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

Sunderland, Massachusetts

42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Sunderland town. It lies in ZIP code area 01375. It stands on South Sugarloaf Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Mount Toby quadrangle.

Sunderland within Franklin County

Then and now

1885 to 1990

The same ground, surveyed 105 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Sunderland, surveyed 1990
Topographic sheet of Sunderland, surveyed 1885

Compare 1885 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

42 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

42 since 2002

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 42 fires within 5 miles of Sunderland between 2002 and 2020, burning about 98 acres in total. 2 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
Debris and open burning15
Recreation and ceremony9
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Equipment and vehicle use3
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
19 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
18 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
1 August 2017Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 July 2004Naturalunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
22 July 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
29 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
29 June 2002Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
25 June 2020Natural56 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlJOSHUA HILL FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 10,220 shown

Museums hold 10,220 specimens collected within 10 miles of Sunderland between 1781 and 1975: 3,867 Animalia, 3,583 Plantae, 2,451 Fungi, 129 Chromista, 100 Unrecorded, 90 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A V Osmun, A., A. Allen 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 Cercospora violae Sacc.Cercospora violae Sacc.1895Ralph E. SmithHothouse, Mass. Agr. College, Amherst
Specimen of Septoria petroselini Desm.Septoria petroselini Desm.1895R. E. SmithHothouse, Mass. Agr. College
Specimen of Bombus bimaculatus Cresson, 1863Bombus bimaculatus Cresson, 18631899[Not Stated]Hatch Experiment Station
A photograph of the species Carex argyrantha, not of this specimenCarex argyrantha Tuck. ex Dewey1781H. G. JesupAmherst in Hampshire Co., and Leverett in Franklin Co., Massachusetts. [Inferred counties from precise loc.]
A photograph of the species Carex foenea, not of this specimenCarex foenea Willd.1781H. G. JesupAnd Leverett
A photograph of the species Ustilago nuda, not of this specimenUstilago nuda (C.N.Jensen) Kellerm. & Swingle1810J.E. Humphrey
A photograph of the species Ptilidium pulcherrimum, not of this specimenPtilidium pulcherrimum (Weber) Hampe1822Ebenezer Emmons
A photograph of the species Ranunculus ambigens, not of this specimenRanunculus ambigens S.Watson1831S. Shurtleff
A photograph of the species Dactylis glomerata, not of this specimenDactylis glomerata L.1839S J Ewer
A photograph of the species Solidago arguta, not of this specimenSolidago arguta Aiton1841Collector(s): Henry Holmes Babcock, Henry Griswold JesupAmherst
A photograph of the species Phlebiella vaga, not of this specimenPhlebiella vaga (Fr.) P.Karst.1845Illegible collector name
A photograph of the species Elodea nuttallii, not of this specimenElodea nuttallii (Planch.) H.St.John1847H. G. Jesup

All 10,220 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

10 of 15 shown

The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Sunderland: 6 past producers, 5 occurrences, 2 prospects, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Barium-Barite, Silver. 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
Leverett Barite ProspectBarium-Barite, Lead, Zinc, CopperOccurrenceReplacement Vein
Leverett Lead MinesLead, Copper, Barium-Barite, Silver, ZincPast ProducerBarite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite
Leverett Lead MinesCopper, Lead, Zinc, SilverPast Producer
Leverett ProspectsBarium-Barite, Copper, Lead, ZincPast Producer
Southeast of West Whately Galena VeinLead, SilverOccurrenceGalena
Whately - Conway Lead VeinsSilver, LeadOccurrenceGalena
Leverett Lead MineLead, CopperPast ProducerVein
Southeast of West Whately ProspectLead, SilverProspect
Whately-Conway Lead VeinLead, SilverProspect
Southwest Deerfield Barite OccurrenBarium-BariteOccurrence

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms nearby

20 since 1994

The National Weather Service names Sunderland in 20 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 17 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. 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 2008Thunderstorm WindSunderland$250,000Numerous trees and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds across Sunderland. At least six of these trees landed on vehicles and another six landed on houses. A town administrator reported up to 27 utility poles were downed. A few of the reports received include: a tree down on a house on Old Amherst Road and trees down on Silver Lane.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindSunderland$25,000Many trees were downed by thunderstorm winds in Sunderland along Route 47 and in Deerfield along Thayer Street.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindSunderland$20,000no account filed
July 2010LightningSunderland$15,000A lightning strike brought down wires on Mountain Road.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindSunderland$15,000Several large limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds onto wires resulting in power outages.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindSunderland$15,000An old tobacco barn was lifted 40 to 50 feet onto Route 47 and destroyed. The damage was determined to be from a gustnado that formed on the gust front of a line of thunderstorms. Also, two silos were knocked down by the gustnado.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindSunderland$10,000no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindSunderland$8,000Trees and wires on Cushman and North Plain Roads and North Main Street were downed by thunderstorm winds. One of the trees on Cushman Road was downed onto a car.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindSunderland$5,000A large tree was downed onto a house on School Street.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindSunderland$5,000A tree was downed, blocking Plumtree Road.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindSunderland$5,000Tree tops were blown down on Route 116 near the Cliffside Apartments.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindSunderland$4,000In Sunderland a tree was down on a house on Old Amherst Road. Also, a tree was down on Route 47 (River Road).
June 2017Thunderstorm WindNorth Sunderland$2,000At 615 PM EST, a tree was reported down on wires at the junction of Meadow Road and Old Sunderland Road in Montague.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindNorth Sunderland$1,000In Deerfield, two trees were down on River Road, north of Hillside Road.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindNorth Sunderland$800In South Deerfield, a tree and wires were down on River Rd.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindSunderland$500In Sunderland, there was a tree down on North Silver Ln.
July 2013Flash FloodNorth Sunderland-Montague City Road in Montague was closed due to flooding. Briggs Brook overflowed its banks in Erving, flooding Farley Road and the Farley Ridge area on the Erving/Millers Falls Town line.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindSunderland-Trees and wires down.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindSunderland-Trees were reported blown down, as reported by the local police.
July 2008HailSunderland-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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
South Deerfield1.7 miles42
East Whately2.4 miles42
North Sunderland2.8 miles32
Leverett Station3.2 miles42
Whately3.5 miles42
Mill River4.1 miles34
Leverett4.2 miles42
Wapping4.3 miles32

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 608949. 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.