BlockSouth Lancaster, Massachusetts
43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1997. It stands in Lancaster town. It lies in ZIP code area 01523. It stands on Goodridge Brook. The Survey maps it on the Clinton quadrangle. 1,838 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 285 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1887 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Compare 1887 against another survey:
On record in South Lancaster
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
South Lancaster Engine Houselisted 1976
Population over time
2 figuresSouth Lancaster fell from 1,894 to 1,838 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, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. 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 | 1,894 | |
| 2020 | 1,838 | -56 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
20 surveys from 43 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1887 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500
- 1889 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500
- 1896 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
- 1908 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1943 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:31680, 3 printings
- 1943 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000
- 1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:25000
- 1965 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:24000
- 1975 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:25000
- 1985 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000
- 1988 USGS Hudson quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1997 USGS Hudson quadrangle1:25000
What happened here
An account from the chapter on Lancaster town. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
History Op W0R0E3Ter County, Massachusetts
of war, generally proved faithful to the English, and their services as scouts were invaluable. Among these none deserves better to be honored in Lancaster story than James Wiser, alias Quanapaug or Quanapohit, whose courage and fidelity would have saved the town from the massacre of 1676, had not his timely warning been unwisely discredited by the apparently lethargic Governor and his slumberous Council.
In the county-history sources
29,485 words on this townshipHistory of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Lancaster Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
The dwellings, as at first, were mainly in two scattered groups of about equal numbers, one occupying the Neck, the other extending along the slope of George Hill. But Prescott with two of his sons now lived near his grist and saw-mills, a mile to the south, the "mill-path" leading thither. John Moore and James Butler had built upon Wataqnadock. Several of the houses were more or less fortified, being furnished with flankers or surrounded with a stockade. Of those known were: Prescott's, at the mills ; Richard Wheeler's, in South Lancaster ; Thomas Sawyer's, not far north from the house of Sally Case, his descendant ; Rev. Joseph Rowlandson's and Cyprian Stevens'. It is supposed that a few soldiers from the older towns were distributed among these garrisons.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
The assault of the savages was made at sunrise, and simultaneously in five places. The people were nearly all in shelter of the feebly fortified garrisonhouses. John Ball, who had for some reason remained in his owu dwelling, was butchered together with his wife and an infant; and two older children were carried away captive. Though the position of Ball's house is not exactly known, it was probably on the George Hill range. At John Prescott's, his grandson, Ephraim Sawyer, was killed. Of the garrison of RicharcTWheeler, which was in South Lancaster, five were slain : Richard Wheeler, Jonas Fairbanks, Joshua Fairbanks, Henry Farrar and another unknown. The first three were shot by Indians, who climbed upon the roof of the barn and could thence fire down over the palisades. The other two were waylaid while out of the garrison upon some errand.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
There were now eight garrisons in Lancaster: - Josiah White's, of ten men, upon the east side of the Neck ; Philip Goss', nine men, near the North River bridge ; Thomas Sawyer's, eleven . men, in central South Lancaster; Nathaniel Wilder's, eight men, at the old trucking-house site on George Hill ; Ephraim Roper's, seven men, a little to the north of Wilder's ; Lieut. Thomas Wilder's, thirteen men, on the Old Common; Ensign John Moore's, eight men, on Watarjuadock ; Henry WiUard's, eight men, at Still River. These embraced fifty families, and indicate a population of about two hundred and seventy-five.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, 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 Lancaster Town - it names this place 5 more 5 times.
Fires near this place
103 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 103 fires within 5 miles of South Lancaster between 2002 and 2020, burning about 2,729 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 47 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 14 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 14 August 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | DEVENS |
| 10 August 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 1 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 1 August 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 5 July 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 July 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:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 1,758 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,758 specimens collected within 10 miles of South Lancaster between 1859 and 1974: 1,128 Animalia, 323 Plantae, 294 Fungi, 6 Unrecorded, 5 Chromista, 2 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. Gibson, A. Ferrett, A. G. Chandler 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 | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff. | 1895 | James F. Collins | South spur, Mount Wachusett |
 | Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook. | 1899 | E. F. Williams | |
 | Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.Clausen | 1900 | Davenport | Pine Hill; Medford |
 | Condylura cristata cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1859 | E S Wheeler | BERLIN |
 | Dryobates pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832) | 1861 | not recorded | Bolton |
| Clemmys insculpta Fitzinger, 1835 | 1864 | Agassiz | ||
 | Bromus sterilis L. | 1879 | C. E. Faxon | |
 | Merulius lacrymans (Wulfen) Schumach. | 1879 | Howes, A. | Massachusetts |
 | Icterus galbula (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1881 | G. L. Brigham | Bolton |
| Nitella megacarpa (T.F.A.) R.D.W. | 1881 | T. F. Allen | Nashua River | |
| Arthuriomyces peckianus (Howe) Cummins & Y.Hirats. | 1892 | W. B. Hosmer | ||
 | Castilleja coccinea (L.) Spreng. | 1892 | E. C. Smith | Marboro. |
All 1,758 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of South Lancaster: 8 past producers, 4 producers, 1 prospect. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Peat, Iron, Zinc. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pandolf Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Sterling Peat Co | Peat | Past Producer | Peat | |
| Sterling Prospect | Iron, Zinc | Prospect | ||
| Bates Sand and Gravel Co. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Berlin Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Bolton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kanis Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lancaster Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Landfill Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Landfill Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
2 since 2020Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names South Lancaster in 2 storm reports between 2020 and 2026: 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Lancaster | $10,000 | In Lancaster, a tree was down on a house near Crescent St. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Lancaster | $4,000 | In Lancaster, a tree was down on a house on Charlotte Street. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ebenville | 0.9 miles | 43 | |
| Lancaster | 1.1 miles | 43 | |
| Five Corners | 1.1 miles | 43 | |
| Fullerville (historical) | 1.2 miles | 43 | |
| North Village | 1.8 miles | 43 | |
| Clinton | 1.9 miles | 43 | |
| Duck Harbor (historical) | 2.0 miles | 43 | |
| Ponakin Mill | 2.5 miles | 43 |
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 South Lancaster | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7567793 | 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 610918. 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.