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Uxbridge, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Uxbridge town. It lies in ZIP code area 01569. It stands on Mumford River. The Survey maps it on the Uxbridge quadrangle.

Uxbridge within Worcester County

Then and now

1886 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Uxbridge, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Uxbridge, surveyed 1886

On record in Uxbridge

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 12 of 50 shown

Every listing in Worcester County

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 11 records

Topographic sheets covering this place

20 surveys from 46 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

13,661 words on this township

History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Uxbridge Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

There are several mineral springs near the centre of the town, and the water furnished by iheUxbridge Water Company proves, upon analysis, to be about absolutely pure, being nearly equal to that of the famous Poland Springs, and pronounced by local physicians to be nearly as effectual in the cure of kidney and urinary troubles. At no distant day these springs will be appreciated, and a sanitarium will invite the health-seekers to come and be cured. Uxbridge ranks among the older towns of the county, having been incorporated three years before the county itself.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.

In 171G it seems that the western part of the town of Mendon and the eastern part had a disagreement about the road to be built to Taft's bridge, over the Great River (Blackstone), which led to the appointment of a committee of conference. This difficulty having been adjusted, the next recorded difference which arose was in 1720, when, as appears by the '-Mendon Annals," "the inhabitants of the west part of the town (now Uxbridge) began to agitate the question of dividing the town, or of being allowed to be a precinct by themselves; but upon their petition to that effect, the town took no action."

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.

The western inhabitants lost no time in taking the benefit of the vote, doubtless feeling that a reconsideration might blast their hopes, if opportunity were given ; for it appears from the records in the Massachusetts Archives, " Towns, vol. 113, p. 714," that in an almost incredibly short time, considering the distance to Boston and the roads and conveniences or inconveniences of travel, the petition and vote was presented to the General Court for its approval and the incorporation of ihe new town. The act of incorporation passed both houses (i.e. the House of Representatives and the Council) and became a law June 23, 1727, which is the birthdai/ of the town of Uxbridge. To show the mode of procedure in such matters at that early day uuder colonial government, I transcribe the act of incorporation entire: nilerem, the westerly part of the Town of Mendon, in the County of Sufolk, is completely filled with Inhabitants, who labour under great diffloiilties by their remoteness from the place of Public Worship, ic, and have thereupon made application to the said Town of Mendon, and have likewise addressed this Court that they may bo set off as a distinct aud separate town aud be vested with all the powers and privilege of a town ; and the Inhabitants of Mendon haviug consented to their being set off accordingly; lie it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Conncil and Representatives in General Court aasembled, aud by the authority of the same, that the westerly part of said Town of Mendon is hereby set off and constituted a separate Township by the name of Uxbridge ; the bound of said Town to be as foUowelh : That is to say, Beginning at the South West corner of the town of Mendon, at the Troviuce South Line : thence to run four miles east with the Province Line ; then North a parallel with the West line of the said Town, until that line meets with a small Brook that runs between West Hill and Misco Hill ; then ye sjiid Brook to be the bounds to the West River; then the West River to be the bounds to a brook known by the name of Andrew's Brook, which brook shall bo the bounds to the north line of the Township.

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 Uxbridge Town - it names this place 50 more 50 times.

Photographs

1 photograph,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Crown & Eagle Mills, 123 Hartford Avenue East, North Uxbridge, Worcester County, MA
Crown & Eagle Mills, 123 Hartford Avenue East, North Uxbridge, Worcester County, MA
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

94 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 94 fires within 5 miles of Uxbridge between 2002 and 2020, burning about 73 acres in total. None 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
Debris and open burning28
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Recreation and ceremony16
Smoking15
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Arson/incendiarism3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Other causes1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 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
29 September 2002Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
27 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
19 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 August 2015Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
6 August 2015Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresMassachusetts 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 428 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 428 specimens collected within 10 miles of Uxbridge between 1844 and 1974: 239 Plantae, 141 Animalia, 34 Fungi, 9 Protozoa, 3 Unrecorded, 2 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele 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 Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh.Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh.1896Henderson
Specimen of Coryneum pulvinatum KunzeCoryneum pulvinatum Kunze1897D. Murray
Specimen of Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) LyonSceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon1899H. H. Scudder
A photograph of the species Trichophorum planifolium, not of this specimenTrichophorum planifolium (Spreng.) Palla1844Collector unspecifiedUxbridge
A photograph of the species Carex vesicaria, not of this specimenCarex vesicaria L.1848J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Potamogeton epihydrus, not of this specimenPotamogeton epihydrus Raf.1848J. W. RobbinsUxbridge
A photograph of the species Potamogeton bicupulatus, not of this specimenPotamogeton bicupulatus Fernald1854W. J. RobbinsUxbridge
A photograph of the species Carex brevior, not of this specimenCarex brevior (Dewey) Mack.1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Carex normalis, not of this specimenCarex normalis Mack.1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Carex siccata, not of this specimenCarex siccata Dewey1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Carex straminea, not of this specimenCarex straminea Willd. ex Schkuhr1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Hyla versicolor, not of this specimenHyla versicolor LeConte, 18251857Weinland, David Friedrich

All 428 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 23 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of Uxbridge: 17 past producers, 4 producers, 1 unknown, 1 prospect. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Uxbridge ProspectLead, ZincProspect
Barnett Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Direnzo Brothers Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Douglas PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gilbon Mountain PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Guiou PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Helca PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hutnak Construction CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Johnson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Mable JohnsonSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this place

6 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Uxbridge in 6 storm reports between 1996 and 2021: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. 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 2021Thunderstorm WindUxbridge$800In Uxbridge, a tree was down on wires on High Street.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindNorth Uxbridge$500In Uxbridge, a tree was down on Hartford Avenue West.
August 2006HailUxbridge-no account filed
June 2000HailUxbridge-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindUxbridge-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindUxbridge-no account filed

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
Wheelockville0.8 miles50
North Uxbridge0.9 miles46
Centerville0.9 miles50
Linwood1.6 miles46
Halfway House2.4 miles46
Hundred Acre Lot2.5 miles46
Whitinsville3.0 miles46
Plummer Corner3.2 miles46

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611073. 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.