BlockBefore

South Worcester, Massachusetts

44 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Worcester City. It lies in ZIP code area 01610. It stands on Pratt Brook. The Survey maps it on the Worcester South quadrangle.

South Worcester 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 South Worcester, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of South Worcester, surveyed 1889

On record in South Worcester

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 73 shown

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

Every listing in Worcester County

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

37,512 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 Worcester City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Horatio Phelps manufactured looms of all kinds in the shop formerly occupied by William Howard, at South Worcester, from whom Mr. Phelps had purchased the right to make his patent broad looms. Phelps & Bickford continued to manufacture here, after the formation of their copartnership, all kinds of woolen looms. In October, 1834, they removed from South Worcester to Court Mills, then a new building erected by Stephen Salisbury for the accommodation of parties desiring to lease factory room. Phelps & Bickford afterwards occupied part of the wire factory in Grove Street. Later, Mr. Bickford continued the business alone, and in 1859 he employed twenty-three hands in building looms in the west wing of the Grove Street mill. December 28, 1860, he moved to Merrifield's building, in Exchange Street, where he was prepared to build all kind^ of Crompton looms and other fancy looms, broad and narrow ; also walking, dressing and spooling machinery, with steam cylinders or pipes for drying ; also all kinds of machinery and tools for making wire.

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

Albert Curtis was born in Worcester, 1807. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to White & Boyden, who manufactured woolen machinery at South Worcester, near the present location of the carpet-mills. After learning his trade he worked here for three years as a journeyman, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per day. In December, 1829, he went to Pittsburgh, but returned in January, 1831, and again entered the employment of White & Boyden. While learning his trade he became acquainted with his fellow-workmen, Kimball and Simmons, and they conceived the idea of going to New Worcester and starting for themselves. The firm of John Simmons & Co. was succeeded by Simmons & Curtis, who continued to make shearing and other machinery. In 1833 Mr. Curtis purchased Mr. Simmons' interest, and continued alone until 1834, when Mr. William Henshaw became a partner and so continued until 1839, the firm-name being Curtis & Henshaw. They had not room enough at New Worcester for their business, and for a time leased room of Ichabod Washburn, in the wire-mill in Grove Street. This copartnership was dissulved January 8, 1839.

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

This partnership was dissolved, and early in 1825 each manufactured these looms on his own account, William H. Howard building broad power cassimere and kerseymere looms, carding and shearing-machines at his shop, one mile south of the Main Street in Worcester, - South Worcester privilege.

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

Fires near this place

69 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 69 fires within 5 miles of South Worcester between 2015 and 2020, burning about 54 acres in total. None started naturally. 7 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 burning21
Smoking16
Recreation and ceremony14
Arson/incendiarism7
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
14 September 2016Debris and open burningunder 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
6 July 2015Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
5 June 2020Debris and open burningunder 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 1,663 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,663 specimens collected within 10 miles of South Worcester between 1839 and 1974: 991 Plantae, 384 Animalia, 264 Fungi, 16 Unrecorded, 6 Protozoa, 2 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 Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) LyonSceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon1899H. H. Scudder
Specimen of Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)1900Roscoe I. Giles
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 Tamias striatus, not of this specimenTamias striatus lysteri (Richardson, 1829)1848L AgassizPARSONS ISLAND
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
Elymus repens (L.) Gould1892Arthur B. SeymourCambridge.
Festuca pratensis Huds.1892Arthur B. SeymourCambridge.

All 1,663 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of South Worcester: 9 past producers, 3 producers, 2 plants. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Lead, Stone. 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
Bd Bloomfield Co--Worcester, Ma.LeadPlant
Crucible Spec. Metals--Auburn, Ma.IronPlant
Shrewsbury Trap RockStoneProducer
30 Southwest Cutoff PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Auburn PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Capa CorporationSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Crossover PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Donald P Graves Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
F Ang G Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
F and G PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this place

15 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names South Worcester in 15 storm reports between 2010 and 2024: 5 flash flood, 4 thunderstorm wind, 4 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
August 2014Tornado (EF0)South Worcester$100,000A tornado touchdown occurred near the intersection of Perry Avenue and Fairfax Road. A narrow well-defined damage path extended past Saint Vincent Hospital to Gordon Street. The most significant damage was to trees, some of which were uprooted or snapped. Some trees landed on cars causing significant damage to the cars. A couple of trees landed on houses, but there was little structural damage to the houses. A few windows were broken by tree branches.
July 2021Flash FloodSouth Worcester$20,000In Worcester, flash flood waters were up to car windshields on Dale Street.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindSouth Worcester$15,000Trees on Randolph Road, Monadnock Road, and Winifred Avenue were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindSouth Worcester$10,000Trees on Burncoat, Mason, and King Streets were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2010LightningSouth Worcester$10,000Lightning struck a building on Gold Street, blowing out the electrical panels of the building and starting a small fire.
July 2021Flash FloodSouth Worcester$8,000In Worcester, five cars were stuck in flood waters at Dewey Street and Parker Street.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindSouth Worcester$5,000A tree on Clarkson Street was downed by thunderstorm winds, blocking the street.
September 2015FloodSouth Worcester$5,000The Southgate Street underpass was flooded. A car was stuck in the floodwaters.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindSouth Worcester$1,300In Worcester, trees and wires were down on Ferdinand St.
June 2024Flash FloodSouth Worcester-In Worcester, Rt 20 near Grafton St was flooded with vehicles stranded in flood water.
July 2021Flash FloodSouth Worcester-In Worcester, Cambridge St from Quinsigamond Ave to McKeon Rd was closed due to urban flash flooding.
July 2021FloodSouth Worcester-In Worcester, a section of Grafton St was closed due to flooding. Report forwarded by amateur radio.
July 2021Flash FloodSouth Worcester-In Worcester, there was urban flash flooding at the intersection of Southbridge and Southgate Streets. Water was observed to be bubbling up out of manhole covers.
July 2019FloodSouth Worcester-Flooding was reported on Armory Street in South Worcester with water flowing over the curb.
August 2019FloodSouth Worcester-In the southern portion of Worcester, the Southbridge Street exit ramp off of I-290 eastbound had substantial flooding at the bottom of the ramp.

Every storm 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
Cambridge0.1 miles44
University Park0.5 miles45
Island0.6 miles44
College Hill0.7 miles44
Vernon Hill0.7 miles44
Webster Square1.0 miles44
Pakachoag1.3 miles44
Trowbridgeville (historical)1.3 miles44

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 606260. 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.