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

Needham, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Needham town. It lies in ZIP code area 02492. It stands on Birds Hill. The Survey maps it on the Newton quadrangle.

Needham within Norfolk 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 Needham, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Needham, 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.

Fires nearby

139 since 2003

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 139 fires within 5 miles of Needham between 2003 and 2020, burning about 396 acres in total. None started naturally. None 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
Recreation and ceremony69
Missing data/not specified/undetermined50
Smoking9
Debris and open burning6
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Other causes1

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
6 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
3 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlDEDHAM
3 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
23 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWELLESLEY
21 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Norfolk County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 16,507 shown

Museums hold 16,507 specimens collected within 10 miles of Needham between 1815 and 1975: 6,413 Animalia, 5,464 Plantae, 4,170 Fungi, 205 Protozoa, 170 Chromista, 53 Unrecorded, 32 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, ? ex Herb. W.G. Farlow, A C Gibson 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 Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.1900R. ThaxterStony Brook
Specimen of Hypoprepia fucosa Hübner, 1831Hypoprepia fucosa Hübner, 18311900not recordedSherborn
Specimen of Lysimachia × producta (A.Gray) FernaldLysimachia × producta (A.Gray) Fernald1900A. P. Chute
A photograph of the species Corydalis Vent., not of this specimenCorydalis Vent.1815Boott, F.M.B.Worcester turnpike, 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Corylus L., not of this specimenCorylus L.1815not recordedCambridge Port, 2 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Hepatica Mill., not of this specimenHepatica Mill.1815Boott, F.M.B.Sweet Auburn.
A photograph of the species Mollugo verticillata, not of this specimenMollugo verticillata L.1815Boott, F.M.B.Boston.
A photograph of the species Nuphar Sm., not of this specimenNuphar Sm.1815Boott, J.W.Worcester Turnpike 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Populus L., not of this specimenPopulus L.1815not recordedCambridgeport, 1 mile from Boston.
A photograph of the species Ranunculus L., not of this specimenRanunculus L.1815not recordedThicket at South Boston.
A photograph of the species Salix L., not of this specimenSalix L.1815not recordedCambridge, 3 1/2 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Sassafras J.Presl, not of this specimenSassafras J.Presl1815Boott, F.M.B.Worcester Turnpike, 6 miles from Boston.

All 16,507 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

9 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Needham: 6 past producers, 1 producer, 1 unknown, 1 plant. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Tantalum. 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
Nrc Inc--Newton, Ma.Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium)Plant
Walpole QuarryStonePast Producer
West Roxbury Crushed Stone OperatioStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Greendale PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hi-Way Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Town of NatickSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Town of NeedhamSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Town of WellesleySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Town of WellesleySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Norfolk County

Storms nearby

19 since 2000

The National Weather Service names Needham in 19 storm reports between 2000 and 2023: 8 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 4 flood, 2 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
May 2004LightningNeedham$100,000no account filed
July 2014Thunderstorm WindNeedham$50,000A microburst occurred in Needham resulting in numerous uprooted trees and downed power lines on Country Way and Moseley Avenue.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindNeedham$20,000no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindNeedham$15,000Trees and wires on Livingston Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindNeedham$10,000A tree and wires on Hoover Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindNeedham$7,000In Needham, a tree was down on a car at the intersection of Great Plain Avenue and Curve Street. Also, a tree was down on a house on Hancock Road.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindNeedham$5,000A tree was downed on a house on Greendale Avenue.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindNeedham$4,000A tree was downed on a utility pole on Oakcrest Road.
July 2016LightningNeedham$1,000A tree was struck by lightning, downing a large branch onto Hunnewell Street.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindNeedham$1,000Large branches on Harris Avenue were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2023FloodNeedham-In Needham, there were several reports of flooding including on Great Plain Rd and on I-495.
October 2018FloodNeedham-Flooding reported on Linden Street.
October 2017FloodNeedham-Flooding reaching the tops of tires in Needham at the intersection of Great Plain Avenue and Ivy Road. The Canton Street railroad underpass in Sharon was flooded. A section of Village Street in Medway was flooded. The exit ramp from U.S. Route 1 near an auto dealership in Norwood was flooded; Dean Street in Norwood was flooded; two sections of University Avenue in Norwood were flooded. Oak Street at Park Street in Medfield was flooded. Albion Road at Cliff Road in Wellesley was flooded; State Route 9 near the Fire Department Headquarters was flooded.
August 2015FloodNeedham-Highland Avenue was flooded in sections, popping manhole covers.
September 2013HailNeedham-no account filed
June 2012HailNeedham-no account filed
July 2012HailNeedham-no account filed
May 2009HailNeedham-no account filed
July 2000HailNeedham-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
Needham Heights0.8 miles46
Needham Junction1.0 miles46
Birds Hill1.2 miles46
Babson Park1.8 miles46
Charles River Station2.1 miles46
Charles River Village2.2 miles46
Wellesley Hills3.0 miles46
Grantville3.0 miles46

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612343. 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.