BlockBefore

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.

Harlem within Hendry County

Then and now

1956 to 1987

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Harlem, surveyed 1987
Topographic sheet of Harlem, surveyed 1956

Population over time

2 figures

Harlem 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.

YearPeople Change
20102,658
20202,441-217 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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

9 since 2001

Regional 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/undetermined3
Equipment and vehicle use2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Debris and open burning1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
27 May 2002Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
1 May 2008Arson/incendiarism2,756 acresFlorida Forest Service(GL) GRASSY ISLAND (320)
24 April 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined65 acresFlorida Forest Service26/835 AND HOOKERS POINTE
20 April 2004Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest Service819
15 March 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceCROOKED HOOK COMMAND
11 March 2001Railroad operations and maintenance4.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
5 February 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined38,100 acresFlorida Forest ServiceUNCLE JOE'S COMMAND
22 February 2012Equipment and vehicle use300 acresFlorida Forest ServiceSHAWNEE (22)

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hendry County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Roland & Swindle Rock PitCalciumPast Producer
Mec Rock PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Ridgill and Son MineStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Ridgdill & Son, Inc. - Ridgdill #4SandProducer
Ridgdill & Son, Inc. - Ridgdill #6SandProducer
Ridgdill & Son, Inc. - Ridgdill #7SandProducer

Every working recorded in Hendry County

Storms near this place

9 since 2001

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2007LightningHarlem1 killedA 49-year-old man was struck and killed by lightning while working on a vegetable farm in rural southern Hendry County.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindHarlem$5,000The 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 2024Tornado (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 2024Tornado (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 2011HailHarlem-Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported by Hendry County Sheriff's Office.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindHarlem-Recorded at South Florida Water Management District site STA5WX.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindHarlem-A thunderstorm produced a wind gust of 66 mph at mesonet site cfsw in Clewiston.
April 2008Thunderstorm WindHarlem-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 2001HailHarlem-The Sheriff's Office reported hail one inch in diameter.

Every storm recorded in Hendry 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
Clewiston1.5 miles12
Sugar Junction1.6 miles11
Hooker Point1.8 miles11
Sugarton2.0 miles12
South Clewiston3.2 miles11
Whidden Corner7.0 miles11
Sears23.4 miles12
Port LaBelle24.1 miles12

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 HarlemAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1998075The 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.