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Mary Esther, Florida

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1938 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Fort Walton Beach census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32569. It stands on Kohler Bayou. The Survey maps it on the Mary Esther quadrangle. 3,982 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 23 feet above sea level.

Mary Esther within Okaloosa County

Then and now

1938 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 56 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Mary Esther, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Mary Esther, surveyed 1938

Population over time

2 figures

Mary Esther grew from 3,851 to 3,982 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
20103,851
20203,982+131 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 18 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

7 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Mary Esther between 2000 and 2013, burning about 3,743 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/undetermined2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Debris and open burning1
Arson/incendiarism1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
10 July 2007Debris and open burning1.5 acresFlorida Forest Service46-ST PETE FIRE-1185
28 May 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined2,765 acresEglin Air Force BaseRUNWAY
10 March 2013Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceLOVEJOY (46)
21 November 2006Recreation and ceremony10 acresFlorida Forest Service430
14 November 2001Misuse of fire by a minor3.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
25 October 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined962 acresEglin Air Force BaseA-78
16 October 2000Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Okaloosa County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Mary Esther: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Beal MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Okaloosa County

Storms near this place

23 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mary Esther in 23 storm reports between 1995 and 2020: 12 thunderstorm wind, 3 lightning, 3 waterspout, 2 tornado. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2003LightningMary Esther1 hurtA 14 year old male was standing next to a swimming pool when lightning struck nearby and injured him. He was taken to a local hospital and kept for observation and released after a couple of hours.
May 1997LightningMary Esther1 hurtLightning struck near a garden center, injuring a customer at a department store in Mary Esther. The male was taken to a local hospital and kept overnight for observation. He was released the next day.
November 2016Tornado (EF0)Mary Esther$50,000The tornado started as a waterspout over Santa Rosa Sound,|briefly lifted and then touched down as a tornado just south of Hurlburt|Field along U.S. Highway 98. The tornado tracked northeast and produced|sporadic damage along its path before lifting near Ready Avenue NW. The|damage was concentrated along Kohler Drive and Mary Esther Road. The|most significant damage occurred at two residences. One residence lost|part of its overhanging roof and the other home experienced significant|damage to a southward facing sunroom. Power lines were downed in the area|along with sporadic tree damage.
March 2014Thunderstorm WindMary Esther$30,000Winds estimated at 70 mph caused the top part of a Wendys sign to falll down. Trees were downed on Mary Esther Library. A portable building was leaning on a car at harborwalk village and top of harborwalk ampitheater fell down.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindMary Esther$8,000High winds from a thunderstorm blew down trees and power lines near Mary Esther.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindMary Esther$5,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed a large tree and damaged road signs.
March 2005LightningMary Esther$5,000Lightning struck a lift station in Mary Esther. The station was off line for a couple of hours until the unit was repaired.
March 1999Thunderstorm WindMary Esther$5,000Trees and power lines were blown down just west of Mary Esther.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindMary Esther$3,000Trees were blown down just west of Mary Esther.
August 1995Tornado (F0)Mary Esther$3,000A tornado briefly touched down in the city of Mary Esther. Several trees were blown down. The tornado was spawned ahead of Hurricane Erin.
September 2011Thunderstorm WindMary Esther$1,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed numerous small with a few large tree limbs on Eglin Air Force Base near the Burger King.
December 2009Thunderstorm WindMary Esther-Tree blown down at Mary Esther Cut-off and Jonquil Avenue in Fort Walton. Reported by Okaloosa Fire/Rescue.
August 2001WaterspoutMary Esther-A waterspout was sighted over the Gulf of Mexico just south of Mary Esther. The waterspout dissipated just before hitting land.
July 2001WaterspoutMary Esther-A waterspout was observed offshore, south of Mary Esther. The waterspout remained over open water and dissipated after a few minutes.
July 2000Funnel CloudMary Esther-A funnel cloud was observed near Mary Esther. The funnel never touched down and dissipated back into the cloud.
December 1998WaterspoutMary Esther-A waterspout was sighted just over the Intracoastal Waterway south of Mary Esther. The waterspout went back up into the cloud and again reappeared over the Gulf just south of Fort Walton Beach. The waterspout moved east along the coast then went back up into the cloud. No damage was reported.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindMary Esther-Wind gusts to 68 mph were recorded at Hurlburt Air Force Base in Mary Esther.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindMary Esther-no account filed
September 2011Thunderstorm WindMary Esther-no account filed
September 2011Thunderstorm WindMary Esther-no account filed
August 2011Thunderstorm WindMary Esther-no account filed
March 2009Funnel CloudMary Esther-no account filed
July 2004HailMary Esther-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Okaloosa 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
Fort Walton Beach2.4 miles18
Cinco Bayou3.0 miles18
Ocean City3.4 miles18
Wright3.4 miles18
Harris3.9 miles18
Garnier4.7 miles18
Shalimar5.1 miles18
Longwood5.3 miles18

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 Mary EstherAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1003695The 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 286480. 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.