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Old Common, Massachusetts

44 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Millbury town. It lies in ZIP code area 01527. It lies near Mount Ararat. The Survey maps it on the Worcester South quadrangle.

Old Common within Worcester County

Then and now

1889 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Old Common, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Old Common, surveyed 1889

Topographic sheets covering this place

20 surveys from 44 printed 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

20,102 words on this township

History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Millbury Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

First Congrecjational Church. - Accordingly, on the 26th of December, 1713,''' the first meeting of the l)arish was held at the house of Richard Singletary. The first moderator was Capt. Timothy Carter ; and Robert Goddard, clerk. The parish continued to hold meetings at the same place until May, 1745. The house was also used for religious meetings for quite a period. April 29, 1715, Rev. Matthew Bridge was called to the ministry, but declined. They next called Rev. Josiah Dunster, and he also refused. The third call was extended to James Wellman. The church was formally organized on the 10th of September, 1747. Mr. Wellman was ordained October 7, 1747. Among those who participated at the or- dination was the Rev. Thaddeus Maccarty, of the Old South Church, Worcester. The church adopted the Cambridge platform. Ruling elders were chosen by this church, but it has always been carried on under the Congregational system. The first church building was begun in 1744,' on the spot now known as the Old Common. It was a barn-like structure, and during the latter part of its use as a church it was known as " The liOrd's Barn." It was afterwards removed across the road some four or five rods, and used in connection with a jjublic-house. The next church edifice was begun in 1802, and was dedicated to the service of God November 27, 1804. Soon after the year 1827 the idea was put forth of removing this church to Bramanville. It became a question to be discussed in parish meetings about the year 1832. There were many opinions in regard to the matter. It was finally left to a board of referees, composed of members of churches in different places, who decided that it would be best for the church to have the building removed. The parish accepted their report, and the church was taken down in 1835, and was again consecrated to God .Tanuary 14, 1836. The pastors who have presided over this church have been as follows : Rev. James Wellman, ordained October 7, 1747, dismissed July 22, 1760; Rev. Ebenezer Chaplin, ordained November 14, 1764, dismissed March 22, 1792; Rev. Joseph Goffe, ordained September 10, 1794, dismissed December 9,1830; Rev. Osgood Herrick, ordained December 9, 1830, died March 16, 1837; Rev. Nathaniel Beach, ordained November 22, 1837, dismissed May 11, 1857; Rev. Edmund Y. Garrette, installed September 30, 1857, dismissed November 3, 1869; Rev. G6o. A. Putnam, installed April 11, 1872.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

The West C(mgre(jational Church. - Owing to the removal of the First Congregational Church building from the " Old Common " to Bramanville, in 1835, some who were dissatisfied with the change determined upon building a church at West Millbury. April 20, 1837, found the work completed, and twenty-nine members withdrew from the Fir.st Church. May 23, 1837, the West Congregational Church waa organized with forty-five members. The same articles of faith and covenant used by the First Church were adopted by them. The early Congregational ministers who preached here were Rev. Caleb B. Elliott and Rev. A. Phillips. Mr. Elliott was educated for the ministry by General Burbank. Other ministers in conjunction with these carried on the work until 1840, when, on July 8th, Rev. Sidney Holman was installed as pastor. Previous to this the Congregationalists aud Baptists had used it as a union church, the Congregationalists having their pastors three Sundays a month, and the Baptists one - each paying in that proportion. Rev. Mr. Holman was dismissed June 11, 1851. After this services, from time to time, were held until December 28, 1857, when the church disbanded. Some time later the church was again opened, and preachers were supplied by the Methodi.st Conference. The church building, which stood on land now owned by Mr. Ira Glazier, was sold about 1871, and removed about two years later. The closing history of this building will be found under that of the Union Chapel.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.

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 Millbury Town - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Fires near this place

57 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 57 fires within 5 miles of Old Common between 2002 and 2020, burning about 30 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 burning17
Missing data/not specified/undetermined14
Smoking11
Recreation and ceremony9
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Arson/incendiarism1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
8 September 2015Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 September 2015Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 August 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
31 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
26 August 2020Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
13 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 Worcester County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,681 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,681 specimens collected within 10 miles of Old Common between 1839 and 1974: 944 Plantae, 466 Animalia, 239 Fungi, 14 Unrecorded, 14 Protozoa, 4 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A E WOODHEAD, A. A. Eaton, A. B. Seymour 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 Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh.Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh.1896Henderson
Specimen of Coryneum pulvinatum KunzeCoryneum pulvinatum Kunze1897D. Murray
Specimen of Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) LyonSceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon1899H. H. Scudder
A photograph of the species Ochrolechia tartarea, not of this specimenOchrolechia tartarea (L.) A.Massal.1839E. Tuckerman
A photograph of the species Carex laxiflora, not of this specimenCarex laxiflora Lam.1840Thomas NuttallCambridge.
A photograph of the species Carex vestita, not of this specimenCarex vestita Willd.1840Thomas NuttallCambridge.
A photograph of the species Mycobilimbia hypnorum, not of this specimenMycobilimbia hypnorum (Lib.) Kalb & Hafellner1848E. Tuckerman
A photograph of the species Cladonia cornucopioides, not of this specimenCladonia cornucopioides F.Wilson1850J. L. RussellLeicester
A photograph of the species Geranium maculatum, not of this specimenGeranium maculatum L.1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Packera aurea, not of this specimenPackera aurea (L.) Á.Löve & D.Löve1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Carex aperta, not of this specimenCarex aperta Boott1853W. BoottMassachusetts
Elymus repens (L.) Gould1892Arthur B. SeymourCambridge.

All 1,681 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 22 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 22 workings within 5 miles of Old Common: 14 past producers, 5 producers, 2 plants, 1 unknown. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Titanium, Metal. 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
Crucible Spec. Metals--Auburn, Ma.IronPlant
Worcester B Plant TiTitanium, MetalPlant
30 Southwest Cutoff PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Armour PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Auburn PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Boston Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Crossover PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
De Gaetano Brothers IncSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
DefalcoSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Defalco Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Worcester 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
Bramanville0.9 miles44
West Millbury1.3 miles44
Millbury1.5 miles44
Pondville2.0 miles44
Marions Camp2.1 miles44
Sutton2.7 miles44
Dorothy Manor2.7 miles44
Auburn2.7 miles44

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 Q122562487The 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 610665. 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.