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

Richmond Furnace, Massachusetts

43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1997. It stands in Richmond town. It lies in ZIP code area 01254. It stands on Cone Hill. The Survey maps it on the State Line quadrangle.

Richmond Furnace within Berkshire County

Then and now

1888 to 1997

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 Richmond Furnace, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Richmond Furnace, surveyed 1888

Topographic sheets covering this place

43 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.

Fires nearby

75 since 1995

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 75 fires within 5 miles of Richmond Furnace between 1995 and 2020, burning about 88 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 3 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/undetermined33
Debris and open burning20
Recreation and ceremony8
Equipment and vehicle use4
Arson/incendiarism3
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2

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 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
28 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
18 September 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 August 2019Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A
17 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A
26 July 2001Recreation and ceremony5.0 acresNew York Forest Rangersnot named
25 July 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
24 July 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Berkshire County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 931 shown

Museums hold 931 specimens collected within 10 miles of Richmond Furnace between 1833 and 1975: 463 Plantae, 284 Fungi, 178 Animalia, 2 Chromista, 2 Protozoa, 2 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A W Evans, A. Brown, A. F. Beale 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 Potamogeton pusillus subsp. tenuissimus (Mert. & W.D.J.Koch) K.Richt.Potamogeton pusillus subsp. tenuissimus (Mert. & W.D.J.Koch) K.Richt.1900P. B. Weatherbee
A photograph of the species Betula alleghaniensis, not of this specimenBetula alleghaniensis Britton1833Collector unknown
A photograph of the species Betula pumila, not of this specimenBetula pumila L.1833Collector unspecified
A photograph of the species Carex utriculata, not of this specimenCarex utriculata Boott1833W. L. Worcester
A photograph of the species Dennstaedtia punctilobula, not of this specimenDennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.) T.Moore1833Collector unknown
A photograph of the species Gymnocarpium dryopteris, not of this specimenGymnocarpium dryopteris (L.) Newman1833Collector unknown
A photograph of the species Parnassia caroliniana, not of this specimenParnassia caroliniana Michx.1834not recorded
A photograph of the species Persicaria amphibia, not of this specimenPersicaria amphibia (L.) Delarbre1835C. A. ShurtleffPittsfield
A photograph of the species Bromus latiglumis, not of this specimenBromus latiglumis (Shear) Hitchc.1857W. H. Leggett
A photograph of the species Solidago patula, not of this specimenSolidago patula Muhl. ex Willd.1858Brewer; Chickering
A photograph of the species Bartramia pomiformis, not of this specimenBartramia pomiformis Hedw.1895not recorded
A photograph of the species Poa trivialis, not of this specimenPoa trivialis L.1898A. K. HarrisonLebanon Springs

All 931 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

10 of 50 shown

The federal mineral resources record lists 50 workings within 5 miles of Richmond Furnace: 31 past producers, 13 producers, 5 occurrences, 1 prospect. 13 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Lead, Silver, Zinc, Limestone, General. 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
Canaan Lead Silver MinesLead, Silver, ZincProducerReplacement Vein
Cheever MinesIron, ManganeseProducerGoethite, Limonite
Cheever MinesIron, ManganesePast Producer
Cone Limestone MineIron, Magnesite, ZincPast Producer1827
No 6 Quarry & Plnt Lane & SonStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Canaan Lead Silver MinesLead, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Canaan Pb-Ag MinesLead, Silver, ZincPast ProducerVein
Gaston PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
John S Lane and Son IncLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary
Nolan PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Berkshire County

Storms nearby

27 since 2008

The National Weather Service names Richmond Furnace in 27 storm reports between 2008 and 2023: 17 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 4 hail, 2 lightning. 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
August 2018LightningRichmond Furnace$1,000Lightning caused a propane tank fire.
June 2014LightningRichmond Furnace$1,000Lightning downed wires at the intersection of Lenox Road and Route 41 in Richmond.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-A tree was reported down on Baker Street.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-A tree was reported down on the roadway.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Downed power lines and half inch diameter hail was reported.
June 2021HailRichmond Furnace-Quarter-size hail was reported in Richmond.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-An NWS Storm Survey confirmed a series of microbursts between Canaan, NY and Richmond, MA. Seven roads were closed in the town of Richmond due to downed trees. Damage ended on the east side of Richmond near Swamp Road between Summit Road and Lenox Road. The path width varied from ten yards to up to a mile wide.
July 2021Flash FloodRichmond Furnace-A section of Swamp Road was reported flooded and impassable.
August 2019HailRichmond Furnace-In addition to the hail, small branches, less than 2 inches in diameter, were downed.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Trees and wires were reported down along Canaan Road in Richmond due to thunderstorm winds.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Tree was downed onto wires on Swamp Road.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Trees were downed in Richmond due to thunderstorm winds.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Multiple tree branches were reported down in Richmond due to thunderstorm winds.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Trees and wires were reported down at the corner of Cheever Road and Swamp Road in Richmond.
June 2014Flash FloodRichmond Furnace-Lenox Road in Richmond was reportedly closed due to flash flooding from thunderstorm heavy rainfall.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Trees and wires were reported down on Lenox Road in Richmond due to thunderstorm winds.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-A tree was downed due to thunderstorm winds on Route 41 in Richmond.
November 2013Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-A tree was reported on Facebook to be downed and on a house due to thunderstorm winds in Richmond.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-A tree was reported down and on a wire in Richmond due to thunderstorm winds.
June 2011HailRichmond Furnace-Quarter size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in West Stockbridge.
August 2011HailRichmond Furnace-Nickel size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in Richmond.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Trees and wires were reported down in Richmond due to strong thunderstorm winds.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Numerous trees and wires were reported down in Richmond due to strong thunderstorm winds.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Two trees were reported down on wires in Richmond due to strong thunderstorm winds.
July 2009Flash FloodRichmond Furnace-Numerous roads were reported closed in Richmond due to flash flooding from very heavy rainfall.
July 2009Flash FloodRichmond Furnace-A washout was reported on West Road in Richmond due to very heavy rainfall.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindRichmond Furnace-Trees were reported down on Route 295, approximately 5 miles west northwest of Lenox, due to strong thunderstorm winds.

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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Richmond1.1 miles42
West Stockbridge1.3 miles42
Crane Lake Camp1.6 miles43
State Line1.8 miles43
Carey Corner2.0 miles42
Stevens Corner3.7 miles44
Tanglewood3.9 miles42
West Stockbridge Center4.0 miles43

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 607669. 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.