Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.
one of 500 National Register listings in Worcester County · listed in 2011 · category: Site · one of 1 National Historic Landmarks in Worcester County.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Searles Hill Cemetery between 2015 and 2020, burning about 9 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 | 13 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 July 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 18 July 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 9 June 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 30 June 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 17 June 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 16 June 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 15 June 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 May 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,708 specimens collected within 10 miles of Searles Hill Cemetery between 1839 and 1975: 825 Animalia, 462 Fungi, 397 Plantae, 15 Unrecorded, 9 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A., A. C. V. Schott, A. J. Stone 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Osmunda regalis L. | 1900 | Bates, J.A. | Royalston. |
 | Bartramia pomiformis Hedw. | 1839 | unknown | Barre |
 | Carex gracillima Schwein. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Carex intumescens Rudge | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Carex lacustris Willd. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Carex stipata Muhl. ex Willd. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Cypripedium acaule Aiton | 1839 | M. S. Bebb | Barre |
 | Peltandra virginica (L.) Schott | 1892 | A. | |
| Rosa rubiginosa L. | 1892 | not recorded | ||
| Calyptospora goeppertiana J.G.Kühn | 1895 | not recorded | US, Massachusetts, Barre | |
| Vaccinium corymbosum L. | 1895 | not recorded | US, Massachusetts, Barre |
All 1,708 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Searles Hill Cemetery: 1 past producer, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarks Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Jagger Mine | Iron | Occurrence | 1845 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Phillipston, the town this property stands in, in 7 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Phillipston | $5,000 | A tree and wires on Willis Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Phillipston | $5,000 | Wires on Main Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Phillipston | $500 | In Phillipston, two trees were down on wires on State Rd. |
| June 2019 | Hail | Phillipston | - | At 1:27 PM EST, three-quarter inch diameter hail was reported at Phillipston MA. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Phillipston | - | Penny size hail. |
| August 2002 | Hail | Phillipston | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Phillipston | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| District No. 4 School | 3.2 miles | 2016 | |
| Prescott Town House | 3.7 miles | 1989 | |
| Gay Farm | 5.7 miles | 1977 | |
| Old Town Hall | 6.2 miles | 1987 | |
| No. 4 Schoolhouse | 6.4 miles | 1988 | |
| Athol High School | 6.5 miles | 2011 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 11000665 in Record Group 79. |
| Worcester County | All 500 listed properties in this county. |
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