Chiefland, Florida
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the Chiefland census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32626. The Survey maps it on the Chiefland quadrangle. 2,316 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 33 feet above sea level.
Research this city
Then and now
1954 to 1978The same ground, surveyed 24 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1954 against another survey:
Population over time
2 figuresChiefland grew from 2,245 to 2,316 between 2010 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,245 | |
| 2020 | 2,316 | +71 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 11 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 Chiefland quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Gainesville quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Ocala quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
167 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 167 fires within 5 miles of Chiefland between 1992 and 2020, burning about 466 acres in total. 18 started naturally. 6 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 41 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 38 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 |
| Natural | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Other causes | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2012 | Other causes | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | BARN ROAD(38) |
| 18 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | NW 60TH ST. (38) |
| 16 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | NW 68TH PL. (38) |
| 12 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | LEVY/RE-BURN FIRE |
| 10 September 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | LEVY - ROADSIDE FIRE |
| 21 August 2014 | Natural | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 330(38) |
| 2 August 2000 | Natural | 25 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 2 August 2000 | Natural | 10 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 Chiefland: 4 occurrences, 1 past producer, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Iron, Silica. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Goethite Prospect | Iron, Silica | Occurrence | ||
| Iron Forty Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Sache Prospect | Iron | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Geothite Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Goethite Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Goethite Prospect | Iron | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
43 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chiefland in 43 storm reports between 1993 and 2022: 21 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 4 lightning, 3 tornado. The reports record 3 deaths and 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1993 | Tornado (F2) | Chiefland | 3 killed, 10 hurt, $50,000,000 | A tornado struck a home in which four people were asleep, pinning two of them under a fallen wall and suffocating them. Two others were injured. A nearby mobile home was destroyed killing its elderly occupant. The tornado went on to destroy or damage other mobile homes injuring five more people, and knocking down trees and power lines before dissipating. (F62P)(F05P)(M73M) |
| October 2017 | Lightning | Chiefland | 1 hurt | A woman who was outside during a thunderstorm was injured by lightning when the metal fence she was leaning on at the time was struck. |
| August 2014 | Lightning | Chiefland | 1 hurt | Levy County Department of Public Safety reported a woman had been struck by lightning in Chiefland and was transported to a hospital, although injuries appeared to be minor. Time was estimated from radar. |
| June 2008 | Lightning | Chiefland | 1 hurt | A male was struck and injured by lightning in Chiefland. |
| March 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $250,000 | Levy county emergency management officials reported that thunderstorm winds downed several large trees and branches, caused moderate to major roof damage to 13 mobile homes and minor damage to another 30, in the Hideaway Park mobile home complex along County Road 320 near Manatee Springs.Thunderstorm winds also downed several trees, large branches and a few power lines in Bronson. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $50,000 | Levy County Emergency Management reported that thunderstorm winds downed several trees, snapped several large branches and caused minor roof and tile damage to homes from Fanning Springs, southeast to Chiefland and east Bronson. |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines across western portions of Levy county. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $20,000 | The Chiefland Police Department reported that thunderstorm winds downed several trees and power lines in the city of Chiefland. |
| April 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Chiefland | $20,000 | A short-lived tornado touched down near the intersection of State Road 320 and Willow Sink Road. The tornado snapped several large trees, damaged a couple of mobile homes and twisted a few roof top television antennas before it receded and dissipated. |
| November 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $10,000 | Levy County dispatch reported a tree down on U.S. 19 outside of Chiefland. A tree was also reported to have fallen on a house in Chiefland. |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $6,000 | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $5,000 | Minor roof damage to a mobile home was reported near Chiefland. Some small trees were also blown over in the vicinity. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $5,000 | Several trees were blown down and were blocking roadways in the city of Chiefland. |
| March 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $5,000 | Levy County Emergency Management officials reported that thunderstorm winds damaged the wall of a mobile home on NW 170th Street in Fannin Springs. |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $4,000 | no account filed |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $3,000 | Trees and powerlines were downed in Chiefland. One tree fell on a house causing broken windows. |
| February 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $2,000 | Levy County Emergency Management reported that thunderstorm winds downed up to four large trees along County Road 345, seven miles south of Chiefland. |
| February 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $1,000 | The Levy County Sheriffs Office reported several trees down across roads in the Chiefland area. Additionally, a private citizen in Chiefland sent pictures of a tree and several large branches down. |
| January 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds of 45 mph caused minor wind damage to a mobile home porch at a Department of Forestry Youth Camp near the intersection of State Road 337 and County Road 336. |
| October 1997 | Flood | Chiefland | $1,000 | Four to seven inches of rain caused localized flooding along the U.S. Highway 19 corridor from New Port Richey north across Spring Hill to Crystal River and into Levy county. |
| January 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $500 | A roof was blown off of a small tool shed in Chiefland. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | $50 | Power line blown down and dime-size hail reported in Chiefland. |
| March 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | - | Several trees down with some on powerlines in the Chiefland area. |
| March 2018 | Hail | Chiefland | - | Levy County Public Works reported half dollar size hail in Chiefland. |
| February 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | - | A resident of Chiefland sent in photos of a 1 ft diameter pine tree that was snapped along with a downed fence. Time was estimated by radar signatures. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Chiefland | - | A trained spotter reported nickel sized hail near Chiefland. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Chiefland | - | Nickel sized hail was reported near County Road 341 in Chiefland. |
| March 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | - | Emergency Management reported trees and powerlines down in Chiefland. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Chiefland | - | Nickel size hail was reported in Chiefland. |
| June 2007 | Heavy Rain | Chiefland | - | Chiefland received 5.15 inches of rain and Williston received 2.91 inches of rain. |
| July 2006 | Hail | Chiefland | - | Nickel size hail was reported west of Chiefland near the Suwannee River. |
| March 2005 | Hail | Chiefland | - | A local utility reported penny size hail covered the ground. |
| September 2004 | Heavy Rain | Chiefland | - | A National Weather Service observer six miles northeast of Suwannee recorded 15.44" and another observer recorded Yankeetown 11.02". |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Chiefland | - | Law enforcement witnessed a tornado that knocked down several trees and large limbs. |
| January 1999 | Hail | Chiefland | - | A Skywarn Spotter reported dime sized hail in Chiefland. |
| July 1997 | Lightning | Chiefland | - | A power pole was struck but undamaged by lightning. However, the charge was displaced through an underground water pipe and insulated electrical line for 200 feet until it reached a pole barn. The lightning then travelled through a wood pole which exploded and hurled fragments nearly 200 feet through the air. |
| November 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chiefland | - | Thunderstorm winds downed power lines and a tree in Chiefland. |
| May 2002 | Hail | Chiefland | - | no account filed |
| December 1999 | Frost/Freeze | Chiefland | - | no account filed |
| December 1999 | Frost/Freeze | Chiefland | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Flood | Chiefland | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Flood | Chiefland | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardeetown | 1.2 miles | 11 | |
| Manatee Road | 3.9 miles | 10 | |
| Andrews | 4.2 miles | 10 | |
| Usher | 5.2 miles | 11 | |
| Fowlers Bluff | 10.3 miles | 12 | |
| Otter Creek | 11.4 miles | 10 | |
| Bronson | 11.7 miles | 10 | |
| Ellzey | 11.8 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 Chiefland | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2157216 | 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 307630. 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.




