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

North Dartmouth, Massachusetts

34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Dartmouth town. It lies in ZIP code area 02747. The Survey maps it on the New Bedford North quadrangle.

North Dartmouth within Bristol County

Then and now

1885 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 109 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 Dartmouth, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of North Dartmouth, surveyed 1885

Topographic sheets covering this place

34 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

32,712 words on this township

History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Dartmouth Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

He married, Nov. 12, 1837, Sarah, daughter of Abiatha and Sarah Crane, of Berkley, by whom he had two children, - Rowena, born Nov. 18, 1838, married Reuben Stone, of Newton Centre, Mass., and Caleb Sumner Crane, born Nov. 16, 1840, married Jerusha Luther, is a farmer, and resides in Berkley. Mrs. Briggs died Nov. 21, 1840. Mr. Briggs married as his second wife Permillia H., daughter of Rollin Eaton, of Berkley, Oct. 6, 1841.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

This large tract of land, comprising the limits of old Dartmouth, was divided into thirty-four parts or shares. Two of these were sub-divided, so that the original proprietors numbered thirty-six persons, of whom three were women, - Sarah Brewster, Miss Jennings, and Sarah Warren.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

The origin of the name of this town is a matter of conjecture, yet the inference is an easy and natural one. The " Mayflower" and " Speedwell," the latter having taken on board her priceless freight at Leyden, in Holland, sailed from Plymouth, in Old England, and that name was given to the spot where they landed in New England. After the vessels left Plymouth, England, a disaster occurred to the "Speedwell" which compelled both vessels to put back, and they made a harbor in the seaport town of Dartmouth, in the British Channel. Many of the original purchasers and some of the early settlers of the town came in the " Mayflower," and the name of Dartmouth was so associated in their minds with the home left behind that it may naturally be presumed it furnished them with the name for their new home. There is a further coincidence connected with the name. The little vessel, the "Concord," which brought Bartholomew Gosnold to our shores in 1602 belonged to Dartmouth, in England. There can be no doubt but that we derive our name from this fishing town on the river Dart in the English Channel. How wonderful the change since then ! While the present old Dartmouth has an aggregate population of thirty-seven thousand, with a commerce known over the whole globe, the old town in England, with a population of less than five thousand, is as little known to-day as it was two hundred years ago.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

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 Dartmouth Town.

Fires near this place

32 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 32 fires within 5 miles of North Dartmouth between 2015 and 2020, burning about 20 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Debris and open burning8
Fireworks2
Recreation and ceremony2
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
22 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 August 2020Debris and open burning1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 August 2016Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 August 2020Fireworksunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 August 2020Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
11 August 2020Missing 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 Bristol County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 2,100 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,100 specimens collected within 10 miles of North Dartmouth between 1824 and 1975: 828 Animalia, 622 Plantae, 537 Fungi, 87 Chromista, 23 Bacteria, 3 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Gridley, A. Clark, A. F. Faull 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 Gamochaeta purpurea, not of this specimenGamochaeta purpurea (L.) Cabrera1824T. A. Greene
A photograph of the species Lythrum salicaria, not of this specimenLythrum salicaria L.1831T. A. Greene
A photograph of the species Mentha aquatica, not of this specimenMentha aquatica L.1831Collector unknownNew Bedford. [Inferred county from precise loc.]
A photograph of the species Trypethelium virens, not of this specimenTrypethelium virens Tuck.1848ex herb. OakesNew Bedford.
A photograph of the species Ranunculus bulbosus, not of this specimenRanunculus bulbosus L.1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Vitis labrusca, not of this specimenVitis labrusca L.1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Endocarpon pusillum, not of this specimenEndocarpon pusillum Hedw.1858H. WilleyFort Phoenix. Fairhaven.
A photograph of the species Menegazzia terebrata, not of this specimenMenegazzia terebrata (Hoffm.) A.Massal.1860H. WilleyNew Bedford
A photograph of the species Pandion haliaetus, not of this specimenPandion haliaetus (Linnaeus, 1758)1860Alan PooleWestport, Westport River, Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary
A photograph of the species Scolopax minor, not of this specimenScolopax minor J.F.Gmelin, 17891860Alan PooleWestport
A photograph of the species Abrothallus parmeliarum, not of this specimenAbrothallus parmeliarum (Sommerf.) Nyl., 18691862Willey H.Weymouth, New Bedford
A photograph of the species Agyrium rufum, not of this specimenAgyrium rufum (Pers.) Fr.1862Willey HenryNew Bedford

All 2,100 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of North Dartmouth: 7 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. 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
Clearwater Stone IncStonePast Producer
Acushnet QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Blue Stone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Clearwater Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Dartmouth PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Dartmouth Town PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Louis Fernandez Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Medeiros Washed Sand & Stone PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Pine Hill Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Bristol County

Storms near this place

7 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names North Dartmouth in 7 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 4 flood, 3 thunderstorm wind. 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
September 2015FloodNorth Dartmouth$25,000In New Bedford, Dartmouth Street and Cove Street at Padnaram Avenue was flooded. Several basements were flooded on Cove Street. A car was stuck in flood waters at the intersection of Orchard and Rivet Streets. In Dartmouth, portions of the first floor of the Southworth Library on Dartmouth Street were flooded.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindNorth Dartmouth$1,000In Dartmouth, a large tree was down on Hathaway Road at Slocum Road.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindNorth Dartmouth$1,000In New Bedford, a large tree was down on Whitlow Street.
January 2024FloodNorth Dartmouth-In New Bedford at 4:10 AM EST the eastbound lane of State Rd was flooded. In North Attleboro at 4:20 AM EST there was significant flooding on Paine Rd.
January 2018FloodNorth Dartmouth-At 825 PM EST, an amateur radio operator reported the intersection of Hathaway Road and US Route 6 closed due to flooding.
July 2009FloodNorth Dartmouth-Portions of Route 18, Acushnet and Wamsutta Streets, and numerous other streets in New Bedford were closed due to flooding. In Dartmouth, two to two and a half feet of water inundated the area near Longfellow Street and Lexington Avenue.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindNorth Dartmouth-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bristol 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
Idlewood0.5 miles34
Westview Park1.0 miles34
Rockdale1.1 miles34
Smith Mills1.1 miles34
Summit Grove1.4 miles34
Mount Pleasant1.9 miles34
University Highlands1.9 miles37
New Bedford1.9 miles34

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 Q122598149The 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 613718. 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.