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Babson Park, Florida

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Lake Wales census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33827. The Survey maps it on the Babson Park quadrangle. 1,330 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 144 feet above sea level.

Babson Park within Polk County

Then and now

1952 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 36 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Babson Park, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of Babson Park, surveyed 1952

On record in Babson Park

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Babson Park grew from 1,182 to 1,330 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20001,182
20101,356+174 (+15%)
20201,330-26 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 14 printed 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.

Fires near this place

180 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 180 fires within 5 miles of Babson Park between 1992 and 2019, burning about 1,943 acres in total. 20 started naturally. 21 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
Railroad operations and maintenance40
Missing data/not specified/undetermined35
Debris and open burning28
Equipment and vehicle use21
Arson/incendiarism21
Natural20
Misuse of fire by a minor7
Recreation and ceremony6
Power generation/transmission/distribution2

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
5 September 1999Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
3 September 2012Debris and open burning12 acresFlorida Forest ServiceGENESIS (53)
3 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
25 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFlorida Forest Service2005-14-0349
22 September 2003Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceFISHER COMMAND
12 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceBRUSH PALLET
1 September 1999Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
9 August 1993Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Babson Park: 3 producers, 1 unknown, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Sand. 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
Gall Silica Mining Co. - Sr 60 MineSandProducer
Early Davis - Davis MineClayUnknown
Lake Wales Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
No. 2 MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Owl's Nest - Woodley Clay PitClayProducerClay

Every working recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

6 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Babson Park in 6 storm reports between 1998 and 2008: 3 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. 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
March 2000Thunderstorm WindBabson Park$1,000Thunderstorm downburst winds uprooted two large palm trees in Babson Park.
April 2008HailBabson Park-The public estimated nickel sized hail at Crooked Lake.
September 2006Heavy RainBabson Park-Rainfall of 5.39 inches was reported in one hour. No significant flooding or damage was reported.
August 2005HailBabson Park-A trained spotter reported nickel size hail and 45 MPH thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2000HailBabson Park-Dime sized hail that lasted for five minutes was reported by a Skywarn Spotter in Babson Park.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindBabson Park-Thunderstorm wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were measured by a Skywarn Spotter.

Every storm recorded in Polk 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
Hillcrest Heights0.9 miles14
Highland Park3.1 miles14
Crooked Lake Park3.3 miles14
Alcoma4.8 miles15
Hesperides4.9 miles15
Nalcrest5.5 miles15
Lake Wales5.9 miles20
Frostproof6.0 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Babson ParkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q797783The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 278019. 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.

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.