMoneses uniflora (L.) A.Gray1893J. F. Collins
A photograph of the species Aquilegia canadensis, not of this specimenAquilegia canadensis L.1894H. E. GreenwoodHolden

All 714 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Muschopauge: 3 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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
Holden Trap RockStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Holden Trap Rock CompanyStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Holden Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Holden Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Intervale PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Trulson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wachusetts PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working 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
Brooks1.6 miles46
North Woods2.3 miles46
Ruralville2.4 miles46
Rutland2.4 miles42
Jefferson3.1 miles42
Princeton Station3.5 miles46
North Rutland3.7 miles46
New Boston3.9 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 Q122565144The 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 610106. 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.