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Photograph of Wollaston Branch Library
Photograph by Jameslwoodward, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Wollaston Branch, Thomas Crane Public Library

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. 17 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1893.

From the record

One of 342 National Register listings published here for Norfolk County · listed in 1989 · category: Building.

Sources: 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. 41 Beale St., Quincy, 02170
  • When was it listed? 1989-09-20
  • Category. building
  • Also known as. Quincy MRA
  • City. Quincy city
  • Architectural style. Neoclassical architecture
  • National Register reference number. 89001316 - 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

94,488 words

The chapter on Quincy City in History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884 names Quincy. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Such was the first recorded visit of Huropeans to Quincy, and the name of the peninsula which the party visited still stands as a memorial of the event. That it was then called Squantum is not certain, though the explorers not improbably did at that time vive those names of Allerton and Brewster, which they have borne ever since, to points in the bay.

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

At the time of Standish's visit the territory since called Quincy was occupied by a poor remnant of the Massachusetts tribe of Indians, some forty to sixty in number. The them. Some years before he had dwelt at Mount Wollaston, which had then been cleared and cultisachem Chickatabot ruled over vated, and the shell-heaps still to be found thereabouts indicate that it was a favorite Indian resort. North of Mount Wollaston, and between it and the Neponset, in that region since locally known as '"' The Farms," was, and still is, a broad, open plain called the flourishing days of the tribe to have been its gather- their time in games and feasting. Indeed, the name of the tribe is supposed to have been derived from the small savin-crowned hummock, lying between the Fields and Squantum, and bearing in its shape some more or less fanciful resemblance to an arrow's head.* It would thus appear that not only was the name of the commonwealth derived from a spot within the limits of Quincy, but it was within those limits also that the Massachusetts tribe found that common gathering-place which was to them what the Isthmian fields were to the Greeks. The eastern slope of the Blue Hills and the shores of Quincy Bay were the cradle, the home, and the grave of the race.

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

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 Quincy City - 94,488 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

224 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 224 fires within 5 miles of Wollaston Branch, Thomas Crane Public Library between 2015 and 2020, burning about 131 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
Recreation and ceremony155
Smoking34
Missing data/not specified/undetermined18
Debris and open burning14
Fireworks2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
7 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
7 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
5 September 2016Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlQUINCY
28 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
23 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
22 September 2015Recreation and ceremony1.5 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
20 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE

Every fire recorded in Norfolk County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 11,581 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 11,581 specimens collected within 10 miles of Wollaston Branch, Thomas Crane Public Library between 1810 and 1975: 5,350 Plantae, 2,872 Fungi, 2,728 Animalia, 352 Chromista, 195 Protozoa, 54 Unrecorded, 30 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by (MARSDEN, H W), ?, A C Gibson 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 Lysimachia × producta (A.Gray) FernaldLysimachia × producta (A.Gray) Fernald1900A. P. Chute
A photograph of the species Thalictrum L., not of this specimenThalictrum L.1810Boott, J.W.Near Boston.
A photograph of the species Anemone L., not of this specimenAnemone L.1815Boott, J.Andover Turnpike, 7 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Corylus L., not of this specimenCorylus L.1815not recordedCambridge Port, 2 miles from Boston.
Ericaceae1815BoottBoston, U.S.A.
A photograph of the species Hepatica Mill., not of this specimenHepatica Mill.1815Boott, F.M.B.Sweet Auburn.
A photograph of the species Limonium vulgare, not of this specimenLimonium vulgare Mill.1815not recordedOn Cragies Road [=near Cragies Bridge], 1 1/2 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Mollugo verticillata, not of this specimenMollugo verticillata L.1815Boott, F.M.B.Boston.
A photograph of the species Nuphar Sm., not of this specimenNuphar Sm.1815Boott, J.W.Worcester Turnpike 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Persicaria Mill., not of this specimenPersicaria (L.) Mill.1815Boott, J.W.Craigie's Road, 2 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Populus L., not of this specimenPopulus L.1815not recordedCambridgeport, 1 mile from Boston.
A photograph of the species Ranunculus L., not of this specimenRanunculus L.1815not recordedThicket at South Boston.

All 11,581 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Wollaston Branch, Thomas Crane Public Library: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Braintree PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Old Colony Crushed StoneGranitePast ProducerGranite
Old Colony QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Norfolk County

Storms near this property

29 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Quincy, the town this property stands in, in 29 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 8 flood, 5 flash flood, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
November 2002Storm Surge/TideQuincy$15,000no account filed
August 2015LightningQuincy$10,000Lightning struck a house on Vassall Road, shattering the chimney and breaking a water pipe near the chimney.
August 2010FloodWest Quincy$8,000Several streets in the area of Quincy, Braintree, and Milton were flooded with one to two feet of water. One car was stuck in flood waters at Granite and Chickatawbut Roads in Quincy.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindQuincy$5,000In Quincy, a tree was down on a car at the intersection of Evans Street and West Squantum Street. A person was trapped and extricated, but fortunately was uninjured. Police report relayed by amateur radio.
April 2017FloodWest Quincy$5,000At 944 AM EST an amateur radio operator reported a flooded basement on Bunker Hill Lane in Quincy.
June 2016FloodQuincy$5,000A car was stuck in 3 to 4 feet of water near the intersection of Willard and Robertson Streets.
August 2016FloodWest Quincy$5,000A car was stuck in flood waters on Independence Avenue and Bennington Street.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindQuincy$5,000no account filed
August 2005Flash FloodQuincy$5,000no account filed
August 2005Thunderstorm WindQuincy$5,000no account filed
August 2001Thunderstorm WindQuincy$5,000no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindQuincy$1,500In Quincy, trees were down on Holbrook Road at Newport Avenue. A tree was down on Warren Avenue.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWest Quincy$1,000In Quincy, a tree was down at 49 Nelson Street. Also, a tree was down on Furnace Brook Parkway.
July 2017FloodWest Quincy$1,000At 511 PM EST, an amateur radio operator reported Vernon Street flooded and impassable, with cars stuck in the flooding.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindQuincy$500In Quincy, there was a report of a tree down - street unknown.
July 2025Flash FloodQuincy-In Quincy, significant flooding was occurring on the southeast Expressway.
July 2025Flash FloodQuincy-In Quincy, I-93 northbound was closed due to flooding in the Furnace Brook area.
July 2023Flash FloodQuincy-In Quincy, DPW assistance was requested for flooding on Enterprise Dr.
July 2023Flash FloodWest Quincy-In Quincy, I-93 North at exit 9 had the middle and right lanes flooded and impassable.
August 2017FloodWest Quincy-At 349 PM EST, a car was trapped in street flooding at junction of Independence Avenue and Bennington Street in Quincy.
July 2017FloodWest Quincy-At 333 PM EST, multiple cars were trapped in flood waters on Water Street in Quincy.
June 2016FloodNorth Quincy-Standish Road was impassable due to flooding near the intersection with Parke Avenue.
May 2015HailQuincy-no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindQuincy-no account filed
June 2000HailQuincy-no account filed
June 2000HailQuincy-no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindQuincy-no account filed
July 2000LightningQuincy-no account filed
October 1995Thunderstorm WindQuincy-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Norfolk County

Maps showing this location

17 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

From the nomination file

1,453 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is reproduced in full on its own page, word for word and never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

The whole case file for this property - 1,453 words, 13 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 89001316, 13 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

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, A. C., & Co. Gas Station0.2 miles1994
David L. Jewell House0.2 miles1989
Jonathan Dexter Record House0.2 miles1989
Wollaston Unitarian Church0.3 miles1989
House at 94 Grandview Avenue0.3 miles1989
Wollaston Congregational Church0.3 miles2008

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 89001316 in Record Group 79.
Norfolk CountyAll 342 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.