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

Raynham, Massachusetts

33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1987. It stands in Raynham town. It lies in ZIP code area 02767. It stands on Prospect Hill. The Survey maps it on the Taunton quadrangle.

Raynham within Bristol County

Then and now

1885 to 1987

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 Raynham, surveyed 1987

Topographic sheet of Raynham, surveyed 1885

Topographic sheets covering this place

33 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

33,331 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 Raynham Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Job Lawton, his son, was born Nov. 12, 17G4. He married Hannah, daughter of Weston and Hannah (White) Kirby. She was born in Westport about 1769. They had three children, - Silas, Obadiah, and George. He had the educational advantages generally given their children by the New England farmers of that day, and combined the avocations of farming and shoemaking. He settled about a mile above the " Head of Westport," buying a farm of about forty acres. He resided there for several years, then selling this he purchased another of one hundred acres farther toward Central village, whither he moved in 1815 or 1816. He was always a great sufferer from asthma. He was a quiet person, not giving to notoriety or office-seeking. He died, of cancer, March 5, 1843. The George Lawton whose portrait accompanies this sketch lived with his father, having slight school privileges. After he was twelve he attended the school at Central village a few weeks each winter for a limited period. He married, Nov. 26, 1826, Ruth, daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (Wood) Potter. She was born within a mile of the Rhode Island line, in AVestport. Her family was an old one in the town. Her father was a farmer, who lived to be very old. He had fourteen children, of whom eleven attained mature years. She was youngest girl, and was born April 25, 1809. Her grandfather was Abner Potter, whose wife, Patience, was a most splendid specimen of true womanhood, bringing cheer and happiness to all within her sphere of action. Mr. and Mrs. Lawton had nine children, - Eli Potter, born Sept. 20, 1827, married Mary E., daughter of Jeremiah and Barbara Devol, has two children, and lives in Westport ; Uriah W., born April 27, 1831, married Augusta King, of Taunton, has three children. He graduated at Brown University, and is now superintendent of schools in Jackson, Mich. Mary E., born July 2, 1834. She married George J. Allen, had two children, Jacob and Ella, both of whom are married. Jacob lives in Providence, R. I. ; has four children, - Ella, married Thomas Nye, has one child, and lives in West Somerville, Mass. ; Hannah A., born Sept. 30, 1837, married William J. Chadwick, of New Bedford, has four children; Ann M. (died young) ; George F., born Nov. 11, 1844, lives with his parents; Ruth A., born July 3, 1846, married William P. Kirby, lives in Jersey City, N. J., and has one son ; William O., born March 16, 1850, married Rachel Wing, lives in New Bedford, and has one child ; Amanda 31., born June 21, 1854, married T. A. Tripp, of New Haven, and has one child.

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

Mr. Lawton lived with his father for several years after marriage, then purchased a small farm near Hicks' Bridge, for which he agreed to pay fourteen hundred dollars. His capital at this time was only eight hundred dollars. After a stay of two years he sold out, removed to Westport Point, purchased a farm of sixty acres, and resided there from 1839 to 1881. The four youngest children were born here. Mr. Lawton and his wife practiced the cardinal virtues of diligence and industry, and by long years of toil, in which there was perfect harmony between them, they built up a handsome competency. Although economical and prudent, they were not niggardly. All laudable charities met a hearty response from them, and all along life's pathway has the same generous feelings been exhibited. In 1847, Mr. Lawton erected a grist-mill on his farm, and attended to that personally for the many years he resided on the farm. He sold it, however, in March, 1881, and removed to the Head of Westport, where he now resides. His has been a life of honest labor. Every dollar he possesses has been paid for by its full equivalent in hard work. He has been Whig and Republican in politics, and, as such, has been overseer of the poor three years, and selectman during three years of the civil war. He and his wife belong to the Society of Friends. Mr. Lawton has the honor of being the second resident of Westport to graduate a child at college. After fifty-seven years of connubial felicity, Mr. and Mrs. Lawton are passing down the declivity of life with the esteem of a large circle of friends, and enjoy in their latter years the results of their industry, and leave lives that their numerous descendants may worthily emulate.

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

Although Taunton was settled in 1638, no settlement was made in Raynham until 1652, when James Leonard, Henry Leonard, and Ralph Russel, from Wales, located here for the purpose of setting up a " bloomary work." For a full description of the pioneer iron-works, the reader is referred to the history of Taunton, where the matter is fully treated by that indefatigable worker in historical lore, Capt. J. W. D. Hall.

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 Raynham Town - it names this place 69 more 69 times.

Fires near this place

81 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 81 fires within 5 miles of Raynham between 2003 and 2020, burning about 48 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	38
Debris and open burning	23
Recreation and ceremony	8
Smoking	6
Misuse of fire by a minor	2
Fireworks	2
Power generation/transmission/distribution	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
8 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
20 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
17 September 2018	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
16 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
3 August 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
28 August 2016	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
28 August 2007	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
15 August 2020	Misuse of fire by a minor	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bristol County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,875 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,875 specimens collected within 10 miles of Raynham between 1855 and 1975: 1,039 Animalia, 640 Plantae, 186 Fungi, 6 Chromista, 3 Unrecorded, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Condylura cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)	1855	Preparator(s): Edwin V. Komarek	Middleboro
Microtus pennsylvanicus pennsylvanicus (Ord, 1815)	1855	John W. Jenks	Middleboro
Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque, 1818)	1855	John W. Jenks	Middleboro
Astur Lacepède, 1799	1860	C. D. Lincoln	Taunton
Carex panicea L.	1863	J. H. Dean
Carex L.	1864	J. H. Dean	Taunton.
Carex vulpinoidea Michx.	1864	J. H. Dean
Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R.Br.	1866	Joseph Blake	Middleboro
Carex bullata Willd.	1866	Rev. J. Blake	Middleborough
Rhododendron viscosum (L.) Torr.	1866	Joseph Blake	Middleboro
Chelidonium majus L.	1875	not recorded
Lygodium palmatum (Bernh.) Sw.	1875	not recorded

All 1,875 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Raynham: 4 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: 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.

Site	Commodity	Status
Taunton Plant	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Bridgewater Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
King Trucking Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Landfill Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Mccabe Sand & Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Raynham Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Raynham Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Bristol County

Storms near this place

8 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Raynham in 8 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 flood, 1 hail. 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
August 2012	Flash Flood	Raynham	$20,000	Route 138 in Raynham was flooded near the Market Basket. A car was stuck in flood waters on Tremont Street. The occupants of the car were trapped and had to be rescued. Weir Street was impassable due to flooding. Powderhorn Drive was impassable due to 12 to 15 inches of water over the road.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Raynham	$15,000	Several trees were downed on Judson Street and Elm Street. One was downed onto a house.
August 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Raynham	$15,000	Trees and wires in several locations throughout Raynham were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Raynham	$800	In Raynham, powerlines were downed in the vicinity of Broadway.
August 2024	Hail	Raynham	-	In Raynham, quarter sized hail was reported.
October 2014	Flood	Raynham	-	Route 138 near Carver Street and Center Street were flooded, slowing traffic.
June 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Raynham	-	no account filed
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Raynham	-	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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Prattville	0.8 miles	33
Tracy Corner	1.2 miles	33
Whittenton	2.0 miles	33
Raynham Center	2.0 miles	33
Britanniaville	2.7 miles	33
Whittenton Junction	3.1 miles	33
Taunton	3.5 miles	33
Winnecunnet	3.6 miles	33

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 613136. 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.