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

Wayland, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Wayland town. It lies in ZIP code area 01778. It stands on Mill Brook. The Survey maps it on the Natick quadrangle.

Wayland within Middlesex 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 Wayland, surveyed 1989

Topographic sheet of Wayland, surveyed 1886

Topographic sheets covering this place

46 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

21,245 words on this township

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Wayland Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Cochiluate. - The first starting of this now flourishing village, which lies at the extreme southern border of the town, was about the year 1830, when Messrs. William and J. M. Bent commenced in a small way the manufacture of slioes. This firm have continued to the present time, and are the leading business house. Messrs. Thomas Bryant, and T. A. and H. C. Dean, are extensive manufacturers. The steady growtli of business is indicated by the following statistics : In 1837 the number of pairs of shoes manufactured was 29,660; value, $22,419 ; males employed, 31 ; females, 15. In 1865, capital invested, $ 17,850; value of manufactured goods, .$282,7(iO ; males employed, 182; females, 29. In 1875 the number of establishments was nine ; capital invested, $51,500; value of manufactured goods, $1,799,175; males employed, 431 ; females, 60.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

A Wesleyan Methodist Church was erected here in 1850. A Methodist E^jiscopal society has since been organized. A new grammar-school house was built in 1773; attendance in 1878, forty-five. A system of water-supply, from Rice's Pond, has just been completed at an expense of $25,000.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

In 1841 the Wayland Academy, a private institution, was opened, with Rev. Leonard P. Frost, principal ; Josiali Rutter, A. B., teacher of ancient languages ; Miss Aima P. Frost, preceptress ; Lewis Smith, teacher of vocal music ; F. F. Heard, teacher of instrumental music. Number of pupils in the fall term : girls, thirty-six ; boys, seventy-one; total, one hundred and seven.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

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 Wayland Town - it names this place 10 more 10 times.

Fires near this place

87 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 87 fires within 5 miles of Wayland between 1995 and 2020, burning about 50 acres in total. 1 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 burning	40
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	23
Arson/incendiarism	7
Power generation/transmission/distribution	5
Smoking	3
Recreation and ceremony	3
Railroad operations and maintenance	3
Equipment and vehicle use	2
Natural	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
5 September 2020	Power generation/transmission/distribution	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
4 September 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
3 September 2018	Smoking	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
3 September 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
23 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
22 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
21 September 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
19 September 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Middlesex County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,623 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,623 specimens collected within 10 miles of Wayland between 1898 and 1975: 1,112 Animalia, 302 Plantae, 198 Fungi, 8 Chromista, 2 Protozoa, 1 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. B. Seymour & M. D. Feigley, A. E. Feldman 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822	1900	not recorded	Wayland
Actaea pachypoda Elliott	1898	Ernest Charles Smith
Antennaria howellii subsp. canadensis (Greene) R.J.Bayer	1898	Williams, E.F.
Antennaria parlinii subsp. fallax (Greene) R.J.Bayer & Stebbins	1898	not recorded
Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Hook.	1898	not recorded
Aquilegia canadensis L.	1898	M. I. Gunn	Natick
Agaricus brunnescens Peck	1900	Morris, G. E.	Waltham
Agonopterix atrodorsella Clemens, 1863	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn
Apantesis Walker, 1855	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn
Apatelodes torrefacta J.E.Smith, 1797	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn
Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.	1900	Thaxter, Roland	Stony Brook, Mass. [Massachusetts]
Archips cerasivorana (Fitch, 1856)	1900	E. J. Smith	Sherborn

All 1,623 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 12 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 12 workings within 5 miles of Wayland: 9 past producers, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Peat. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Panlini Loam Co	Peat	Past Producer	Peat
Massachusetts Broken Stone Co	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Weston Mine	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Arthur Scofield Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Framington Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Hi-Way Pit and Mill	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
New England Sand & Grv Co. Pit & Pl	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Pepperell Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Sand & Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Stonebridge Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

11 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wayland in 11 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 6 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain, 1 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wayland	$25,000	Many trees were downed onto wires.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wayland	$15,000	A tree on Nob Hill Road was downed onto a shed by thunderstorm winds.
October 2016	Flash Flood	Wayland	$10,000	Two to four inches of rain fell in the matter of a few hours on the evening of October 21 and resulted in significant urban flash flooding in Wayland. Many roads were flooded and impassable including parts of Routes 20, 27, 30, and 126, East Plain and School Streets, and Windy Hill Lane near Country Club and Storm Bridge Road. Old Connecticut Path near Wayland High School was flooded with water reaching the tops of car tires. A car was stuck in flood waters at the intersection of Pequot Road and Happy Hollow Road. No injuries were reported.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Wayland	$5,000	no account filed
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Wayland	$2,000	no account filed
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Wayland	$2,000	no account filed
September 2023	Flood	Wayland	-	In Wayland, Bridge Rd and Anthony Rd were flooded.
September 2018	Flash Flood	Wayland	-	At 9:45 AM EST, U.S. Route 20 near Millbrook Road in Wayland was flooded and impassable.
August 2015	Hail	Wayland	-	Quarter to ping pong ball size hail fell in Wayland.
September 1999	Heavy Rain	Wayland	-	no account filed
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Wayland	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Middlesex 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Tower Hill	1.3 miles	46
East Sudbury Station	2.1 miles	40
South Sudbury	2.8 miles	40
Cochituate	2.9 miles	46
Camp Mary Day	3.1 miles	46
Weston	3.1 miles	46
Saxonville	3.2 miles	40
Sudbury	3.2 miles	43

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612020. 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.