West Sutton, Massachusetts
43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Sutton town. It lies in ZIP code area 01590. It lies near Whittier Hill. The Survey maps it on the Oxford 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.


On record in West Sutton
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 within a mile 2 records
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
West Sutton Historic Districtlisted 2001 · 0.3 miles away
Waters Farmlisted 1985 · 0.9 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
19 surveys from 43 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
- 1946 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:24000
- 1953 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:24000
- 1969 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1969 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:25000
- 1975 USGS Oxford 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
14,748 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 Sutton Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
First Baptist Church (West Sutton). - The first Baptist Church in this town was organized September 16, 1735. It was the fourth oldest church of the denomination in Massachusetts. Backus, the Baptist historian, says, in regard to the founding of this first Baptist Church at Sutton, that a Mr. James Bound, a sensible Baptist, who had immigrated from I'jiigland and located in Salem Village, and had, with others become imbued with Baptist principles, removed and began a Baptist Society in Sutton.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.
Univeesalist Society. - This society was formed during the summer of 1840. In March, 1841, Rev. Alvin Abbott was engaged to preach one-half the time and the meetings were held in the hall at West Sutton. Mr. Abbott continued to preach for two years. After he left the society weakened and the last meeting of which there is any record is April 5, 1847.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.
A few of these schools, however, are remembered, and worthy of particular mention. One of them, called "Sutton High School," was established by Kev. George A. Willard, in 1835, in the hall of the brick mansion built l)y Mr. .James Freeland ; the school was afterward removed to West Sutton and continued several years. Mr. Willard was a superior teacher, as several of his former pupils now resident in town can testify.
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 Sutton Town - it names this place 1 more 1 time.
Fires near this place
54 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 54 fires within 5 miles of West Sutton between 2007 and 2020, burning about 29 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 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 | 15 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2015 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 25 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 15 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 15 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 9 August 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 August 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 31 August 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 9 July 2015 | 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:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 1,276 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,276 specimens collected within 10 miles of West Sutton between 1839 and 1974: 729 Plantae, 318 Animalia, 199 Fungi, 13 Protozoa, 12 Unrecorded, 5 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. A. Eaton, A. B. Seymour, A. B. Seymour et al. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh. | 1896 | Henderson | |
![]() | Coryneum pulvinatum Kunze | 1897 | D. Murray | |
![]() | Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon | 1899 | H. H. Scudder | |
![]() | Ochrolechia tartarea (L.) A.Massal. | 1839 | E. Tuckerman | |
![]() | Carex laxiflora Lam. | 1840 | Thomas Nuttall | Cambridge. |
![]() | Carex vestita Willd. | 1840 | Thomas Nuttall | Cambridge. |
![]() | Trichophorum planifolium (Spreng.) Palla | 1844 | Collector unspecified | Uxbridge |
![]() | Carex vesicaria L. | 1848 | J. W. Robbins | |
![]() | Mycobilimbia hypnorum (Lib.) Kalb & Hafellner | 1848 | E. Tuckerman | |
![]() | Potamogeton epihydrus Raf. | 1848 | J. W. Robbins | Uxbridge |
![]() | Carex aperta Boott | 1853 | W. Boott | Massachusetts |
![]() | Potamogeton bicupulatus Fernald | 1854 | W. J. Robbins | Uxbridge |
All 1,276 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 18 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 18 workings within 5 miles of West Sutton: 13 past producers, 4 producers, 1 plant. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Titanium, Metal. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester B Plant Ti | Titanium, Metal | Plant | ||
| Armour Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Barnett Road Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Boston Road Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| De Gaetano Brothers Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Direnzo Brothers Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Highway Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Lind Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Old Webster Road Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Oxford Quarry Plant #8 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
2 since 2019Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Sutton in 2 storm reports between 2019 and 2022: 1 flood, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Sutton | $3,500 | In Sutton, a large tree, power lines, and one utility pole were down on Douglas Road. |
| September 2019 | Flood | West Sutton | - | In Oxford, a portion of Sutton Avenue was closed due to flooding. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchard Hills Estates | 2.0 miles | 43 | |
| Manchaug | 3.1 miles | 46 | |
| Sutton | 3.2 miles | 44 | |
| Marions Camp | 3.2 miles | 44 | |
| Oxford | 3.5 miles | 43 | |
| West Millbury | 4.0 miles | 44 | |
| Hodges Village | 4.3 miles | 42 | |
| North Oxford | 4.4 miles | 44 |
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 Q122548899 | 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 610722. 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.






























