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

Wilmington, Massachusetts

41 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1988. It stands in Wilmington town. It lies in ZIP code area 01887. It stands on Pine Hill. The Survey maps it on the Wilmington quadrangle.

Wilmington 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 Wilmington, surveyed 1988

Topographic sheet of Wilmington, surveyed 1886

Topographic sheets covering this place

41 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

13,683 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 Wilmington Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The surface of Wilmington is not remarkably level, but presents several level plains which pleasantly contrast with some hills of prominence and bi'aiity. And tlie placid Silver Lake should not he passed liy. The stranger who visits it in summer cannot fail to admire its natural beauty. It is situated in the northwest part of the town, and contains some tliirty-five acres. The character of the soil is not very generally celebrated for its productions; yet a large portion will well reward judii-ious rulti\ation.

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

To tills territory was added a narrow strip of land lying on the westerly side of Reading, which was also early open to settlement. The names given to particular localities as earlv as 1()5S are still retaine.l. - as Coslieii, Xod, .Maple-meadow Brook, Lebanon, an,IJ.a(lder-l'ole. The two last are extcaisive cedar swamps which still maintain their early signilii'ai ion and value. JIaplc-meadow Brook is the main blanch of Ipswich River, wliich takes its rise iu Burlington, and after entering Wilmington takes a northeasterly course for about five miles, when it enters A'orth Reading. There are also li\c brooks whose waters flow into this one from the west side; four of which each operate a mill for a portion of the year.

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

In like manner the tyranny of the mother country, which brought on the Revolutionary War, was met and resisted with patriotic ardor and determination. AYilmingtou in that struggle was up to the exigency of the hour, and honorably took her share of the burden. A company of men was here enlisted, under the command of Captain John Harnden, whose name was a guaranty of valor and success. Colonel Henry Harnden, a descendant from a branch of the captain's family, and a native of Wilmington, rendered distinguished service at the head of a Wisconsin regiment iu the War of the Rebellion.

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 Wilmington Town - it names this place 34 more 34 times.

Fires near this place

36 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 36 fires within 5 miles of Wilmington between 2015 and 2020, burning about 17 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
Debris and open burning	21
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	11
Equipment and vehicle use	1
Railroad operations and maintenance	1
Recreation and ceremony	1
Misuse of fire by a minor	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
9 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
17 June 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
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
8 May 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	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
6 May 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3.0 acres	Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control	not named
30 May 2020	Debris and open burning	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 856 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 856 specimens collected within 10 miles of Wilmington between 1898 and 1975: 379 Animalia, 341 Plantae, 118 Fungi, 8 Bacteria, 6 Unrecorded, 3 Protozoa, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A B. Proper, A. E. Feldman 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
Trientalis borealis Raf.	1900	A. P. Chute
Aglaospora profusa (Fr.) De Not.	1898	Collector unspecified
Cantharellus infundibuliformis (Scop.) Fr.	1898	not recorded	Melrose.
Cladonia rangiferina (L.) Weber	1898	Francis P Daniels	Arlington Heights
Cordyceps capitata (Holmsk.) Link	1898	Conant, [?] F.	Middlesex Fells
Ctenidium malacodes Mitt.	1898	not recorded
Cucurbitaria elongata (Fr.) Grev.	1898	J. G. Hall
Aphanochaete repens A.Braun	1900	F. S. Collins	Middlesex Fells, Wright's Pond, on Oedogonium, etc.
Batrachospermum gelatinosum (L.) DC.	1900	F.S. Collins	Malden
Batrachospermum moniliforme Sirodot	1900	F. S. Collins	Malden, MA
Betula alleghaniensis Britton	1900	E. F. Williams
Boletus frostii J.L.Russell	1900	A. W. Flint

All 856 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Wilmington: 8 past producers, 4 producers, 2 plants, 1 unknown. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Titanium, Iron. 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
Austin Hastings--Woburn, Ma.	Iron	Plant
Heffron Asphalt Corp	Titanium, Metal	Past Producer
Dynamet Tech--Burlington, Ma.	Titanium	Plant
Heffron Asphalt Co--Wilmington, Ma.	Titanium	Past Producer
Marlborough Plant/Polishing Plates	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
North Wilmington Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Roma Stone Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Acme Concrete Co. Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Benevento Sand and Gravel	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Drinkwater Quarry	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this place

22 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wilmington in 22 storm reports between 1996 and 2022: 9 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 4 lightning, 3 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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
August 2008	Lightning	Wilmington	1 hurt, $5,000	A car was struck by lightning on Route 93 near Route 129. There was one minor injury.
June 1998	Flash Flood	Wilmington	$570,000	Shawsheen River
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilmington	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and wires in Wilmington.
September 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilmington	$15,000	Trees and wires on Evans Drive and Middlesex Avenue were downed by thunderstorm winds. One of the trees on Evans Drive was downed onto a house.
July 2008	Lightning	Wilmington	$15,000	A house on Shady Brook Lane was struck by lightning and caught fire.
July 2008	Lightning	Wilmington	$15,000	A house on Pinewood Lane was struck by lightning and caught fire.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	South Wilmington	$13,000	Trees on West Street in South Wilmington and wires in Stoneham were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilmington	$10,000	no account filed
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilmington	$8,000	Several trees across Wilmington were downed by thunderstorm winds. This includes a tree down on a house on Lawrence Street and a tree down across the railroad tracks.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	South Wilmington	$7,000	At 115 PM EST, a large tree was down on a house on Temple Street in Reading.
July 2004	Lightning	Wilmington	$5,000	no account filed
May 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	South Wilmington	$4,000	In Reading, a tree was down onto a garage on Summer Avenue.
September 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	South Wilmington	$1,000	At 3:25 PM EST, wind brought a tree down on North Washington Street in Woburn.
September 2022	Flood	North Wilmington	-	In Wilmington, flooding was reported on the corner of North St. and Middlesex Ave. Relayed by amateur radio.
September 2015	Flood	South Wilmington	-	The exit 36 off ramp from Interstate 95 was closed due to flooding.
August 2015	Hail	Wilmington	-	no account filed
March 2012	Hail	Wilmington	-	no account filed
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilmington	-	no account filed
July 2000	Hail	Wilmington	-	no account filed
July 1999	Hail	Wilmington	-	no account filed
October 1996	Flash Flood	Wilmington	-	no account filed
October 1996	Flash Flood	Wilmington	-	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
Fox Hill	1.5 miles	41
North Wilmington	1.8 miles	41
Silver Lake	1.8 miles	41
South Wilmington	2.3 miles	41
North Woburn	2.8 miles	41
The Pines	2.8 miles	41
Wilmington Junction	3.1 miles	41
Burlington	3.1 miles	41

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612263. 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.