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

Whately, Massachusetts

42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Whately town. It lies in ZIP code area 01093. It stands on Great Swamp Brook. The Survey maps it on the Williamsburg quadrangle.

Whately within Franklin County

Then and now

1885 to 1990

The same ground, surveyed 105 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Whately, surveyed 1990
Topographic sheet of Whately, surveyed 1885

Compare 1885 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

42 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.

Fires nearby

35 since 2002

The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 35 fires within 5 miles of Whately between 2002 and 2020, burning about 48 acres in total. 2 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
Debris and open burning17
Recreation and ceremony8
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
19 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
18 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
1 August 2017Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 July 2004Naturalunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
29 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
29 June 2002Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachussetts State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
5 May 2020Debris and open burning3.7 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMATHEWS RIDGE FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 10,611 shown

Museums hold 10,611 specimens collected within 10 miles of Whately between 1781 and 1975: 4,038 Animalia, 3,922 Plantae, 2,417 Fungi, 130 Chromista, 90 Protozoa, 14 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A V Osmun, A., A. Allen 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Cercospora violae Sacc.Cercospora violae Sacc.1895Ralph E. SmithHothouse, Mass. Agr. College, Amherst
Specimen of Septoria petroselini Desm.Septoria petroselini Desm.1895R. E. SmithHothouse, Mass. Agr. College
Specimen of Camissonia LinkCamissonia Link1898B. L. Robinson
A photograph of the species Carex argyrantha, not of this specimenCarex argyrantha Tuck. ex Dewey1781H. G. JesupAmherst in Hampshire Co., and Leverett in Franklin Co., Massachusetts. [Inferred counties from precise loc.]
A photograph of the species Carex foenea, not of this specimenCarex foenea Willd.1781H. G. JesupAnd Leverett
A photograph of the species Ustilago nuda, not of this specimenUstilago nuda (C.N.Jensen) Kellerm. & Swingle1810J.E. Humphrey
A photograph of the species Ptilidium pulcherrimum, not of this specimenPtilidium pulcherrimum (Weber) Hampe1822Ebenezer Emmons
A photograph of the species Carex pauciflora, not of this specimenCarex pauciflora Lightf.1825Collector unspecifiedAshfield. [Inferred county from precise loc.]
A photograph of the species Ranunculus ambigens, not of this specimenRanunculus ambigens S.Watson1831S. Shurtleff
A photograph of the species Kalmia angustifolia, not of this specimenKalmia angustifolia f. angustifolia1838L. DeWetteNorthampton.
A photograph of the species Kalmia latifolia, not of this specimenKalmia latifolia var. latifolia1838L. DeWetteNorthampton.
A photograph of the species Pogonia ophioglossoides, not of this specimenPogonia ophioglossoides (L.) Ker Gawl.1838L. DeWetteNorthampton.

All 10,611 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

10 of 25 shown

The federal mineral resources record lists 25 workings within 5 miles of Whately: 9 occurrences, 8 prospects, 4 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Lead, Barium-Barite, Silver, Manganese. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Hatfield Lead MineBarium-Barite, Lead, ZincPast ProducerVein
Hatfield Lead MineBarium-Barite, Zinc, LeadProducerBarite, Galena, Sphalerite
Hatfield Lead MineBarium-Barite, Lead, ZincPast Producer
Whately - Conway Lead VeinsSilver, LeadOccurrenceGalena
Whately - Williamsburg Lead VeinsLead, ManganeseOccurrenceGalena
Southeast Conway Manganese ProspectManganeseProspect
Southeast of West Whately Galena VeinLead, SilverOccurrenceGalena
Sunderland Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Sunderland Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sunderland Pit Warner BrosSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms nearby

20 since 1994

The National Weather Service names Whately in 20 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 16 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2008Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$250,000Considerable tree damage was reported. Fallen trees littered roads making a few impassable. A few reports include: on Christian Lane, a twelve inch diameter tree snapped in two and two 50-70 foot tall trees were downed by thunderstorm winds. At the rest area on Route 91 and Chestnut Plain Road, several trees were downed.||According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, at least 100 acres of tobacco plants were destroyed with another 100 acres damaged, leaving an estimated $1 million in agricultural damages. Several corn fields were also destroyed.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$75,000Numerous trees, eight utility poles, and wires were downed throughout Whately, resulting in many power outages.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindWest Whately$40,000A 200-foot long tobacco barn, located where Long Plain Road becomes Straits Road, collapsed and was considered a complete loss from strong downburst winds, estimated around 70 mph. The barn had shifted toward the south during the storm, causing it to collapse. Damage also occurred to a dump truck and trailer that were inside the barn, which has recently been used for storage, instead of tobacco, according to a Greenfield Recorder article. Several other trees were downed near the location of the barn. In addition, amateur radio operators reported a tree down on Webber Road.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$10,000Trees and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds.
October 2020Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$5,000In both Deerfield and Whately, multiple trees were down in Interstate 91, with the highway blocked.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWhately$5,000A tree and wires on North Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$5,000Wires on Haydenville and Westbrook Roads were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$5,000Trees and wires on West Street and Mountain Road were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$3,000A tree on Route 5 was downed by thunderstorm winds, blocking a portion of the road.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindWest Whately$2,000At 553 PM EST, a tree and wires were reported down on Webber Road in Whately.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$1,500At 820 PM EST, a tree was reported down on wires at the near 500 River Road in Sutherland.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWest Whately$1,000In Whately, a tree was down on Haydenville Road at Westbrook Road. Another tree was down on Interstate 91 southbound.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWest Whately$500In Whately trees were downed on Weber and Haydenville Rd.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindWest Whately$500In the western part of Whately, a tree was down near the intersection of Haydenville Road and Webber Road. Time estimated by radar.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindEast Whately$300In Whatley, a tree fell and blocked Conway Rd.
June 2024FloodWest Whately-In West Springfield, there was flooding on Piper Cross St.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindWhately-Trees down on Christian Lane.
July 1994HailWhately-Trees were reported blown down, as reported by the local police.
May 2001HailWhately-no account filed
June 1996FloodWhately-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
East Whately1.1 miles42
South Deerfield3.0 miles42
Roaring Brook Camp3.4 miles42
Sunderland3.5 miles42
Mill River4.3 miles34
Conway5.9 miles34
Leverett Station6.0 miles42
North Sunderland6.0 miles32

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 608689. 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.