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

North Adams, Massachusetts

39 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1997. It stands in North Adams City. It lies in ZIP code area 01247. It stands on North Branch Hoosic River. The Survey maps it on the North Adams quadrangle. 12,961 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 705 feet above sea level.

North Adams within Berkshire County

Population over time

2 figures

North Adams fell from 13,708 to 12,961 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. 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.

Year	People	Change
2010	13,708
2020	12,961	-747 (-5%)

Then and now

1886 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 111 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of North Adams, surveyed 1997

Topographic sheet of North Adams, surveyed 1886

Topographic sheets covering this place

39 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.

Photographs

4 photographs, 1940

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.

Railroad station during blizzard. North Adams, Massachusetts
Wolcott, Marion Post, 1940. Library of Congress

Factory during blizzard in North Adams, Massachusetts
Wolcott, Marion Post, 1940. Library of Congress

Fires nearby

31 since 2006

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 31 fires within 5 miles of North Adams between 2006 and 2020, burning about 310 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
Debris and open burning	15
Recreation and ceremony	5
Smoking	5
Equipment and vehicle use	4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2

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
25 September 2016	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
5 August 2016	Equipment and vehicle use	10 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
24 July 2016	Smoking	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
23 July 2016	Smoking	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
8 May 2016	Recreation and ceremony	2.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
6 May 2015	Debris and open burning	2.5 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
3 May 2015	Smoking	5.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
25 May 2015	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Berkshire County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 855 shown

Museums hold 855 specimens collected within 10 miles of North Adams between 1828 and 1975: 428 Plantae, 246 Animalia, 164 Fungi, 11 Protozoa, 3 Chromista, 3 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A K Harrison, A Schwartz, A. H. Gustafson 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Richardson, 1823	1898	J. R. Churchill
Carex pensylvanica Lam.	1898	J. R. Churchill
Lycopodium annotinum var. pungens (Desv.) La Pylaie ex Desv.	1898	Kofoid, C.A.	North Adams.
Carex aestivalis M.A.Curtis ex A.Gray	1828	Collector unknown	Saddle Mountain, near Williamstown.
Carex emmonsii var. muhlenbergii (A.Gray ex Torrey) Rettig	1828	Collector unspecified	Williamstown. [Inferred locality from precise loc.]
Cystopteris bulbifera (L.) Bernh.	1828	Collector unspecified
Dryopteris goldiana (Hook. ex Goldie) A.Gray	1828	Collector unspecified
Fraxinus americana L.	1828	J. Torrey
Jamesoniella autumnalis (DC.) Steph.	1828	Ebenezer Emmons
Tilia americana L.	1828	Collector unspecified
Scorzoneroides autumnalis (L.) Moench	1850	not recorded
Spiraea tomentosa L.	1850	not recorded

All 855 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

10 of 11 shown

The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of North Adams: 4 producers, 4 past producers, 1 plant, 1 unknown. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Calcium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Pfizer Inc	Calcium	Past Producer	Calcite
Adams Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Adams Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Plant
Curran Highway Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
New England Lime Company Quarry	Limestone, General	Producer	Sedimentary
North Adams Lime Quarry	Limestone, General	Producer	Stratabound
North Adams Lime Quarry	Limestone, General	Producer	Stratabound
Adams Quarry & Plant Pfizer Inc	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
New England Lime Company Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Occurrence
North Adams Lime Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Berkshire County

Storms nearby

50 since 1994

The National Weather Service names North Adams in 50 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 26 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 5 lightning, 5 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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
August 2004	Lightning	North Adams	1 hurt	Woman struck by lightning on North Adams golf course.
September 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	$180,000	A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team found straight line wind damage in North Adams. Most of the damage was confined to a one half mile, by two block area on the campus of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.\|\|Significant roof damage occurred to three college dormitories, mostly from tin flashing that was torn off due to the strong winds. In addition, several trees and large tree limbs were also downed, one of which smashed a car in the parking lot near the alumni office on Montana Street. Approximately 400 students were evacuated due to the damage.\|\|The damage was consistent with maximum wind speeds of near 100 MPH.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	$35,000	no account filed
July 2023	Flood	North Adams	$20,000	Clarksburg Town Administrator Carl McKinney reported Millard Avenue suffering serious damage from heavy rainfall. In addition, the Clarksburg Town Hall basement was taking on water.
August 2000	Lightning	North Adams	$20,000	Early on August 16, lightning from a thunderstorm struck a house in North Adams, narrowly missing a man. Lightning produced a hole inside a bedroom and damaged a peak in the house. A small fire, started by the same lightning bolt, briefly flared up. Firemen were also deployed to the house, but the fire had been extinguished before they arrived.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	$10,000	A large tree was reported down on a house in North Adams due to strong thunderstorm winds.
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	$10,000	no account filed
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	$6,000	no account filed
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	$5,000	Trees were reported down across the City of North Adams, one of which occurred along Ashland Street near the intersection of Washington Avenue.
July 2007	Lightning	North Adams	$5,000	Lightning struck a utility pole outside the back of the North Adams Regional Hospital around 13:37 EST, which sent an electrical surge throughout the hospital. This melted a wire in the electrical panel inside the hospital that controlled an elevator, making the elevator unserviceable.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	$5,000	no account filed
April 1996	Hail	North Adams	$5,000	no account filed
July 1997	Hail	North Adams	$4,000	no account filed
July 2010	Lightning	North Adams	$3,000	A transformer was hit by lightning at the corner of Liberty Street and Orchard Terrace in North Adams.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	An amateur radio operator reported multiple trees down in the town of North Adams.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Several large trees were downed.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Multiple trees were downed.
December 2020	Debris Flow	North Adams	-	A routine inspection during the morning of Saturday, December 26th resulted in the discovery of a landslide outside the west portal of the Hoosac Tunnel near North Adams. Eight inches of mud and stone had to be cleared from the rails, resulting in two freight trains being delayed. The cause was likely due to the heavy rains on Friday, December 25th.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Multiple trees were reported down in North Adams due to thunderstorm winds.
May 2013	Flash Flood	North Adams	-	Flash flooding was reported in North Adams as a result of heavy rainfall from thunderstorms. State Street was impassable due to flooding and was temporarily closed.
May 2013	Flash Flood	North Adams	-	Flash flooding was reported on Church Street north of Adams as a result of heavy rainfall from thunderstorms. The force of flooding removed manhole covers off the road.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Trees were reported down approximately 1 mile northeast of North Adams due to thunderstorm winds.
August 2012	Flash Flood	North Adams	-	Flash flooding was reported in North Adams due to heavy rainfall from repeated thunderstorms. Several roads in the downtown portion of the city were closed due to the flooding.
August 2012	Flash Flood	North Adams	-	Flash flooding was reported along Route 8 in North Adams due to heavy rainfall from repeated thunderstorms. Route 8 was closed due to the flooding.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Three trees were reported down due to strong thunderstorm winds in North Adams.
August 2011	Flash Flood	North Adams	-	A landslide and gas line explosion were reported on Miner Street in North Adams.
July 2010	Hail	North Adams	-	Penny size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in North Adams.
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Trees and wires were reported down near North Adams due to strong thunderstorm winds.
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Trees were reported down in North Adams due to strong thunderstorm winds.
October 2010	Flood	North Adams	-	Poor drainage flooding was reported in North Adams due to heavy rainfall.
May 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Wires were reported down near North Adams apparently due to strong thunderstorm winds.
June 2008	Hail	North Adams	-	Nickel size hail was reported near North Adams during a thunderstorm.
April 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Several trees were reportedly blocking a road near North Adams, which were blown down due to strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	A measured wind gust of 60 knots was recorded at the ASOS in North Adams at 1808 EST.
September 2007	Flood	North Adams	-	Persistent moderate to heavy rainfall led to isolated flooding in portions of Berkshire County during the late morning and early afternoon hours of Tuesday September 11th. Flooding closed a portion of Massachusetts Route 2 in the town of Florida from 1143 LST to 1400 LST. In addition, several roads were closed in and around North Adams due to high water, including a portion of River Street, from Houghton Street to Brown Street, as well as a portion of Beaver Street and Mohawk Forest Boulevard. North Adams City firefighters also pumped water out of several private residences on Pleasant Street and State Road.\|\|
June 2007	Hail	North Adams	-	Nickel size hail was reported in North Adams.
August 2007	Hail	North Adams	-	Quarter size hail was reported in North Adams.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Numerous large tree limbs and wires were reported down in and near North Adams due to strong thunderstorm winds. One downed large tree limb on Massachusetts Avenue in North Adams between Roberts Drive and Demond Avenue obstructed the road, reducing traffic to one lane.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	A trained spotter reported that two trees were blown down along Lark and Barton Streets, in North Adams.
December 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	A measured wind gust of 50 KT was recorded during a thunderstorm at the North Adams ASOS (KAQW).
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Trees were blown down and power lines were knocked down.
May 2004	Lightning	North Adams	-	Lightning strike along Route 2 caused power outages.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	Large tree branches down.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	One 60-foot tall tree was blown down.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	One tree was blown down, along with several large limbs, resulting in a power outage.
May 2002	Hail	North Adams	-	no account filed
June 2002	Hail	North Adams	-	no account filed
May 2002	Hail	North Adams	-	no account filed
June 2001	Hail	North Adams	-	no account filed
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	North Adams	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Berkshire 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Houghtonville	0.8 miles	39
Braytonville	1.1 miles	40
Briggsville	1.8 miles	39
Brayton Hill	1.9 miles	40
West Summit	2.3 miles	39
Greylock	2.3 miles	40
Blackinton	3.1 miles	40
Zylonite	3.4 miles	39

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 North Adams	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q49185	The 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 607610. 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.