Mulberry, Florida

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1949 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Bartow census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33860. The Survey maps it on the Mulberry quadrangle. 3,952 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 112 feet above sea level.

Mulberry within Polk County

Then and now

1949 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 39 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Mulberry, surveyed 1988

Topographic sheet of Mulberry, surveyed 1949

Population over time

2 figures

Mulberry grew from 3,817 to 3,952 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	3,817
2020	3,952	+135 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 17 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.

1949 USGS Mulberry quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
1950 USGS Mulberry quadrangle1:24000
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

373 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 373 fires within 5 miles of Mulberry between 1992 and 2020, burning about 16,239 acres in total. 31 started naturally. 15 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
Railroad operations and maintenance	101
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	55
Recreation and ceremony	51
Equipment and vehicle use	45
Debris and open burning	34
Natural	31
Misuse of fire by a minor	19
Power generation/transmission/distribution	18
Arson/incendiarism	15
Smoking	3
Fireworks	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
8 September 2000	Railroad operations and maintenance	15 acres	Florida Forest Service	not named
23 September 2015	Equipment and vehicle use	50 acres	Florida Forest Service	DREAM OAK (53)
21 September 2011	Natural	20 acres	Florida Forest Service	LITTLE PINE (53)
18 September 2019	Power generation/transmission/distribution	2.0 acres	Florida Forest Service	SEABOARD (53)
18 September 1997	Recreation and ceremony	1.3 acres	Florida Forest Service	not named
16 September 1997	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3.0 acres	Florida Forest Service	not named
15 September 1999	Recreation and ceremony	6.0 acres	Florida Forest Service	not named
5 August 1994	Natural	50 acres	Florida Forest Service	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 28 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of Mulberry: 12 plants, 7 producers, 4 past producers, 3 unknowns. 19 still produce. What was taken out: Phosphorus-Phosphates, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Uranium, Uranium, Iron, Magnesite, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, 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.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Bonny Lake Mine	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Magnesite, Uranium, Iron, Aluminum, Water, Free, Fluorine-Fluorite	Plant	1958
Imc Agrico - Pebbledale	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Uranium, Magnesite, Iron, Fluorine-Fluorite, Aluminum	Producer	Collophane
Kingsford Mine	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Uranium, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Aluminum, Magnesite	Producer	1920
Mulberry Limestone Drying Mill	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Plant
Cristina Reserve	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Uranium, Iron, Magnesite, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite	Prospect	1935
Debris Deposits	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Uranium, Water, Free	Prospect	1974
Mulberry	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Uranium, Water, Free	Past Producer
Nichols Mine	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Uranium	Past Producer	1915, 1970
Oak Ridge Mine	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Pierce-Pebbledale	Phosphorus-Phosphates, Aluminum, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Magnesite, Uranium	Producer	Surface

Every working recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

34 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mulberry in 34 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 13 hail, 8 tornado, 4 heavy rain, 3 thunderstorm wind. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. 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	Lightning	Mulberry	1 killed, 1 hurt	One man was killed and another injured when they were struck by lightning while standing under a 30 foot oak tree. The injured man suffered from numbness to his right arm and leg and had burns on the bottom of his feet.
August 2015	Lightning	Mulberry	$750,000	Broadcast media reported on a home in Mulberry that was destroyed by a fire on the 26th that was believed to be caused be a lightning strike.
October 1997	Tornado (F1)	Mulberry	$400,000	A tornado touched down and damaged a warehouse distribution center, overturned two tractor trailers, tore down 100 feet of chain link fence and blew down several power poles along State Road 60 near County Road 676.The tornado touched down a second time and damaged several roofs of homes and downed trees and power poles at the Christina Grove subdivision near State Road 37 and County Road 540A before it lifted and dissipated.
April 2005	Tornado (F1)	Mulberry	$250,000	An amateur radio operator reported a tornado touchdown north of Mulberry and a National Weather Service Storm survey found most of the damage was limited to areas to the northeast in Highland City where eight homes had moderate damage. The tornado caused no reported injuries but ripped off part of a roof of a Highland City Home, smashed utility sheds, destroyed several pool cages, and downed powerlines and fences.
March 1996	Hail	Mulberry	$250,000	no account filed
March 2000	Wildfire	Mulberry	$75,000	A wildfire consumed five acres of brush and trees in Mulberry. The fire also destroyed a pole barn, a cinderblock storage shed and a 30 foot travel trailer.
October 1997	Tornado (F1)	Mulberry	$50,000	A tornado touched down along State Road 37 near State Road 640 and uprooted or snapped, half-way up, 50 to 60 pine trees, destroyed a shed and caused structural damage to a home in rural western Polk county before it lifted and dissipated.
June 2000	Tornado (F0)	Mulberry	$20,000	The Mulberry Fire Department reported that several eyewitnesses observed a tornado touch down and cause minor damage to the roof of the Arroyo Pumps building located along State Road 60 in Mulberry.
October 2005	Tornado (F0)	Mulberry	$10,000	The Mulberry Police Department reported a tornado on the ground near their station. They reported flying debris, popping transformers, and the classic freight train sound as the tornado passed by. No significant damage was reported.
September 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Mulberry	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm winds snapped pine tree branches and drove several through a house roof and porch roof of the same home.
March 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Mulberry	$3,000	no account filed
August 2024	Tornado (EF0)	South Mulberry	-	A supercell embedded within an outer rainband associated with Tropical Storm Debby began showing signs of increased organization around 13:40 EST as it moved north-northwest across southern Polk County between Bowling Green and Fort Meade. The storm continued exhibiting signs of increasing organization as it passed west of Fort Meade, before a NWS volunteer relayed video of a tornado associated with the storm around 13:58 EST just north of FL Hwy 640 near Agricola Rd. The volunteer relayed that the tornado continued on the ground for approximately 2 minutes before dissipating over open field after tracking around a mile and a half. No significant damage was reported, with likely only minor tree damage resulting from the tornado. Maximum winds were estimated around 75 mph.
July 2008	Heavy Rain	Mulberry	-	A spotter reported moderate street flooding near the intersection of SW 4th Avenue and SW 1st Street in Mulberry.
June 2006	Heavy Rain	Mulberry	-	The rainfall was 5.69 inches in the Four Corners area. Rainfall reports of 3 to 5 inches were common in the west half of Polk County.
June 2005	Hail	Mulberry	-	A trained SKYWARN Spotter reported penny size hail at his home.
October 2005	Heavy Rain	Mulberry	-	Lakeland recorded the most rain during the period with 7.34" which brought the monly total to 9.91". Normal through the 24th was 2.29". Other reports included Mulberry with 6.93", Lake Wales with 6.53", and Avon Park with 5.30". Water levels on Lake Wales rose and flooded homes along the lake that had flooded in July before pumping operations started.
June 2004	Hail	Mulberry	-	Hail covered the ground and stripped leaves from trees in the yard.
July 2004	Heavy Rain	Mulberry	-	A SKYWARN Spotter reported 4 inches of rain in 40 minutes. No damage was reported.
May 2003	Tornado (F0)	Mulberry	-	Trained spotter watched the funnel cloud for 15 minutes and it breifly touched down in an open field once. Law enforcement closed parts of Highway 60 for a short time but the funnel remained south of the highway.
October 2002	Flood	Mulberry	-	Five inches of rain was reported in Mulberry which flooded parts of State Roads 60 and 34. The road was not closed by the fire department.
August 2001	Hail	Mulberry	-	Nickel sized hail was reported by local law enforcement in Mulberry.
April 2000	Wildfire	Mulberry	-	Sparks from a railroad car ignited and burned over 140 acres of brush and scrub trees at a fertilizer plant in Mulberry.
June 2000	Hail	Mulberry	-	Skywarn Spotters reported dime sized hail that covered the ground and lasted for fifteen minutes in Nichols, along State Road 60, in extreme western Polk county
March 1999	Wildfire	Mulberry	-	Sparks from a train's wheels ignited a 60 acre wildfire on commercial property six miles east of Mulberry.
May 1999	Hail	Mulberry	-	The public reported dime sized hail in Mulberry through Pinellas Park, Florida cable station Bay News.
May 1999	Hail	Mulberry	-	A Skywarn Spotter reported dime sized hail at the intersection of Old State Road 37 and Sheppard Road.
May 1999	Hail	Mulberry	-	Golfball sized hail was reported by a park ranger near the intersection of State Roads 37 and 674 over rural southwest Polk county.
March 1998	Tornado (F0)	Mulberry	-	A short-lived and weak tornado was reported on State Road 37 along the Polk-Hardee county line by a Skywarn Spotter.
May 1998	Hail	Mulberry	-	Dime sized hail was reported from Mulberry to Auburndale.
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Mulberry	-	,,,,,,,,Hail (1.75) A few power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds of 45 to 50 mph at Twilight Drive and Nichols Road.
April 1993	Hail	Mulberry	-	Nickel-size hail was reported by several citizens in the Mulberry area.
June 2004	Hail	Mulberry	-	no account filed
July 2002	Hail	Mulberry	-	no account filed
April 1997	Hail	Mulberry	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Polk 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
East Mulberry	0.4 miles	17
South Mulberry	0.7 miles	17
Kingsford	1.1 miles	17
Prairie Junction	1.4 miles	17
Royster	1.5 miles	17
Fuller Heights	1.6 miles	17
Achan	2.5 miles	15
Ewell	2.6 miles	17

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 Mulberry	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2153870	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 287439. 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.