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Perry, Florida

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Perry North census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32347. It stands on Pimple Creek. The Survey maps it on the Perry quadrangle. 6,898 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 46 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Perry within Taylor County

Then and now

1954 to 1979

The same ground, surveyed 25 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Perry, surveyed 1979
Topographic sheet of Perry, surveyed 1954

On record in Perry

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Population over time

4 figures

Perry grew from 1,012 to 6,898 between 1910 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
19101,012
20006,847
20107,017+170 (+2%)
20206,898-119 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 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

508 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 508 fires within 5 miles of Perry between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,332 acres in total. 32 started naturally. 28 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 burning146
Equipment and vehicle use78
Railroad operations and maintenance77
Misuse of fire by a minor52
Missing data/not specified/undetermined46
Natural32
Arson/incendiarism28
Power generation/transmission/distribution20
Smoking16
Recreation and ceremony9
Other causes3
Fireworks1

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
9 September 2003Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresFlorida Forest ServicePARKER FIRE #2 (OF2)
9 September 2003Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFlorida Forest ServicePARKER FIRE #1 (OF 2)
6 September 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceWOODS CREEK PP (62)
24 September 2016Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceHWY 98 FIRE (62)
23 September 2019Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceHOMER J. SMITH(62)
23 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceJACKSON ROAD (62)
22 September 1999Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
20 September 2014Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceKINSEY ROAD (62)

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Taylor 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 Perry: 1 plant. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Perry MillStone, Crushed/BrokenPlant

Every working recorded in Taylor County

Storms near this place

60 of 71 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Perry in 71 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 49 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 4 flash flood, 3 tornado. The reports record 5 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
August 1998LightningPerry5 hurt, $750,000Lightning ignited a natural gas pipeline at the Florida Gas Transmission Company, about three miles northeast of Perry. A pair of explosions sent a 600-foot fireball skyward forcing the evacuation of about 100 residents. Five homes were incinerated and natural gas supplies were shut off to Perry and surrounding communities. Four firefighters and a gas plant employee suffered burns. The American Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at the Taylor County High School for displaced families. Units from Leon, Dixie, Jefferson, and Wakulla County joined the Taylor County and Perry firefighting efforts.
October 2003Tornado (F1)Perry$100,000A weak tornado touched down near Carlton Cemetery Road, just south of the Perry-Foley Airport where a barn was heavily damaged. Intermittent damage occurred throughout neighborhoods along Foley Cut-Off Road which were littered by uprooted trees and downed power lines. Several homes sustained minor damage. One mobile was damaged by a fallen live oak tree. The tornado dissipated just northeast of County Road 356 and Faulkner Road. Reported by the Taylor County EMA.
September 2002Flash FloodPerry$100,000Torrential rain from slow-moving thunderstorms flooded several homes. Reported by the Taylor County Sheriff.
May 2022Tornado (EF0)Perry$75,000A tornado touched down briefly in downtown Perry, FL and was on the ground for about a minute. The tornado touched down west of South Quincy St. near W. Homer J. Smith Ave. It blew over a fence and pealed back a tin roof at a tavern. It continued east northeast along E. Hampton Springs Rd pulling up a carport cover that was anchored to the ground. The tornado bent over a stop sign and snapped large branches off a tree near the intersection of S. Jefferson St. and W. Hampton Springs Rd. One of these was hurled across the intersection, breaking a window of a home. The tornado then broke or bent several large tree limbs before damaging a fence east of Orange St. The tornado lifted just east of S. Center St. This tornado was rated EF0 with max winds around 75 mph.
December 1996Thunderstorm WindPerry$50,000no account filed
January 1997Thunderstorm WindPerry$20,000no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindPerry$10,000Trees were blown down in Perry near the Highway 221 and 27 intersection with some structural damage reported.
February 2017Thunderstorm WindPerry$10,000Trees were blown down along Jefferson Street in Perry. One tree fell on a car. Damage was estimated.
February 2015Thunderstorm WindPerry$10,000Multiple trees and power lines were blown down causing numerous power outages.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindPerry$5,000A shed roof was torn off by strong winds along Highway 98.
July 2016LightningPerry$5,000A combination of numerous cloud to ground lightning strikes and some wind caused several power outages across the Perry area.
February 2007Thunderstorm WindPerry$5,000A Taylor County 911 dispatcher reported numerous downed trees and power lines between Perry and Shady Grove.
February 2005Thunderstorm WindPerry$5,000Roof damage to a mobile home. Reported by the Taylor County EMA.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindPerry$5,000A roof ripped off a mobile home and several downed trees reported by the Taylor County EMA.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindPerry$5,000Quarter size hail near Salem and dime size hail two miles west of Rocky Creek road. Trees down just north of Perry on Woods Creek Road. Power lines down near the Florida Highway Patrol Headquarters Post one mile north of Perry.
January 2024Thunderstorm WindPerry$3,000At least two trees and a power line were blown down in the Perry area.
September 2019Thunderstorm WindPerry$3,000Fallen trees or limbs resulted in a power outage to 39 customers along County Road 255A.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindPerry$3,000Fallen trees or limbs resulted in a power outage to 81 customers.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindPerry$3,000Trees and power lines were blown down throughout Perry.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindPerry$3,000The Taylor county 911 dispatch reported power lines blown down around Perry, focused on Main Street and Highway 19. Monetary damage was estimated.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPerry$3,000Several trees were blown down on the north side of Perry. The spotter estimated a wind gust of 65 mph.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000Power lines were blown down at Veterans and Orange St.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000Power lines were blown down near Perry.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000A power line was blown down on Martin Luther King Ave in Perry.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000Fallen trees and limbs resulted in a power outage along E Ash St.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000A few trees and at least one power line were blown down in the Perry area.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000A tree and power line were reported down near Highway 27 and San Pedro.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000Fallen tree or large limbs resulted in power outages near Helen Street on the northeast side of Perry as reported on the Duke Energy outage website.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000Some power lines were down in Perry.
October 2006Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000Some trees and power lines down northwest of Perry. Reported by the Florida DOT.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000Downed trees on power lines. Reported by the Taylor County Sheriff.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindPerry$2,000no account filed
March 2022Thunderstorm WindPerry$1,000A power line was blown down near the Dollar General.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindPerry$1,000Two trees were blown down in the city of Perry.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindPerry$1,000A couple of trees were blown down along Highway 19 near Perry. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindPerry$1,000Several trees and power lines were down with power outages reported just west of Perry.
March 2002Thunderstorm WindPerry$1,000Windows blown out of a house on Holt Road. Reported by the Taylor County EMA.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindPerry$500The Taylor County Sheriff reported a few trees down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindPerry$500Several downed trees reported by the Taylor County Sheriff.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPerry-Several trees were blown down in Perry.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindPerry-A tree was blown down across Park St.
August 2024Flash FloodPerry-Media showed video of a flooded property in Perry with water near a structure.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindPerry-Multiple trees were blown down across northern Taylor county.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindPerry-A tree was blown down onto N Reddick Road.
March 2022Flash FloodPerry-A bridge was flooded on West Julia Street.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindPerry-Fallen trees or limbs resulted in a power outage.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindPerry-Fallen trees or limbs resulted in a power outage.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindPerry-Large tree limbs were blown down along Puckett Road.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindPerry-Numerous trees were blown down.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindPerry-A spotter estimated wind gusts of 60 mph.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindPerry-Two trees were blown down on county roads.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindPerry-A tree was blown down near the intersection of Highway 27 and Walter Schmidt Lane.
June 2018FloodPerry-Minor flooding occurred along a creek on Julia Street in Perry. Radar estimated around 3 inches of rain during the day.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindPerry-A tree was blown down onto Ash Street.
August 2016Flash FloodPerry-The Perry dispatch reported numerous reports of flooding and road closures in and around the Perry area.
August 2016FloodPerry-Video on social media showed Pine Crest Street in Perry flooded with significant standing water and barricades in place.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindPerry-Numerous trees were blown down.
August 2012Heavy RainPerry-The Perry co-op observer reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 3.32 inches ending at 2 pm EDT.
August 2012Heavy RainPerry-The broadcast media relayed a viewer report of 4 inches of rain about 10 miles WSW of Perry.
December 2012Tornado (EF0)Perry-The Perry police reported a brief tornado touchdown near the police station. No damage occurred.

Every storm recorded in Taylor 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
Bucell Junction3.6 miles9
Foley4.3 miles9
Hampton Springs4.5 miles10
Secotan4.9 miles10
Boyd5.1 miles8
Fenholloway5.3 miles9
Pinland7.4 miles9
Roach7.6 miles10

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 PerryAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1065467The 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 288724. 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.