Harlem, Florida
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Clewiston census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33440. The Survey maps it on the Clewiston South quadrangle. 2,441 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 20 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1956 to 1987The same ground, surveyed 31 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Population over time
2 figuresHarlem fell from 2,658 to 2,441 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 | 2,658 | |
| 2020 | 2,441 | -217 (-8%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 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.
- 1956 USGS West Palm Beach quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS West Palm Beach quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS West Palm Beach quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1970 USGS Clewiston South quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS West Palm Beach quadrangle1:100000
- 1985 USGS West Palm Beach quadrangle1:100000
- 1987 USGS West Palm Beach quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
9 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Harlem between 2001 and 2017, burning about 41,240 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was 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 | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 2002 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 1 May 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,756 acres | Florida Forest Service | (GL) GRASSY ISLAND (320) |
| 24 April 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 acres | Florida Forest Service | 26/835 AND HOOKERS POINTE |
| 20 April 2004 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 819 |
| 15 March 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | CROOKED HOOK COMMAND |
| 11 March 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 4.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 5 February 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 38,100 acres | Florida Forest Service | UNCLE JOE'S COMMAND |
| 22 February 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 300 acres | Florida Forest Service | SHAWNEE (22) |
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 Harlem: 5 producers, 1 past producer. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Calcium. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roland & Swindle Rock Pit | Calcium | Past Producer | ||
| Mec Rock Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Ridgill and Son Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Ridgdill & Son, Inc. - Ridgdill #4 | Sand | Producer | ||
| Ridgdill & Son, Inc. - Ridgdill #6 | Sand | Producer | ||
| Ridgdill & Son, Inc. - Ridgdill #7 | Sand | Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Harlem in 9 storm reports between 2001 and 2024: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 death. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2007 | Lightning | Harlem | 1 killed | A 49-year-old man was struck and killed by lightning while working on a vegetable farm in rural southern Hendry County. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlem | $5,000 | The Emergency Manager for Hendry County reported a severe thunderstorm snapped several trees and downed at least 6 powerline poles near the intersection of old U.S. Highway 27 and Hookers Point Road east of Clewiston. |
| October 2024 | Tornado (EFU) | Harlem | - | The tornado first spotted near Interstate 75 just west of the Collier/Broward County line traveled a total 13.52 miles through Collier and Hendry Counties. Florida Department of Transportation traffic cameras and numerous public videos showed the progress of a large tornado across Interstate 75 and north-northwestward over rural portions of eastern Collier County to the west of Snake Road. After traveling 9.51 miles, the tornado was spotted crossing the Hendry County line and entered the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation around 8:53 AM EST. It traveled north-northwestward for an additional 4.01 miles in Hendry County before dissipating. A storm chaser provided a video with debris aloft crossing Josie Billie Highway just east of Big Cypress Seminole Village. There were no reports, nor storm survey findings, indicating damage caused by the tornado. |
| October 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Harlem | - | The supercell that produced tornadoes further south, near Interstate 75 and US Highway 41, spawned a new tornado which moved through rural portions of eastern Hendry County until it passed just west of the city of Clewiston. It moved across the area of the Sky Valley neighborhood west of Clewiston around 10:10 AM before crossing county boundaries and entering Glades County at 10:11 AM EST. A public video and photo reports from the area around the Clewiston Walmart show a large tornado with debris crossing Sugarland Highway/US 27 near Sky Valley. The tornado was rated as an EF-1 with an estimated maximum winds at 95 mph. There were trees damaged and downed powerlines across the area. Path width is estimated based on pictures and video. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Harlem | - | Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported by Hendry County Sheriff's Office. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlem | - | Recorded at South Florida Water Management District site STA5WX. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlem | - | A thunderstorm produced a wind gust of 66 mph at mesonet site cfsw in Clewiston. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harlem | - | A line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved across Glades, Hendry, and Collier counties and also across Lake Okeechobee producing a high wind gust at Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Harlem | - | The Sheriff's Office reported hail one inch in diameter. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clewiston | 1.5 miles | 12 | |
| Sugar Junction | 1.6 miles | 11 | |
| Hooker Point | 1.8 miles | 11 | |
| Sugarton | 2.0 miles | 12 | |
| South Clewiston | 3.2 miles | 11 | |
| Whidden Corner | 7.0 miles | 11 | |
| Sears | 23.4 miles | 12 | |
| Port LaBelle | 24.1 miles | 12 |
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 Harlem | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1998075 | 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 283738. 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.






