Bell, Florida
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Bell census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32619. The Survey maps it on the Bell quadrangle. 518 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 69 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1954 to 1981The same ground, surveyed 27 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Bell
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
Cannon Farmlisted 2013
Population over time
3 figuresBell grew from 349 to 518 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 349 | |
| 2010 | 456 | +107 (+31%) |
| 2020 | 518 | +62 (+14%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1954 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS Bell quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1981 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
176 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 176 fires within 5 miles of Bell between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,793 acres in total. 23 started naturally. 8 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 maintenance | 54 |
| Debris and open burning | 43 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26 |
| Natural | 23 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 12 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | 2010-08-0520 FEATHER BUNCHER |
| 7 September 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Florida Forest Service | GILCHRIST/LOST WORLD FIRE |
| 30 September 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 28 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | GILCHRIST -- WIREGRASS FIRE |
| 14 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | BALER 2 FIRE/ GILCHRIST |
| 30 August 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 2009-08-0604GILCHRIST |
| 29 August 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | GILCHRIST/RAYONIER FIRE |
| 28 August 2007 | Natural | 6.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | AIRPLANE 1 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Bell: 5 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert's Roy Field Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Limestone Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Limestone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Limestone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Limestone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
42 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bell in 42 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 23 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 5 heavy rain, 2 lightning. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | 2 hurt, $12,000 | no account filed |
| March 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | $15,000 | Multiple barns were damaged and one was completely destroyed. The time of damage was based on radar. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated so the event could be included in Storm Data. |
| September 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | $15,000 | Large trees were blown down. One tree damaged a car traveling on West 32nd Street. |
| March 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | $5,000 | Roof Damage |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | $1,500 | Large trees and power lines were blown down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | $1,500 | Large trees were blown down. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | $500 | A tree was blown down near 6209 NW 50th Terrace. The cost of damage was estimated for the event to be included in Storm Data. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | $500 | Large trees were blown down. |
| June 2017 | Flood | Bell | $10 | The roadway at U.S. Highway 129 and County Road 232 East was underwater. The is no known property damage, but a small dollar value was added so this report would be included in Storm Data. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Trees and power lines were blown down across the NW portion of the county. The time of damage was based on radar data. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Power lines were blown down at County Road 340 and NW 55th Street. |
| August 2022 | Heavy Rain | Bell | - | A public weather station near Hatchben (KFLBRANF17) measured 3.72 inches of rainfall from about 3:30 pm local time to 6:40 pm local time. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Trees and power lines were blown down from thunderstorm winds about 3 miles north of Bell. |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Trees and power lines were blown down across the county. |
| June 2019 | Heavy Rain | Bell | - | The Gilchrist County EOC rain gauge measured 2.79 inches of rainfall in 2 hours. |
| June 2019 | Heavy Rain | Bell | - | The WeatherStem station at the Gilchrist County EOC measured a daily total of 2.02 inches. |
| July 2019 | Heavy Rain | Bell | - | An observer near Bell measured 2.28 inches of rainfall within the past 6 hrs. |
| August 2017 | Heavy Rain | Bell | - | Minor street flooding was reported near NW 25th Street near Bell. |
| September 2017 | Funnel Cloud | Bell | - | The Florida Fish and Wildlife reported a funnel cloud east of the Suwanee River south of the County Road 340 bridge. |
| February 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Florida Forest Service reported 2 trees down in the Bell area. One was off of SW 10th Street. The time of damage was based on radar. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Trees were blown down along Highway 129 in Bell. The time of the event was based on radar imagery. |
| April 2011 | Hail | Bell | - | Nickel to dime size hail was reported 2 miles south of CR 340. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Large tree limbs were blown down. The time of the event was based on radar. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Bell | - | Golf ball size hail was reported about 1 mile south of Bell. The hail lasted about 10 minutes. Strong wind gusts were also observed. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Bell | - | The Cooperative Law Enforcement Station in Bell reported nickel size hail. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Trees were blown down in Bell. |
| March 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Four trees were blown down. Public reported a possible tornado on their property at 5401 NW 22nd Court in Bell. Event time estimated based on radar imagery. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Bell | - | The Bell post office reported dime to nickel size hail. |
| January 2006 | Hail | Bell | - | Hail broke seal on screen room enclosure/addition to a house. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Large trees and power lines down on County Road 232. Power outages reported. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Large trees and power lines down. |
| November 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | 2 treess down with scattered power outages. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | Large trees uprooted west of SR 37. |
| May 2014 | Funnel Cloud | Bell | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Lightning | Bell | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Lightning | Bell | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Bell | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Bell | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Bell | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bell | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Bell | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutual | 1.8 miles | 9 | |
| Harvard | 1.9 miles | 10 | |
| Curtis | 2.3 miles | 11 | |
| Williford | 4.3 miles | 10 | |
| Wannee | 4.9 miles | 11 | |
| Little Lake City | 5.1 miles | 10 | |
| Craggs | 6.6 miles | 10 | |
| Waters Lake | 7.6 miles | 10 |
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 Bell | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q815676 | The 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 278410. 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.




