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

West Mansfield, Massachusetts

33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1987. It stands in Mansfield town. It lies in ZIP code area 02048. It stands on Moose Hill. The Survey maps it on the Norton quadrangle.

West Mansfield within Bristol County

Then and now

1885 to 1987

The same ground, surveyed 102 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of West Mansfield, surveyed 1987

Topographic sheet of West Mansfield, surveyed 1885

Topographic sheets covering this place

33 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.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Mansfield town, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From Bristol County Farmers' Bulletin, published 1918 - Mansfield Town

Dairy Outlook For 1935

The dairy industry is headed towards a rather favorable year according to the State College economists and they list these factors to back their statement. There has been a 4% reduction in milk cans in 1934 with a further reduction expected in 1935. There are fewer heifers being saved for milk cows and the drought cattle liquidation along with high feed costs have reduced the number of dual purpose cows milked.

Read the rest of this passage

In the county-history sources

183,038 words on this township

History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Mansfield Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

After his dismission the pulpit was occupied by supplies up to 1850, when Rev. Daniel W. Stevens, of Marlborough, graduate of Harvard University, was ordained as pastor, which position he occupied with great acceptance up to 1857, when he ceased preaching ; for a time opened a select school in the basement of the old church, which he continued for several years as a teacher. He ranked high, as friends and scholars were fully satisfied with his success. He at the close of the school here removed to Fall River, where he was superintendent of schools two years, then removed to Vineyard Haven, where he has ever since resided, engaged in preaching and caring for a library used by the many seamen who visit that harbor.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

Emanuel Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1860 with sixteen members; the first meeting was held in the hall over Rayerson's store April 8, 1860, Rev. E. F. Hicks supplying the pulpit. Worship was continued there until January, 1861, from which time to April, 1864, there were no public services held. At that time the old meeting-house was hired, and services held therein for two years under charge of Rev. Mr. Alderman. After an interval of five years meetings were again commenced, this time in Lovell's Hall, in 1871, under the charge of Rev. Mr. W. J. Smith, who remained with the society one year. Services have been continued ever since, and the ministers have been F. C. Newall, J. H. Humphrey, W. H. Turkinton, J. Oldham, Thomas J. Everett, E. W. Goodier, and the present pastor is Rev. Mr. Jorden. In 1876 the society built an attractive place of worship on the corner of North Main and West Streets, on a lot donated to them by Charles T. Borden, Esq., a prominent member of the church.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

A society of Friends was organized at West Mansfield in 1809. They built a meeting-house which now stands a model of neatness, and regular meetings are now held there upon each " First Day," and occasionally other meetings are held. Rev. Brother Thomas. Grover is the preacher.

Passage source: History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1883.

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 Mansfield Town - it names this place 8 more 8 times.

Fires near this place

62 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 62 fires within 5 miles of West Mansfield between 2015 and 2020, burning about 40 acres in total. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	21
Recreation and ceremony	20
Smoking	12
Debris and open burning	7
Misuse of fire by a minor	1
Equipment and vehicle use	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
3 September 2016	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	FOXBORO
27 September 2015	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	PLAINVILLE
27 September 2015	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	PLAINVILLE
26 September 2015	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	PLAINVILLE
23 September 2015	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	PLAINVILLE
15 September 2016	Smoking	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	FOXBORO
12 September 2017	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	PLAINVILLE
9 August 2016	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bristol County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 610 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 610 specimens collected within 10 miles of West Mansfield between 1874 and 1973: 330 Animalia, 210 Plantae, 70 Fungi. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. A. Eaton, A. Clark 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
Hypoxis hirsuta (L.) Coville	1874	not recorded
Empidonax minimus (W.M.Baird & S.F.Baird, 1843)	1877	C.P. Snow	Taunton, North
Eubotrys racemosa (L.) Nutt.	1878	Mrs. M. L. Owen
Deutzia scabra Thunb.	1880	S. M. Holman, Jr.	Attleboro.
Habenaria lacera (Michx.) R.Br.	1880	S. M. Holman, Jr.	Attleboro.
Lilium superbum L.	1880	S. M. Holman, Jr.	Attleboro.
Setophaga americana (Linnaeus, 1758)	1880	William C. Flint
Setophaga discolor discolor (Vieillot, 1809)	1880	C. T. Snow
Woodsia ilvensis (L.) R.Br.	1880	S. M. Holman, Jr.	Attleboro.
Passerina cyanea (Linnaeus, 1766)	1881	C. F. Snow	MASSACHUSETTS: Bristol County; Norton
Contopus virens (Linnaeus, 1766)	1883	Collector(s): W. H. Lewis	Attleboro
Spinus tristis tristis (Linnaeus, 1758)	1884	Collector(s): W. H. Lewis	Attleboro

All 610 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of West Mansfield: 12 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, PGE, Silver. 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
Glines & Rhodes Refin.--Plainville	Gold, PGE, Silver	Past Producer
Allen R. Nelson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Boro Sand and Stone Inc	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Boro Sand and Stone, Inc. Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Dorrance Inc	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Gary Nelson Excavating Co	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Pacella Brothers, Inc. Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Pine Street Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Plain Street Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Plainville Pit & Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Bristol County

Storms near this place

1 since 2023

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Mansfield in 1 storm report between 2023 and 2023: 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	West Mansfield	$500	In North Attleboro, there was a large tree down on power lines on Lindsay St.

Every storm recorded in Bristol 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
Purdy Corner	0.6 miles	40
Robinsonville	1.5 miles	39
Norton Grove	2.7 miles	33
Mansfield	2.8 miles	40
Chartley	3.6 miles	33
Centre Mills	3.6 miles	33
Norton	3.8 miles	33
East Mansfield	4.0 miles	40

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612545. 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.