BlockBefore

South Lawrence, Massachusetts

38 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Lawrence City. It lies in ZIP code area 01843. It stands on Spicket River. The Survey maps it on the Lawrence quadrangle.

South Lawrence within Essex County

Then and now

1886 to 1988

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 South Lawrence, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of South Lawrence, surveyed 1886

On record in South Lawrence

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 within a mile 12 of 18 shown

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Every listing in Essex County

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 surveys from 38 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

28,516 words on this township

History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888 names this settlement in its chapter on Lawrence City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

This ^as the only store of its kind for nearly six months, and its ledger contained upwards of six hundred names before another store was opened. In addition to groceries Mr. Crosby appears to have been the first ice dealer, offering to supply ice from his two ice houses, one situated on the south side of the river below his store, the other at his farm in North Andover, filled with "lake ice." This store and stock was purchased in 1850 by Joseph Shattuck, who, with his brother, Charles W. Shattuck, have conducted the business since, first at South Lawrence, and later in a new brick building built by them on Essex Street, till 1887, when thej^ retired, and were succeeded by Henry A. Buell & Co., who had elsewhere in the city been long engaged.

Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.

The first lumber dealer, Mr. Hezekiah Plummer, born in that part of Andover now included in Lawrence. He was engaged in the manufacture of sashes and blinds, &c., in 1846, but soon erected a steam mill in South Lawrence for supplying lumber for the growing wants of the new town. Besides those not elsewhere mentioned many others have been prominent, many of them residents for a long period and actively engaged in business, contributing their share to its material growth and prosperity. Among them may be named one of the earliest dealers in dry goods, Joseph O'Hea Cantillon, born in Ireland, 1810, came to Lawrence, 1846, was a leading spirit among his countrymen and popular with all classes ; be was a very active man in temperance work and public affairs, and was one of the board of assessors in 1854. He removed to the West, was at one time mayor of the city of Dubuque, Iowa, died in 1879. John J. Dolaud, born in Derry, N. H., August 29, 1826, came to Lawrence, 1849, from Manchester, where he had been employed in the Amoskeag Mills. He was an overseer in the Atlantic Mills till 1871. _Mr. Doland was a descendant of patriotic ancestors, and is the oldest lineal descendant of one who fought in the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the distinguished military order of the Cincinnati. Eben L. Chapman, J. Merrill Currier, Milton Bonney* (mayor in 1865), William P. Clark, Peter Holihan, Patrick Sweeney, Jordan Bros., Henry M. Whitney, J. P. Kent,* William H. Bridgman,* Dana Sargent (afterward mayor of Nashua, died November 23, 1884), John Beetle (died June 20, 1879), John F. Bingham, George B. Smart, John Kiley,* John B. Atkinson,* Alonzo Briggs (deputy sheriff), Martin Bros., Albin Yeaw, Charles R. Mason, E. J. Mason (died December 4, 1880), David S. Swan,* James A. Treat (died April 24, 1886), Henry Barton, Byron Truell (House of Representatives 1875, 1876, Senator 1877, 1878), Simpson & Oswald, Rufus Reed (died 1886), Charles

Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.

H. P. Wright and Wm. E. Spalding, and the road was opened for travel from the Paper-Mills to Methuen, 1867 ; extended to North Andover, 1868; and to South Lawrence, 1876. Additional facilities for travel have been furnished by further extensions in 1887. The enterprise of doubtful issue at first has proved remunerative, and the stock has advanced materially in value. Wm. A. Eussell has been president and James H. Eaton treasurer from the beginning.

Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.

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 Lawrence City - it names this place 5 more 5 times.

Fires near this place

87 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 87 fires within 5 miles of South Lawrence between 2002 and 2020, burning about 23 acres in total. 1 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
Smoking20
Missing data/not specified/undetermined18
Debris and open burning13
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Recreation and ceremony7
Equipment and vehicle use6
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Arson/incendiarism5
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Natural1

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
24 September 2020Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 September 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
14 September 2020Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
14 September 2016Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNORTH ANDOVER
8 August 2016Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlLAWERANCE
8 August 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlLAWERANCE
8 August 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlLAWERANCE
5 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMETHUEN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Essex County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,264 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,264 specimens collected within 10 miles of South Lawrence between 1816 and 1975: 722 Plantae, 404 Animalia, 120 Fungi, 5 Protozoa, 5 Bacteria, 4 Unrecorded, 4 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A Brown, A S Gaunt, A. C. Mathieson 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 Corylus americana WalterCorylus americana Walter1900E. F. Williams
Specimen of Populus grandidentata Michx.Populus grandidentata Michx.1900E. F. Williams
A photograph of the species Lupinus L., not of this specimenLupinus L.1816Boott, F.M.B.Mystic Pond, 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Viola labradorica, not of this specimenViola labradorica Schrank1816not recordedAndover Turnpike, 6 miles from Boston U.S.A.
A photograph of the species Diphyscium foliosum, not of this specimenDiphyscium foliosum (Hedw.) D.Mohr1822ALCOTT
A photograph of the species Arcyria oerstedii, not of this specimenArcyria oerstedii Rostaf., 18751826F. A. Gilbert
A photograph of the species Eleocharis robbinsii, not of this specimenEleocharis robbinsii Oakes1829B. D. Greene
A photograph of the species Carex debilis, not of this specimenCarex debilis var. rudgei L.H.Bailey1853Collector unknown
A photograph of the species Carex rostrata, not of this specimenCarex rostrata Stokes1853W. Boott
A photograph of the species Cyathus striatus, not of this specimenCyathus striatus Willd.1853not recordedAndover, Mass. [Massachusetts]
A photograph of the species Dichelyma capillaceum, not of this specimenDichelyma capillaceum (Dicks.) Myrin1853T. P. James
A photograph of the species Isopterygiopsis pulchella, not of this specimenIsopterygiopsis pulchella (Hedw.) Z.Iwats.1853T. P. James

All 1,264 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of South Lawrence: 4 past producers, 1 unknown, 1 producer, 1 plant. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Nickel, Gold, Silver, Copper, Perlite. 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
Dracut Ni Mine/Nickel Mine HillNickel, Gold, Silver, CopperPast Producer
Wittemore Perlite PlantPerlitePlant
Rocco Zambino and Sons, Inc. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Sand & Gravel OperationSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Torromeo Trucking CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Torromeo Trucking Co., Inc. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Essex County

Storms near this place

11 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names South Lawrence in 11 storm reports between 2009 and 2025: 4 flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 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
July 2014Thunderstorm WindSouth Lawrence$50,000In Lawrence, trees were downed on Winthrop Avenue, Essex Street, Everett Street, and Methuen Street. A tree fell onto a house on Furber Street and another on Melvin Street. In North Andover, a large tree was downed on Boston Road near Route 114 and on Main Street. Damage was a little more extensive in Andover, where many trees were downed on the south side of town including on Vine Street. Trees and wires were downed on Bridle Path Road.
July 2009LightningSouth Lawrence$50,000Lightning struck a house on Fossen Way setting it on fire.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindSouth Lawrence$25,000Many large trees on North Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
September 2017FloodSouth Lawrence$10,000At 455 PM EST, an amateur radio operator reported Chickering Road at State Route 114 in South Lawrence was flooded. A car nearby on Halsey Street was trapped in flood waters. At 524 PM EST a car was disabled in street flooding at Cutler Avenue and Chickering Road. Grafton Street was flooded and impassable.
October 2011FloodSouth Lawrence$5,000Several streets were closed due to flooding. A car was stuck in floodwaters at the intersection of Andover Street and South Broadway near the Walgreens.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindSouth Lawrence$800In Lawrence, a tree and power lines were down on Leonard Avenue.
August 2025Flash FloodSouth Lawrence-There were cars stuck in significant street flooding near the Lawrence and Andover town line.
October 2022FloodSouth Lawrence-In Lawrence, police reported street flooding on Andover Street between Clifron and Amherst Streets. The road was flooded and impassable. Report relayed by amateur radio.
November 2018FloodSouth Lawrence-In Lawrence, there were flooded streets at Water Street and Marble Avenue.
September 2018Flash FloodSouth Lawrence-At 9:43 AM EST, the intersection of Andover Street at Clifton Street in Lawrence was flooded and impassable.
July 2009HailSouth Lawrence-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Essex 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
Mount Vernon Park0.9 miles38
Lawrence0.9 miles38
North Andover1.0 miles38
Shawsheen Heights1.4 miles38
Shawsheen Village1.7 miles38
Stevens Crossing2.3 miles40
North Andover Center2.4 miles40
West Andover2.4 miles38

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612386. 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.