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

Woodland, Massachusetts

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Newton City. It lies in ZIP code area 02466. It stands on Beacon Hill. The Survey maps it on the Newton quadrangle.

Woodland within Middlesex County

Then and now

1893 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Woodland, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Woodland, surveyed 1893

Topographic sheets covering this place

46 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 Newton city, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880 - Newton City

Newton

JbIj^ 1700, M. 63. Capt. Noab, of Newton, an Officer in the Expedition against Canada. Killed in battle with the Freoch and Indians July C, 1C90. M. 50, leaving t son Thomas. Ebeneser, oC Newton, died June 21, 1691. .fi. 45. ... . . J. B. Jepson, Newton Comer, rereals many gravestones whose inscriptions are no longer l^ble, and others, recalling the names which filled a laige place in the early history of the town, and Belonged to the founders of its institutions and the authors of its prosperity.

Read the rest of this passage

In the county-history sources

124,955 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 Newton City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

As the times grew more threatening, the selectmen were authorized to procure fire-arms for those who were too poor to furnish them. John Pigeon gave the town two field-pieces, which were accepted by the town with thanks, and a vote was passed, January 2, 1775, to raise a company of thirty -two minute-men, who were to meet half a day every week through the winter for drill, and every man was to be paid for his time the sum of eightpence, or, as afterwards stated, one shilling, and the eight ofGcers eight shillings per day " over and above i the shilling each."

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

Lasell Female Seminary, in Auburndale, was commenced in the fall of 1851, by Professor Edward Lasell. The large building occupied by the institution was erected in the same year. Professor Lasell died soon after the institution was opened, and it was taken in charge by Josiah Lasell, a brother of the professor, and a brother-in-law, George W. Briggs, Esq., under whom it enjoyed a marked degree of prosperity. In 1864 the projjerty was purchased by Professor C. W. Gushing. In 1873 it was acquired by ten gentlemen of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and reopened under the superintendence of Professor Charles C. Bragdon. About eighteen hundred young ladies have been attendants of the school.

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

After the decease of Mr. Meriam, the fourth pastor of the First Parish, in the year 1780, the town and parisli having become distinct from each other, the First Church and society united in calling Rev. Jonathan Homer to be their pastor, and the invitation was accepted. The ordination occurred February \A-, 1782. At the public service in the meeting-house the church formally renewed their call, and the pastor elect in like manner renewed his acceptance of it. Dr. Homer graduated at Harvard University in 1777, and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Brown University. His entire ministry as sole pastor of the church was forty-four years. His whole residence with the church was fifty-one years and six months. During his ministry a new church was built, the fourth from the commencement of the town, and dedicated November 21, 1805. His principal study for many years was directed to ascertaining the precise condition in which the English version of the Bible was left by the translators of King James, and the successive variations in the text in the translations of Wicklitfe, ilatthewe, Tyndale, Coverdale, Rogers, and the rest. Dr. Homer manifested great enthusiasm ni this branch of study, and wrote many notes, which he proposed at a future time to publish. But he left them at his decease in a scattered and disordered state, so that no use could be made of them. Dr. Homer died August 11, 1813. Dr. John Codman of Dorchester preached on the occasion of his funeral. November 11, 1827, the infirmities of Dr. Homer being such as to require aid in the pastoral work, Riv. .lames iiates was ordained colleague pastor, and they lioili resigned the charge simultaneously, April 7, 1S3!1. Rev. William Bushnell was installed pastor in May, 1812; resigned December 13, 1810; died .Vpril 28, 187'.i'. Daniel L. Furber was ordained December 1, 1817.

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 Newton City - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Fires near this place

110 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 110 fires within 5 miles of Woodland between 2003 and 2020, burning about 382 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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
Recreation and ceremony56
Missing data/not specified/undetermined37
Debris and open burning10
Arson/incendiarism3
Smoking2
Other causes1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
8 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
23 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWELLESLEY
21 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM
14 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlNEEDHAM

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Middlesex County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 2,504 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,504 specimens collected within 10 miles of Woodland between 1898 and 1975: 1,365 Animalia, 590 Plantae, 494 Fungi, 29 Protozoa, 13 Bacteria, 10 Chromista, 3 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A B Seymour, A. B. Seymour 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 Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 18221900not recordedWayland
A photograph of the species Actaea pachypoda, not of this specimenActaea pachypoda Elliott1898Ernest Charles Smith
Aglaospora profusa (Fr.) De Not.1898Collector unspecified
A photograph of the species Antennaria howellii, not of this specimenAntennaria howellii subsp. canadensis (Greene) R.J.Bayer1898Williams, E.F.
A photograph of the species Antennaria parlinii, not of this specimenAntennaria parlinii subsp. fallax (Greene) R.J.Bayer & Stebbins1898not recorded
A photograph of the species Antennaria plantaginifolia, not of this specimenAntennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Hook.1898not recorded
A photograph of the species Acanthis flammea, not of this specimenAcanthis flammea flammea (Linnaeus, 1758)1900ZAPPEY, W RROSLINDALE
A photograph of the species Acer carpinifolium, not of this specimenAcer carpinifolium Siebold & Zucc.1900A. K. HarrisonHarvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge.
A photograph of the species Acer palmatum, not of this specimenAcer palmatum var. dissectum (Thunb.) Miq.1900A. K. HarrisonHarvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge.
A photograph of the species Agaricus brunnescens, not of this specimenAgaricus brunnescens Peck1900Morris, G. E.Waltham
A photograph of the species Agonopterix atrodorsella, not of this specimenAgonopterix atrodorsella Clemens, 18631900E. J. SmithSherborn
A photograph of the species Alnus incana, not of this specimenAlnus incana subsp. rugosa (Du Roi) R.T.Clausen1900J. Murdoch, Jr.Roxbury

All 2,504 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Woodland: 6 past producers, 1 producer, 1 plant. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium). 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
Nrc Inc--Newton, Ma.Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium)Plant
Massachusetts Broken Stone CoStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Weston MineStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Burton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Greendale PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Town of NeedhamSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Town of WellesleySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Town of WellesleySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working 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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Newton Lower Falls0.8 miles46
Auburndale0.9 miles46
Waban1.0 miles46
West Newton1.1 miles46
Newton1.7 miles46
Eliot1.9 miles46
Newton Upper Falls1.9 miles46
Newtonville2.2 miles46

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 612410. 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.