BlockWest Dudley, Massachusetts
42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Dudley town. It lies in ZIP code area 01571. It lies near Blackmer Hill. The Survey maps it on the Webster quadrangle.
Then and now
1889 to 1989The 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 sheets covering this place
18 surveys from 42 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1889 USGS Webster quadrangle1:62500
- 1892 USGS Webster quadrangle1:62500, 9 printings
- 1908 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1921 USGS Webster quadrangle1:62500
- 1943 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000
- 1945 USGS Webster quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Webster quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Webster quadrangle1:31680
- 1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Webster quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1969 USGS Webster quadrangle1:25000
- 1975 USGS Webster quadrangle1:25000
- 1982 USGS Webster quadrangle1:25000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
7,816 words on this townshipHistory of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889 names this settlement in its chapter on Dudley Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Jan. 2, 1775, Col. Thomas Cheney was again chosen Representative to the Provincial Congress, this time to be holden at Cambridge. Col. Thomas Cheney was then in his sixty-eighth year; he died two years later, April 30, 1777, and lies buried in Sturbridge. He was a great-grandson of William Cheney, who emigrated from England, with his wife, two sons and two daughters, in 1685, and settled in Roxbury. Col. Thomas was born in Cambridge, 1708 ; held a commission in the Colonial Army ; was present at the taking of Louisbourg, 1745. ("April 21, 1746, Gov. Shirley issued orders to Capt. Thos. Cheney, of Dudley, to march with his Company of GO troopers to Northfield. Indians were lurking in the neighborhood, and men had been murdered a short time before." - Temple and Sheldon's " History of Northfield.") He came to Dudley about 1735, and settled near the present village of West Dudley. The home which he here established has ever since remained in the possession of direct descendants.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.
In 1887 the West Dudley Co-operative Creamery was established, with a capacity for making two thousand pounds of butter per week. It has proved a great help to the dairymen of this vicinity, and its product in half-pound prints is nearly all sent to first-class hotels iu the city of Boston.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.
West Dudley is on the Quinebaug River, and is a station on the Southbridge Branch of the New York and New England Railroad ; has a post-office and express- office. In 1S33 Charles Vinton built a grist and saw-mill here. Six years later, Mr. Vinton having deceased, the property was sold to Allen Brown, who erected additional buildings and manufactured Kentucky jeans until burned out in 1850. In 1864 the privilege was bought by Messrs. Gleason and Weld, who built a saw and grist-mill, and the folldwing year a paper-mill, and continued the manufacture until the time of Mr. Gleason's death, in 1S7.S, when his interest was bought by his partner, C. W. Weld. The grist-mill was burned in 1880, and rebuilt the same year. In 1881 Mr. Weld built a new paper-mill, and soon after sold the same, with half the water-power, to William J. Warren, of Norfolk, Mass. August 21, 1885, this mill was burnt down and rebuilt the following winter. The varieties manufactured are manilla wrapping, mill wrappers, carpet lining and building papers. Average amount of business done, $35,000 per year.
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 Dudley Town - it names this place 1 more 1 time.
Fires near this place
37 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 37 fires within 5 miles of West Dudley between 2015 and 2020, burning about 15 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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 | 14 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 6 August 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 23 August 2020 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 30 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 27 June 2016 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 27 June 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 19 June 2016 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 7 May 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 372 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 372 specimens collected within 10 miles of West Dudley between 1874 and 1975: 190 Animalia, 116 Plantae, 62 Fungi, 2 Chromista, 1 Unrecorded, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele, B. N. Gates, B. N. Gates & F. C. 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 | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitella megacarpa (T.F.A.) R.D.W. | 1874 | Piper, S. M. | ||
 | Coccyzus erythropthalmus (A.Wilson, 1811) | 1875 | Francois Hue | |
 | Catharus guttatus faxoni (Bangs & T.E.Penard, 1921) | 1888 | not recorded | Oxford |
 | Gavia immer (Brunnich, 1764) | 1890 | Jones, Clinton Mellen | Southbridge |
 | Parmotrema perforatum (Jacq.) A.Massal. | 1890 | G. E. Stone | Webster |
 | Trichia contorta (Ditmar) Rostaf., 1875 | 1890 | Harvey, F. L. | |
 | Diphyscium foliosum (Hedw.) D.Mohr | 1891 | Lucien M. Underwood | |
| Lycaenidae | 1894 | not recorded | ||
 | Cirsium muticum Michx. | 1897 | E. L. Morris | Charlton |
 | Juncus tenuis Willd. | 1897 | E. L. Morris | Charlton |
 | Alyssum alyssoides (L.) L. | 1899 | R. M. Harper | |
| Carex hystericina Muhl. ex Willd. | 1899 | R. M. Harper | Southbridge. |
All 372 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of West Dudley: 9 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Ciesla Brothers Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Ciesla Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kappys Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kaprys Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Landfill Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Thompson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Thompson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Town of Southbridge | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary |
Storms near this place
3 since 2017Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Dudley in 3 storm reports between 2017 and 2023: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Dudley | $2,000 | At 430 PM EST, two large trees were down on Lempicki Road in Dudley. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Dudley | $500 | In Dudley, there was a large tree down on Blackmere Rd. |
| July 2017 | Flood | West Dudley | - | At 538 PM EST, West Main Street in Dudley was flooded and impassable near the Connecticut State Line. Also, Southbridge Road near near the Connecticut State Line was also flooded and impassable. Also, at 626 PM EST Center Road was flooded and impassable. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandersdale | 2.1 miles | 39 | |
| Dudley | 2.8 miles | 42 | |
| Cardinal Heights | 2.9 miles | 42 | |
| Tufts Village (historical) | 3.1 miles | 42 | |
| Southbridge | 3.2 miles | 39 | |
| Globe Village | 4.2 miles | 39 | |
| Westville | 4.4 miles | 39 | |
| Chaseville | 4.6 miles | 42 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikidata item Q122540150 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 610300. 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.