New Salem, Massachusetts
32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1990. It stands in New Salem town. It lies in ZIP code area 01355. It stands on Giles Brook. The Survey maps it on the Orange quadrangle.
Then and now
1887 to 1990The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
32 sheetsMatched 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.
- 1887 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1889 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1935 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1935 USGS Warwick quadrangle1:62500
- 1937 USGS Orange quadrangle1:24000
- 1941 USGS Orange quadrangle1:31680
- 1941 USGS Orange quadrangle1:31680
- 1941 USGS Orange quadrangle1:31680
- 1942 USGS Keene quadrangle1:125000
- 1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Orange quadrangle1:24000
- 1948 USGS Orange quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Orange quadrangle1:24000
- 1961 USGS Orange quadrangle1:24000
- 1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Orange quadrangle1:25000
- 1977 USGS Orange quadrangle1:25000
- 1986 USGS Keene quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Keene quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Keene quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Orange quadrangle1:25000
- 1990 USGS Orange quadrangle1:25000
Fires nearby
17 since 2006The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of New Salem between 2006 and 2020, burning about 9 acres in total. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 13 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 August 2020 | Natural | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 25 June 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 24 May 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 9 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 3 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 23 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 2 April 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 17 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected nearby
12 of 3,605 shownMuseums hold 3,605 specimens collected within 10 miles of New Salem between 1856 and 1975: 3,051 Animalia, 288 Plantae, 261 Fungi, 3 Protozoa, 1 Unrecorded, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. Smith, A. Cronquist, A. K. Harrison 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 | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Pyxine sorediata (Ach.) Mont. | 1856 | Charles C. Frost | |
![]() | Juncus pelocarpus E.Mey. | 1860 | E. Tuckerman | Shutesbury. |
![]() | Varicellaria velata (Turner) I.Schmitt & Lumbsch | 1864 | E. Tuckerman | |
![]() | Fimbristylis autumnalis (L.) Roem. & Schult. | 1870 | not recorded | |
![]() | Glyceria melicaria (Michx.) F.T.Hubb. | 1870 | H. G. Jesup | Pelham |
![]() | Utricularia intermedia Hayne | 1871 | Collector(s): Henry Griswold Jesup | Shutesbury |
![]() | Carex stricta Lam. | 1872 | H. G. Jesup | Leverett |
![]() | Brasenia peltata Pursh | 1892 | not recorded | Leverett |
![]() | Woodsia obtusa (Spreng.) Torr. | 1892 | not recorded | Leverett |
![]() | Anychia dichotoma (Moench) Michx. | 1893 | not recorded | Leverett |
![]() | Caliciopsis pinea Peck | 1928 | Hansbrough J. R. | Athol |
![]() | Catostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1803) | 1928 | CL & LC Hubbs | Trib. of Miller's River, South Athol, NW border of Worcester Co., below a dam-pond, above res.; Connecticut system |
All 3,605 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries nearby
4 within 5 milesThe federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of New Salem: 2 occurrences, 1 past producer, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gemstone, Garnet, Garnet. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almandine - Garnet Occurance | Gemstone, Garnet | Occurrence | Metamorphic | |
| Almandine-Garnet Occurance | Garnet | Occurrence | ||
| B L Frye Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Frye Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms nearby
14 since 1994The National Weather Service names New Salem in 14 storm reports between 1994 and 2021: 7 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | New Salem | $25,000 | Trees and wires were downed throughout New Salem, resulting in power outages in half the town. |
| August 2001 | Lightning | New Salem | $20,000 | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | New Salem | $5,000 | A tree was downed onto wires on Crowl and Neilson Streets. |
| August 2005 | Hail | New Salem | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | New Salem | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | New Salem | $3,000 | A tree on Elm Street was downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | New Salem | $500 | In New Salem, a tree was down across Daniel Shays Hwy. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | New Salem | $300 | In New Salem, a tree was down on Daniel Shays Highway. |
| June 2007 | Hail | New Salem | - | Penny size hail. |
| June 1994 | Hail | New Salem | - | A spotter reported dime-size hail in southeast Franklin County. As the storm moved east, there were numerous reports of small hail and wind gusts to 30 to 40 mph from near the Quabbin Reservoir, Templeton, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Lowell. |
| May 2013 | Hail | New Salem | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | New Salem | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | New Salem | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | New Salem | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millington (historical) | 2.6 miles | 32 | |
| Morse Village | 2.7 miles | 32 | |
| North New Salem | 3.0 miles | 32 | |
| South Wendell | 3.3 miles | 32 | |
| North Prescott | 3.4 miles | 32 | |
| Cooleyville | 3.6 miles | 32 | |
| Wendell | 4.6 miles | 32 | |
| Shutesbury | 5.3 miles | 35 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 609449. 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.











































