Bowling Green, Florida
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Bowling Green census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33834. It stands on Little Payne Creek. The Survey maps it on the Bowling Green quadrangle. 2,405 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 118 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1955 to 1988The same ground, surveyed 33 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1955 against another survey:
Population over time
3 figuresBowling Green fell from 2,892 to 2,405 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 | 2,892 | |
| 2010 | 2,930 | +38 (+1%) |
| 2020 | 2,405 | -525 (-18%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 15 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.
- 1955 USGS Bowling Green quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Fort Pierce quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Fort Pierce quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Fort Pierce quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1978 USGS Bartow quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1988 USGS Fort Pierce quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
147 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 147 fires within 5 miles of Bowling Green between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,629 acres in total. 14 started naturally. 14 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 29 |
| Debris and open burning | 24 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 15 |
| Natural | 14 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Smoking | 2 |
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 August 2018 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | DOC COIL RD (25) |
| 4 August 2009 | Natural | 20 acres | Florida Forest Service | 53 FT. MEADE MINE |
| 5 July 2004 | Natural | 50 acres | Florida Forest Service | C.F. IND. FIRE |
| 10 July 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 7 June 2010 | Natural | 6.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | 25-LONG RIDE FIRE-0166 |
| 25 June 2007 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 350 acres | Florida Forest Service | 53 PEEPLES RD III |
| 20 June 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 2 June 2002 | Natural | 35 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Bowling Green: 2 producers, 2 unknowns, 1 plant, 1 prospect. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Phosphorus-Phosphates, Fluorine-Fluorite, Uranium, Iron, Aluminum, Magnesite, Uranium, Iron, Magnesite, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cargill Firtilizer - South Ft. Meade | Phosphorus-Phosphates, Magnesite, Iron, Fluorine-Fluorite, Aluminum, Uranium | Producer | Collophane | |
| Dot Arcadia - Sr 62 Mine | Sand | Unknown | Sand | |
| Fort Meade Mine Gardinier | Phosphorus-Phosphates, Fluorine-Fluorite, Uranium, Iron, Aluminum, Magnesite | Producer | 1967 | |
| Little Payne Creek | Phosphorus-Phosphates, Uranium, Iron, Magnesite, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite | Unknown | 1950 | |
| South Fort Meade Mine | Phosphorus-Phosphates, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Uranium | Prospect | 1960 | |
| Bartow Cargill | Phosphorus-Phosphates | Plant |
Storms near this place
13 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bowling Green in 13 storm reports between 1999 and 2024: 6 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | Bowling Green | $350,000 | Twenty one roads were washed out and State Roads 62, 64, 70, and 72 were closed due to the flooding and flash flooding. Rainfall of 11.78 inches was recorded 4 miles northeast of Myakka Head during the past three days. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowling Green | $150,000 | The Hardee County Sheriffs Department reported that thunderstorm winds destroyed a barn, downed several trees and power lines, and caused roof damage to homes from Bowling Green south to Wauchula. In Wauchula, thunderstorm winds blew in a few of the T-hanger doors at the Wauchula Municipal Airport. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowling Green | $35,000 | The Hardee county emergency management reported that thunderstorm winds toppled onto its side, and damaged, a large travel trailer at a trailer park along U.S. Highway 17 in Bowling Green. Also, a few large trees and several large branches were downed by thunderstorm winds in the trailer park along U.S. Highway 17 in Bowling Green. |
| August 2009 | Lightning | Bowling Green | $5,000 | Lightning struck the Bowling Green Elementary School offices, damaging the phone system and fire alarm circuit boards. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowling Green | $5,000 | Skywarn spotters reported that a few large trees, several large limbs and a few power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds in Bowling Green. |
| August 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Bowling Green | - | A long-lived supercell embedded within an outer rainband associated with Tropical Storm Debby tracked north-northwestward across much of interior southwest Florida, including parts of Lee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, before again exhibiting signs of increased organization as it moved west of Zolfo Springs in Hardee County around 12:08 EST. Continuing north-northwest, and despite a degrading radar presentation, the storm passed west of Bowling Green where a tornado was spotted and reported via a picture submitted by a NWS volunteer, around 12:25 EST. The tornado track continued into Polk County at 12:26 EST, where it would continue for approximately another two-thirds of a mile before dissipating north of County Line Rd. Maximum winds were estimated around 75 mph. |
| August 2009 | Hail | Bowling Green | - | Penny sized hail was reported on Oak Avenue. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Bowling Green | - | Penny size hail was reported near the 6900 block of State Road 62. |
| June 2006 | Heavy Rain | Bowling Green | - | The rainfall was 4.15 inches. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Bowling Green | - | Quarter to golf ball size hail turned the ground white. |
| August 2001 | Hail | Bowling Green | - | Dime sized hail was reported by a Skywarn Spotter in Bowling Green. |
| May 1999 | Hail | Bowling Green | - | A Skywarn Spotter reported dime sized hail. |
| May 2002 | Hail | Bowling Green | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torrey | 1.9 miles | 15 | |
| Wauchula Hills | 4.3 miles | 15 | |
| Coker | 5.1 miles | 15 | |
| Wauchula | 6.3 miles | 15 | |
| Fort Green | 6.6 miles | 14 | |
| Fort Green Springs | 6.9 miles | 14 | |
| Griffins Corner | 8.4 miles | 15 | |
| Lemon Grove | 9.5 miles | 15 |
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 Bowling Green | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2154315 | 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 279294. 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.





