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

Norris Corner, Massachusetts

50 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Tyngsborough town. It lies in ZIP code area 01879. It stands on Curtis Hill. The Survey maps it on the Nashua South quadrangle.

Norris Corner within Middlesex County

Then and now

1886 to 1988

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 Norris Corner, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of Norris Corner, surveyed 1886

Topographic sheets covering this place

50 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 1908 county history

13,007 words on this township

The county history of 1908 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for the smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Tyngsborough Town covers the township.

Read the chapter on Tyngsborough Town - 13,007 words.

Fires nearby

108 since 1993

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 108 fires within 5 miles of Norris Corner between 1993 and 2020, burning about 102 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 24 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined35
Arson/incendiarism24
Debris and open burning19
Recreation and ceremony15
Smoking5
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
6 September 2002Smokingunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
26 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 September 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
13 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNew Hampshire Division of Forest and Landsnot named
9 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
5 August 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
4 August 2002Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
20 August 2007Natural1.1 acresNew Hampshire Division of Forest and Landsnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Middlesex County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 416 shown

Museums hold 416 specimens collected within 10 miles of Norris Corner between 1898 and 1975: 307 Plantae, 62 Protozoa, 24 Animalia, 16 Fungi, 4 Unrecorded, 3 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. Mathieson, A. F. Newton, A. F. Newton, M. K. Thayer 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
A photograph of the species Exosporium pusillum, not of this specimenExosporium pusillum P.Karst.1898King C. A.Stony Brook
A photograph of the species Galium tinctorium, not of this specimenGalium tinctorium (L.) Scop.1899not recorded
Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.1900Thaxter, R.Stony Brook
A photograph of the species Boletus frostii, not of this specimenBoletus frostii J.L.Russell1900A. W. Flint
A photograph of the species Cenchrus spinifex, not of this specimenCenchrus spinifex Cav.1900C. H. KnowltonN Chelmsford.
A photograph of the species Tricholoma acris, not of this specimenTricholoma acris Peck1900not recorded
A photograph of the species Tricholoma columbetta, not of this specimenTricholoma columbetta (Fr.) P.Kumm.1900Mrs. Page
A photograph of the species Alabama argillacea, not of this specimenAlabama argillacea (Hübner, 1823)1930not recordedLowell
A photograph of the species Alopecurus aequalis, not of this specimenAlopecurus aequalis Sobol.1930M. L. Fernald & C. A. WeatherbyPepperell
A photograph of the species Salix bebbiana, not of this specimenSalix bebbiana Sarg.1930J. Straughan
unnamed1950A. R. Hodgdon; J. Straughan1 1/4 miles south of Pelham Village
A photograph of the species Acer rubrum, not of this specimenAcer rubrum L.1950J. StraughanGumpus Section

All 416 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

10 of 21 shown

The federal mineral resources record lists 21 workings within 5 miles of Norris Corner: 12 past producers, 8 producers, 1 plant. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Granite, 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
Chelmsford MillStone, Crushed/BrokenPlant
Dracut PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Essex Bituminous Concrete ProductsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
West Chelmsford QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
A J Gagnon and SonsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
A.J. Gagnon and Sons, Inc. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Forest Road Granite CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
George R VinalSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Heffron Asphalt Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Jowalco, IncorporatedSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working 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
Camp Kiwanis1.4 miles50
Willowdale1.5 miles50
Tyngsboro1.5 miles50
Long Pond Park2.0 miles48
Varnumtown2.1 miles48
Collinsville2.6 miles48
Flints Corner2.9 miles50
Swan Corner3.2 miles50

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611478. 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.