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

Westford, Massachusetts

43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Westford town. It lies in ZIP code area 01886. It stands on Blakes Hill. The Survey maps it on the Westford quadrangle.

Westford within Middlesex County

Then and now

1886 to 1988

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 Westford, surveyed 1988

Topographic sheet of Westford, surveyed 1886

Topographic sheets covering this place

43 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

17,609 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 Westford Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The surface of the town is broken by numerous hills, the highest of which is Prospect Hill, about tJiree hundred feet above the level of Stony Brook. Others are known as Francis, Providence, Tadmuck, Bear, Sparks, Rattlesnake, Kissacook, Snake- Meadow, Conscience, Flushing, Oak, and Blake's, none of thein of any considerable ])rominence. The pretty little stream that meanders though the town is worthy of a more characteristic name than Stony Brook. Its charming valley below Westford Station appeals to the sense of beauty in every beholder. Several ponds in the north part sparkle in the sunlight of the long summer day. The largest, Nebunnussuck, half a mile from Brookside, has an area of 123 acres. It is much frequented by excursion parties from Lowell and elsewhere. Long-souglit-for Pond comes next, with an area of 107 acres; then Keyes, 40 acres; Bulge's, 25 acres; Flushing, 20 acres. That part of Forge Pond which lies in Westford comprises an area of 104 acres. The soil in the south and east parts of the town is good ; in the north part it is sandy.

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

When the struggle came, in 1775, the people of this town were among the first to leave their homes to drive back the British troops from Concord. In the fight at the North Bridge, April 19, Colonel John Robinson, of this town, stood by the side of Davis and Buttrick when the British advanced upon the Americans, and the first shot sent a ball under Colonel Robinson's arm. Dr. Ripley says that a company from Westford had just entered the bounds of Concord when the fight took place. The state archives in Boston show that two companies left Westford that morning for Concord, and although not present at the first skirmish, they joined in pursuit of the retreating foe, and did good service. The first company consisted of fifty-eight men, and was led by Captain Timothy Underwood. The other consisted of thirty-six men under Captain Oliver Bates. It is stated on good authority that Captain Bates received a wound that day from which he did not recover, but died JiJly 4, 1775. In Colonel Swett's list of companies in Colonel Prescott's regiment at tiie battle of Bunker Hill are the names of Joshua Parker, captain ; Amaziah Fassett, first lieutenant ; Thomas Rogers, second lieutenant. These were Westford men. This shows that the town jiarticipated in the first battle of the Revolution. One of her citizens, Joseph Minot, gave up his life in that battle.

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

March 5, 1781, the committee of correspondence and safety consisted of Francis Leighton, Captain Zaccheus Wright, Joshua Read, Captain Pelatiah Fletcher, and Dr. Asajih Fletcher, all new men except Dr. Fletcher. Dr. Fletcher was one of the most ardent patriots in the town during the period of the Revolution. He was a man of vigorous purpose, large intelligence, and strict integrity. After the war was over he removed, and settled in Cavendish, Vermont, in 1787. He was the father of Hon. Richard Fletcher, late of Boston, and of ex-Governor Eyland Fletcher, of Vermont.

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 Westford Town - it names this place 48 more 48 times.

Fires near this place

39 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 39 fires within 5 miles of Westford between 2015 and 2020, burning about 19 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 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
Debris and open burning	20
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	15
Recreation and ceremony	2
Natural	1
Arson/incendiarism	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
6 September 2015	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
24 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
24 June 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.5 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
18 June 2016	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	NEEDHAM
8 May 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
8 May 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
5 May 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
3 May 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:

Every fire recorded in Middlesex 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 Westford between 1898 and 1975: 311 Animalia, 147 Plantae, 82 Fungi, 64 Protozoa, 3 Unrecorded, 3 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. C. Gibson, A. F. Newton 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
Boletus griseus Frost	1898	H. Webster
Exosporium pusillum P.Karst.	1898	King C. A.	Stony Brook
Salix eriocephala Michx.	1898	E. F. Williams
Viola brittoniana Pollard	1898	Henry A. Purdie
Galium tinctorium (L.) Scop.	1899	not recorded
Marsilea quadrifolia L.	1899	not recorded
Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.	1900	Thaxter, R.	Stony Brook
Boletus frostii J.L.Russell	1900	A. W. Flint
Cephalanthus occidentalis L.	1900	M. Rodman	Concord.
Nuphar advena (Aiton) Aiton	1900	M. Rodman	Concord.
Salix humilis var. microphylla (Andersson) Fernald	1900	M. Rodman	Concord.
Alabama argillacea (Hübner, 1823)	1930	not recorded	Lowell

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

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 31 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 31 workings within 5 miles of Westford: 20 past producers, 9 producers, 2 plants. 11 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Graphite. 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
Fiber Matls Plant--Graniteville, Ma	Graphite	Plant
Chelmsford Mill	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Plant
West Chelmsford Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Fletcher Westford Quarry	Granite	Producer
Forest Road Quarry	Granite	Past Producer
Guilmette Bros Granite	Granite	Past Producer	Granite
H E Fletcher Co	Granite	Past Producer	Granite
Le Masurier Granite Quarry Inc	Granite	Past Producer	Granite
Le Masurier Quarry and Mill	Granite	Producer
North Chelmsford Quarry	Granite	Producer

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

16 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Westford in 16 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 11 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning, 2 hail, 1 flood. The reports record 1 death and 9 injuries. 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 2000	Lightning	Westford	1 killed, 3 hurt	no account filed
July 2004	Lightning	Westford	6 hurt	no account filed
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$25,000	At 5:30 PM EST at tree fell into a house on Sequoia Road in Westford.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$10,000	Two large trees were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$10,000	no account filed
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$8,000	Large branches and a transformer near Cold Spring Road were downed by thunderstorm winds resulting in brief power outages. In addition, several utility poles along Graniteville Road were blown down, resulting in the closure of that road at its intersection with Main Street.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$5,000	Trees on Palermo Road and Pleasant Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$5,000	A tree on Howard Road was downed onto a car by thunderstorm winds.
September 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$3,000	A tree at the intersection of North and Dempsey Streets was downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$1,000	Four inch diameter branches along Main Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	$500	In Westford, a tree was down on Littleton Road.
July 2023	Flood	Westford	-	In Westford, parts of Rt 110 were flooded.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	-	Trees down on Pine Hill Road.
August 2015	Hail	Westford	-	no account filed
July 2000	Hail	Westford	-	no account filed
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Westford	-	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
Westford Station	1.2 miles	43
East Littleton	1.6 miles	43
Camp Wakitatina	1.6 miles	43
Camp Cielo Celeste	1.6 miles	43
Camp Nashoba	1.7 miles	43
Graniteville	1.7 miles	43
Parkerville	1.9 miles	43
Ward Corner	2.2 miles	43

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 611301. 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.