BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: a small railway station beside the track, with a signal post. Not a photograph of this place.

Elm Street Fire Station

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 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.

From the record

“(1.) John R., born July "27, 1869; was graduated from Boston University with the degrees of A.B., A.M. and Ph.D.; married Jennie Florence Ditmars (B.U. '96), June 27, 1907; is a member of the New England Conference.”

John Ainsworth Dunn, Gardner, Massachusetts (1908). Machine-read text.

one of 500 National Register listings in Worcester County · listed in 1980 · category: Building · one of 1 National Historic Landmarks in Worcester County.

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 58 Elm St., Gardner, 01440
  • When was it listed? 1980-04-02
  • Category. building
  • Township. Gardner city
  • National Register reference number. 80001677 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

7,229 words

The chapter on Gardner City in John Ainsworth Dunn, Gardner, Massachusetts, published 1908 names Gardner. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

His first experience in the chair business was in 1852, when he worked in a factory in East Gardner, just below the farm of his greatgrandfather, giving three months' time to learn the art, which he has practised so many years. He also worked for a time in Fitchburg, and afterward in Ashburnham. In 1855, with less than fifty dollars in his pocket, he came to Gardner, finding employment in the works of the Heywood Chair Manufacturing Company, where he remained for the next nine years.

Passage source: John Ainsworth Dunn, Gardner, Massachusetts, published 1908.

In connection with the manufacturing plant at Gardner, offices, and warehouses are maintained at Chicago, Boston, and St. Paul, and in addition to the business passing through these houses, Mr. Dunn has a large direct trade with the principal chair manufacturers at home and abroad.

Passage source: John Ainsworth Dunn, Gardner, Massachusetts, published 1908.

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 Gardner City - 7,229 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

78 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Elm Street Fire Station between 2015 and 2020, burning about 40 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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
Debris and open burning45
Smoking11
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Recreation and ceremony5
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Arson/incendiarism2
Equipment and vehicle use1
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
27 September 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
28 August 2016Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
6 July 2016Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 July 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 July 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 July 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
29 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
26 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 567 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 567 specimens collected within 10 miles of Elm Street Fire Station between 1870 and 1973: 310 Plantae, 162 Animalia, 90 Fungi, 3 Protozoa, 1 Unrecorded, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A., A. B. Seymour, 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.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff.Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff.1895James F. CollinsSouth spur, Mount Wachusett
Specimen of Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.ClausenAthyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.Clausen1900DavenportPine Hill; Medford
A photograph of the species Carex maritima, not of this specimenCarex maritima Gunnerus1870J. W. CongdonWellville
A photograph of the species Veronica L., not of this specimenVeronica L.1871not recorded
A photograph of the species Hylesinus aculeatus, not of this specimenHylesinus aculeatus Say & T., 18241872unknownFitchburg
A photograph of the species Carex foenea, not of this specimenCarex foenea Willd.1878W. BoottWachusett Mountain
A photograph of the species Sibbaldiopsis tridentata, not of this specimenSibbaldiopsis tridentata (Aiton) Rydb.1879Bailey, W.W.summit of Mt. Wachusett
A photograph of the species Drosera rotundifolia, not of this specimenDrosera rotundifolia L.1882not recorded
A photograph of the species Linnaea borealis, not of this specimenLinnaea borealis subsp. longiflora (Torrey) Hultén1882not recorded
A photograph of the species Moneses uniflora, not of this specimenMoneses uniflora (L.) A.Gray1882M. A. M.Winchendon
A photograph of the species Peltandra virginica, not of this specimenPeltandra virginica (L.) Schott1892A.
Rosa rubiginosa L.1892not recorded

All 567 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Elm Street Fire Station: 5 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
City of GardnerSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Dines Roger PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Highway Pit & Gardner PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hubbardston Hwy Dept PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Otter River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Templeton Hwy Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Templeton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this property

26 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gardner, the town this property stands in, in 26 storm reports between 1995 and 2020: 14 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning, 2 flood. The reports record 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2003LightningGardner2 hurtno account filed
July 2014Thunderstorm WindGardner$30,000Eight trees and utility poles were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 1998LightningGardner$15,000no account filed
July 2014Thunderstorm WindGardner$10,000Trees, tree limbs, and wires on Camp Collier Road were downed by thunderstorm winds.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindGardner$5,000A tree and wires on Minott Road in Gardner were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindGardner$5,000A tree and several large tree limbs on Edgell STreet in Gardner were downed by thunderstorm winds. Trees in Ashuburnham also were downed with one blocking a road.
June 2020FloodGardner$4,000In Gardner, there were many areas of flooding. There was one foot of water on a section of Route 2A at 618 PM EST. A car was stuck in flooding on Timpany Blvd. at 643 PM EST. Chestnut Street at Union Square was flooded and impassable at 648 PM EST. A basement was flooded on Dean Street at 658 PM EST.
September 2018FloodGardner$3,000At 8:46 PM EST, a car was trapped in flood waters on Risley Street and John Street in Gardner.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindGardner$3,000no account filed
July 2018Thunderstorm WindEast Gardner$1,000At 11:58 AM EST, a thunderstorm over Westminster brought a tree down on Shady Avenue, blocking the road.
September 2018Flash FloodGardner-At 8:58 AM EST, Walnut Street in Gardner was flooded.
May 2015HailGardner-Penny size hail covered the ground.
August 2015HailGardner-Quarter to golf ball size hail fell in Gardner.
June 2007HailGardner-Penny size hail.
May 2015HailGardner-no account filed
May 2013HailGardner-no account filed
June 2011HailGardner-no account filed
May 2007HailGardner-no account filed
May 2004HailGardner-no account filed
August 2004Funnel CloudGardner-no account filed
May 2002HailGardner-no account filed
June 2002HailGardner-no account filed
August 2000HailGardner-no account filed
August 1999HailGardner-no account filed
May 1998HailGardner-no account filed
May 1995HailGardner-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Worcester County

Map coverage status

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.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

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 PropertyDistance Listed
Smith, F.W., Silver Company0.1 miles1979
Heywood, Levi, Memorial Library Building0.1 miles1979
First Minister's House0.3 miles1979
Lake Street Fire Station0.5 miles1980
Gardner News Building0.5 miles1979
Miss Toy Town Diner0.5 miles2003

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 80001677 in Record Group 79.
Worcester CountyAll 500 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • 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.