UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU RECORDS FOR THE CONCORD STATION (CONCORD, MASS.) AS OBSERVED BY FRED A. TOWER, 1890-1949
Fred Tower
Vault A100, Unit 2
EXTENT: 11.375 linear ft. (9 containers, 1 bound volume)
ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT: Organized into nine series: I. Monthly Weather Records; II. Daily Weather Records; III. Temperature Graphs (Monthly); IV. Temperature Graphs (Daily); V. Relative Humidity Graphs (Monthly); VI. Anemometer Graphs (Daily); VII. Barometer Graphs; VIII. Other Related Materials; and IX. Bound Volumes.
HISTORY:
BIOGRAPHY: Fred Alonzo Tower, born in Concord, on February 10, 1871 was the son of farmer Alonzo Tower and his wife Tryphena (Clark) Tower. Fred Tower married Anna M. Bishop and had one daughter, Barbara (b. 1895, d. 1916). Anna died in 1935, and Fred later married Katherine Gookin. He died in Concord in October, 1959. Fred Tower was Concord Postmaster, author of A History of Trinity Church, Concord, Massachusetts, and choirmaster of Trinity Church. He established the United States Weather Bureau Concord Station on July 1, 1890 and remained its volunteer observer for more than 60 years. His interests included music, poetry, and weather.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Records (1890-1949) relating to weather observations by the United States Weather Bureau’s Concord Station, located in Concord, Massachusetts. Includes: Monthly Weather Records ranging from 1980 to 1944, both typed and manuscript, with information regarding temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and barometric pressure and arranged in chronological order; Daily Weather Records ranging from 1940 to 1944 with information regarding daily weather observations, temperature, humidity, and wind direction, arranged chronologically; Temperature Graphs (Monthly) ranging from 1911 to 1933 and from 1940 to 1944, arranged chronologically; Temperature Graphs (Daily) ranging from 1940 to 1944, arranged chronologically; Relative Humidity Graphs (Monthly) ranging from 1925 to 1944 with gaps and arranged chronologically; Anemometer Graphs (Daily) ranging from 1898 to 1913 with gaps and arranged chronologically; Barometer Graphs ranging from 1897 to 1944 with gaps and arranged chronologically; and bound volumes of climatological data from 1890 to 1949 with gaps and arranged chronologically. Other related materials include typed correspondence, various weather calculations and statistical charts, solar eclipse observations, photographs, Hurricane of 1938 information, and subpoenas served on volunteer observer Fred A. Tower regarding weather observations he made at the Concord Station in Concord, Massachusetts.
SOURCES OF ACQUISITION: Partially established. Daily weather records from 1940 to 1944, description of weather station, a volume of climatological data from July 1890 to November 1949, a 1931 letter to Fred A. Tower from the Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C., average snowfall calculations from 1890 to 1944, and “means and extremes” calculations from 1890 to 1897: gift of Concord Journal, 1990.
NOTES/COMMENTS: For specific information on the United States Weather Bureau, Concord Station, Concord, Massachusetts, see Series VIII, Box 8, Folder 1. For Weather Service History see A Century of Weather Service by Patrick Hughes. For information on establishing an amateur weather station see Making and Using Your Own Weather Station by Beulah and Harold E. Tannenbaum..
PROCESSED BY: Ruthanne Sheinkopf; finding aid prepared 12/96. Edited and prepared for the Internet by Peter K. Steinberg, December 2005.
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
1 1 1890
2 1890 (Typed)
3 1891
4 1891 (Typed)
5 1892
6 1900 (Typed)
7 1901 (Typed)
8 1902 (Typed)
9 1903 (Typed)
10 1904 (Typed)
11 1905
12 1906
13 1907
14 1908
15 1909
16 1910
17 1911
18 1912
19 1913
20 1914
21 1915
22 1916
2 1 1917
2 1918
3 1919
4 1923
5 1921
6 1922
7 1923
8 1924
9 1925
10 1926
11 1927
3 1 1928
2 1929
3 1930
4 1931
5 1932
6 1933
7 1934
8 1935
9 1936
10 1937
11 1938
12 1939
13 1940
14 1941
15 1942
16 1943
17 1944 (January-July only)
SERIES II. DAILY WEATHER RECORDS, (1940-1944)
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
4 1 January 1940
2 February 1940
3 March 1940
4 April 1940
5 May 1940
6 June 1940
7 July 1940
8 August 1940
9 September 1940
10 October 1940
11 November 1940
12 December 1940
13 January 1941
14 February 1941
15 March 1941
16 April 1941
17 May 1941
18 June 1941
19 July 1941
20 August 1941
21 September 1941
22 October 1941
23 November 1941
24 December 1941
25 January 1942
26 February 1942
27 March 1942
28 April 1942
29 May 1942
30 June 1942
31 July 1942
32 August 1942
33 September 1942
34 October 1942
35 November 1942
36 December 1942
37 January 1943
38 February 1943
39 March 1943
40 April 1943
41 May 1943
42 June 1943
43 July 1943
44 August 1943
45 September 1943
46 October 1943
47 November 1943
48 December 1943
49 January 1944
50 February 1944
51 March 1944
52 April 1944
53 May 1944
54 June 1944
55 July 1944
SERIES III. TEMPERATURE GRAPHS (MONTHLY), 1911-1933/1940-1944:
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
5 1 1911
2 1912
3 1913
4 1914
5 1915
6 1916
7 1917
8 1918
9 1919
10 1920
11 1921
12 1922
13 1923
14 1924
15 1925
16 1926
17 1927
18 1928
19 1929
20 1930
6 1 1931
2 1932
3 1933
4 1940
5 1941
6 1942
7 1943
8 1944 (January-July only)
SERIES IV. TEMPERATURE GRAPHS (DAILY), 1940-1944:
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
6 9 January-March 1940
10 April-June 1940
11 July-September 1940
12 October-December 1940
13 January-March 1941
14 April-June 1941
15 July-September 1941
16 October-December 1941
17 January-March 1942
18 April-June 1942
19 July-September 1942
20 October-December 1942
7 1 January-March 1943
2 April-June 1943
3 July-September 1943
4 October-December 1943
5 January-March 1944
6 April-June 1944
7 July 1944
SERIES V. RELATIVE HUMIDITY GRAPHS (MONTHLY), 1925-1933/1940-1944:
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
7 8 1925 (August-October only)
9 1926 (January and June missing)
10 1927
11 1928
12 1929
13 1930
14 1931
15 1932
16 1933
17 1940
18 1941
19 1942
20 1943
21 1944
SERIES VI. ANEMOMETER GRAPHS (DAILY), 1898-1913:
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
8 1 1898 (September-November only, with gaps)
2 1899 (August-September only, with gaps)
3 1905 (August 20-21, only)
4 1913 (February-May only, with gaps)
SERIES VII. BAROMETER GRAPHS, 1897-1944
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
8 5 1897 (December only)
5a 1898
5b 1899 (January-August only)
5c 1915 (December 13, 28 only)
6 1917 (January-March only, with gaps)
7 1919 (February-March, with gaps)
8 1920 (January only, with gaps)
9 1925 (September-October only, with gaps)
10 1927 (February 21 only)
11 1932 (February 29-March 7 only)
12 1940
13 1941
14 1942
15 1943
16 1944 (January-July only)
SERIES VIII. OTHER RELATED MATERIALS, 1890-1949
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
8 17 Establishment of the Concord Station (undated)
18 April 29, 1920, letter to Fred A. Tower from Weather
Bureau (Washington, D.C.)
19 November 18, 1931, Letter to Fred A. Tower from Weather
Bureau (Boston, Mass.)
20 Normal Relative Humidity Calculations for New England
(9 years)
21 Average Snowfall Calculations (1890-1944)
22 Average Monthly Precipitation and Temperature
Calculations (1890-1949)
23 1901 Barometer Reading Corrections
24 Wind Movement Calculations (1899, 1944)
25 Observations of Solar Eclipse (August 31, 1932)
26 Picture Postcards – Concord, Mass., February 11, 1926
27 Monthly Meteorological Summary (1890-1898, with gaps)
28 “Means and Extremes” Calculations for 1890-1897
(Precipitation and Temperature)
29 Miscellaneous Statistical Charts (1908-1912)
30 Miscellaneous Calculations (undated)
31 Non-Concord Weather Information
32 Daily Weather Maps from Boston Papers
33 Weather Bureau Pamphlets (1901)
34 New England Weather Journal (December 10, 1890)
35 Weather Bureau Instructions and Tables for Calculations
36 Grand Jury/Civil Subpoenas Served on Fred A. Tower
regarding Concord Weather
37 Daily Report Slips (only three: December 1, 1920,
February 21, 19--, and July 31, 19--)
38 News Clippings regarding Hurricane of 1938
39 Pictures of Concord Following Hurricane of 1938
40 Pamphlet – “Concord’s Hurricane and Flood” – September
21, 1938
8A 1 U.S. Weather Bureau Daily Weather Map (September 19,
1938)
2 U.S. Weather Bureau Daily Weather Map (September 20,
1938)
3 U.S. Weather Bureau Daily Weather Map (September 21,
1938)
4 U.S. Weather Bureau Daily Weather Map (September 22,
1938)
SERIES IX. BOUND VOLUMES, 1890-1949
BOX FOLDER CONTENTS
9 1 Climatological Data for 1894
2 Climatological Data for 1899
3 Climatological Data for 1900
4 Climatological Data for 1901
5 Climatological Data for 1902
6 Climatological Data for 1903
7 Climatological Data for 1904
(unboxed) 8 Climatological Data for July 1890 – November 1949
(Arranged by month)
c2005 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.
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