BlockCambridge, Iowa
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1911 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Union Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50046. It stands on Ballard Creek. The Survey maps it on the Huxley quadrangle. 827 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 863 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresCambridge grew from 827 to 827 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 | 827 | |
| 2020 | 827 | 0 (0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 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.
- 1911 USGS Slater quadrangle1:62500
- 1913 USGS Slater quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Huxley quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
26 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 26 fires within 5 miles of Cambridge between 2009 and 2020, burning about 251 acres in total. None started naturally. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 17 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 July 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 June 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 April 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 16110 NE 68TH ST., IA |
| 5 April 2016 | Debris and open burning | 33 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | CAMBRIDGE/UNION TOWNSHIP |
| 5 April 2016 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | NEVADA FIRE DEPT. |
| 27 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 51 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 17 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Cambridge: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Iowa Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
19 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cambridge in 19 storm reports between 1999 and 2024: 7 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 3 flash flood, 1 flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF2) | Cambridge | 2 hurt, $3,200,000 | This tornado moved into Story County from Polk County. The tornado was quite wide at this point nearing 1000 yards wide at times. Along Highway 210 southeast of Cambridge, 8 large wooden and relatively new higher voltage power poles were snapped. Trees were obliterated along 315th Street east of Cambridge. Additional EF2 damage occurred 620th Avenue where numerous outbuildings were destroyed. A house was completely removed from its foundation at the intersection of 270th Street and Woods Rd and was tossed across 270th Street. However, the house was undergoing a remodel at the time and had no anchorage to the pour concrete foundation, hence the EF2 rating at this location. Damage to a house along 250th Street southeast of Nevada was extensive with the house shifted off the foundation and much of the interior savaged by flying debris and mud. All the outbuildings at this location were destroyed with the debris strewn far downwind. Another brick house at the intersection of Highway 30 and 650th avenue had extensive damage with only the front of the house still intact. These last two houses had high end EF2 damage and it appears this is where the tornado was strongest. EF2 damage was still found downstream for several more miles but was not as extensive as what had been seen just southeast and east of Nevada. The last extensive damage with the tornado occurred along 160th Street between 710th and 720th Avenue where a house lost half of its roof and then hit a hog house about a half a mile later. The tornado then weakened and dissipated shortly before reaching 150th Street. Two additional injuries occurred in Story County with this tornado. |
| August 2010 | Flood | Cambridge | $250,000 | Significant flooding reported in the town of Cambridge. |
| August 2010 | Flash Flood | Cambridge | $75,000 | Over 5 inches of rain overnight with street flooding on Pearl Street. Depth of water was up to the door on a pickup truck. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $50,000 | Several trees down, some 2 to 4 feet in diameter. Powerlines were down, a large tree fell and damaged a house foundation, and another large tree fell and damaged the roof of a house. Dime size hail fell too. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Cambridge | $50,000 | Flash flooding of the South Skunk River and a creek east of town. Residents were evacuated from a few homes. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Cambridge | $50,000 | Significant flooding in Cambridge. Twelve people were evacuated with home...basement...and street flooding and streets closed. Over four inches of rainfall reported. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $25,000 | Spotter reported power lines down, still live, and trees down and other debris. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $10,000 | A metal outbuilding was blown over at a trailer park. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $10,000 | Semi-tractor trailer was blown off Interstate 35 near Highway 210. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Cambridge | $5,000 | Trained spotter reported ping pong ball sized hail at the time of the report and ongoing. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Cambridge | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $4,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $3,000 | Story County EM reported tree damage with trees up to 1 foot in diameter down in Cambridge. |
| May 2002 | Hail | Cambridge | $2,000 | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Heavy Rain | Cambridge | - | Storm total of 3.06 inches of rain. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Cambridge | - | Public reported half dollar sized hail. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Cambridge | - | Law enforcement reported golf ball sized hail. |
| October 2013 | Hail | Cambridge | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huxley | 3.8 miles | 11 | |
| Midvale | 4.8 miles | 11 | |
| Robison-Whitaker Acres | 5.3 miles | 8 | |
| Shipley | 5.7 miles | 11 | |
| Maxwell | 6.9 miles | 8 | |
| Iowa Center | 6.9 miles | 8 | |
| Slater | 8.0 miles | 11 | |
| Kelley | 8.1 miles | 11 |
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 Cambridge | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1000196 | 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 455098. 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.