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

Wareham, Massachusetts

39 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Wareham town. It lies in ZIP code area 02571. It stands on Rose Brook. The Survey maps it on the Wareham quadrangle.

Wareham within Plymouth County

Then and now

1886 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 108 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Wareham, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Wareham, surveyed 1886

Topographic sheets covering this place

39 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.

Photographs

3 photographs,

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.

Tremont Nail Works, 21 Elm Street, Wareham, Plymouth County, MA
Tremont Nail Works, 21 Elm Street, Wareham, Plymouth County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Old Tavern Inn, Wareham Street (State Route 28), Middleboro, Plymouth County, MA
Old Tavern Inn, Wareham Street (State Route 28), Middleboro, Plymouth County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Deborah Sampson House, 280 Wareham Street, Middleboro, Plymouth County, MA
Deborah Sampson House, 280 Wareham Street, Middleboro, Plymouth County, MA
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Fires nearby

130 since 2015

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 130 fires within 5 miles of Wareham between 2015 and 2020, burning about 36 acres in total. 1 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 burning65
Missing data/not specified/undetermined31
Misuse of fire by a minor14
Smoking8
Recreation and ceremony6
Arson/incendiarism3
Equipment and vehicle use2
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
9 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWAREHAM
7 September 2020Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
6 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWAREHAM
5 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWAREHAM
4 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWAREHAM
3 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
27 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Plymouth County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 2,168 shown

Museums hold 2,168 specimens collected within 10 miles of Wareham between 1837 and 1975: 1,099 Animalia, 651 Plantae, 320 Fungi, 71 Chromista, 23 Bacteria, 4 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. C. Mathieson, A. H. Moore 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
A photograph of the species Baptisia tinctoria, not of this specimenBaptisia tinctoria (L.) R.Br.1837J. Blake
A photograph of the species Amaranthus hybridus, not of this specimenAmaranthus hybridus L.1855not recorded
A photograph of the species Clethra alnifolia, not of this specimenClethra alnifolia L.1855not recorded
A photograph of the species Euthamia lanceolata, not of this specimenEuthamia lanceolata (L.) G.L.Nesom1855not recorded
A photograph of the species Persicaria pensylvanica, not of this specimenPersicaria pensylvanica (L.) Small1855not recorded
A photograph of the species Stachys hyssopifolia, not of this specimenStachys hyssopifolia Michx.1855not recorded
A photograph of the species Chilomycterus geometricus, not of this specimenChilomycterus geometricus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)1860unknownBuzzards Bay
A photograph of the species Kalmia angustifolia, not of this specimenKalmia angustifolia L.1860not recorded
Cortinarius collinitus (Sow. ex Fr.) Fr.1899H. WebsterWareham
Euspilotus conformis (J.E.LeConte, 1845)1899not recordedMarion
Hypocaccus dimidiatipennis (J.E.LeConte, 1824)1899not recordedMarion
Limacella illinita (Fr.) Murrill1899H. Webster

All 2,168 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

4 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Wareham: 4 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Charge Pond Road Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Marion PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rochester PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Whitehead Brothers IncSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Plymouth County

Storms nearby

9 since 1997

The National Weather Service names Wareham in 9 storm reports between 1997 and 2020: 3 flood, 2 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. 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
October 2012Thunderstorm WindEast Wareham$100,000A microburst occurred in Wareham with a thunderstorm associated with a band from superstorm Sandy. A swath of 60 to 70 mph wind gusts occurred with pockets of 80 to 90 mph gusts. The hardest hit locations in Wareham were Swifts Beach, Pinehurst, and Onset Bay Marina. The survey team determined that a damage area of 2 miles in length and 2 miles in width in this area. Based on radar signatures and eyewitness accounts, thunderstorm wind damage began in Falmouth around 6:25PM, then became more intense over Wareham around 6:40PM. The survey team determined that approximately 100 trees were significantly damaged or knocked down in Wareham, with many bringing down wires. The initial downdraft occurred in Swifts Beach then headed north-northeast over Pinehurst toward Narrows Road. In the Swifts Beach area there were numerous downed trees with one tree impaling the roof of a house on Sherman Street. Other points of interest were located on Pilgram Avenue, Judson Street, Pine Street, and Swifts Beach Road. Trees were also downed near the fire department on Main Street in downtown Wareham. Trees were also downed on Church Avenue at t he Redwood Park Elderly Complex. In the Pinehurst area of Wareham, downed trees were evident on Franconia Avenue and Pinehurst Drive. On Narrows Road, a couple of trees were knocked down across the road. In the Onset Bay Marina area, boats that were stored on a 3 story tier were tilted in their racks. A sailboat in the marina was tilted 90 degrees with the mast parallel with the water for about 2 minutes before righting itself. Additionally, 2 boats of unknown size were reportedly sunk in the downdraft. In the Nanumett Heights section of Point Independence (in Onset), significant tree damage was confirmed on Prospect and Webster Streets. The survey team and eyewitness accounts observed much of the tree damage to be oriented in a south to north direction, confirming a microburst.
July 2014Flash FloodEast Wareham$25,000In Wareham, a car was stuck in flood waters on the Cranberry Highway. A portion of Long Pond Road in Plymouth was flooded with over one foot of water near Gunners Exchange Road.
July 2011FloodWest Wareham$5,000A south Wareham underpass was covered with 2 feet of water. A car was stuck in flood waters at the intersection of Cranberry Highway and Red Brook Road.
March 2008FloodWareham$5,000In Wareham, a trailer park was evacuated due to two feet of water, water was coming out of manhole covers on Route 28 by Tobee Road and a railroad underpass was flooded on Main Street near Tobee Road. One lane of Route 6 was closed due to flooding near the Old Rochester Regional High School in Marion.
August 2005Flash FloodWareham$5,000no account filed
August 2020Thunderstorm WindSouth Wareham$500In Wareham, a tree was down on Main Street.
May 2013FloodEast Wareham-A foot of water flooded Route 28 in Wareham near the Cranberry Plaza Shopping Center.
June 1998HailWareham-no account filed
March 1997Heavy RainWareham-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Plymouth 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
Wareham Center0.4 miles39
Oakdale0.8 miles39
Pinehurst Beach1.3 miles39
Hamilton Beach1.4 miles39
Swifts Beach1.4 miles39
South Wareham1.6 miles39
Parkwood Beach1.6 miles39
Tihonet1.7 miles39

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 615456. 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.