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Ely, Iowa

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Putnam Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52227. It stands on South Hoosier Creek. The Survey maps it on the Ely quadrangle. 2,328 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 738 feet above sea level.

Ely within Linn County

On record in Ely

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 7 records

Population over time

2 figures

Ely grew from 1,776 to 2,328 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
20101,776
20202,328+552 (+31%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 16 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

38 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 38 fires within 5 miles of Ely between 2006 and 2020, burning about 143 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined21
Debris and open burning12
Equipment and vehicle use3
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1

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
30 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 July 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 July 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Linn 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 Ely: 5 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Zinc, Iron. 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
Martin Marietta QuarryZinc, IronPast ProducerPyrite, Sphalerite
Schultz PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Cedar Rapids QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Hartl QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Linn County

Storms near this place

17 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ely in 17 storm reports between 2000 and 2024: 8 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
July 2008Flash FloodEly$15,000Heavy rains caused flash flooding in Springville, IA, and Ely, IA during the evening of July 2. In addition, Hart Road, which is about 5 miles south southeast of Prairieburg, was washed out as a result of the flooding rains.
June 2024Tornado (EF0)Ely-A non-supercell, or landspout tornado touched down in a field about 2 miles north of Ely in Linn County Iowa Tuesday evening. The tornado caused crop damage and moved very slowly to the southeast. The tornado then snapped large tree limbs along Ivanhoe Road, and damaged a power pole cross member. The tornado also lifted some loose asphalt and tossed it a short distance away. The tornado then moved through a grove of trees before lifting in a field. The tornado was rated EF0, with maximum winds estimated around 85 mph. The path width was estimated around 50 yards and the tornado was on the ground for 10 to 15 minutes.
January 2023Tornado (EFU)Ely-A storm chaser reported a brief tornado. There was no observable damage to assign a rating on the EF scale.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindEly-A trained spotter measured a 52 knot wind gust.
May 2019Flash FloodEly-Significant water running over Vista Road in Ely.
April 2017HailEly-A trained spotter reported quarter size hail that lasted for 3 to 4 minutes.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindEly-Local broadcast media reported a swath of trees was blown down in Paris.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindEly-A public report was received of large tree limbs down over a car via KCRG Facebook page.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindEly-Measured wind gust from an Iowa Mesonet site southeast of Cedar Rapids.
April 2012Thunderstorm WindEly-Trees were reported down near Ely by the Linn county emergency manager.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindEly-A public report estimated thunderstorm wind gusts between 60 and 70 mph. Heavy rain was helping to reduce visibility.
August 2007HailEly-Hail the size of a penny fell near Ely, IA.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindEly-Trees down.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindEly-Power lines blown down.
June 2015HailEly-no account filed
May 2011HailEly-no account filed
May 2000HailEly-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Linn 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
Western3.1 miles14
Summit4.1 miles16
Worthington Acres4.5 miles16
Kirkwood Estates4.9 miles16
Lincolnway Village5.4 miles16
Otis5.7 miles15
Perrys Rollin' Homes Manor5.8 miles16
Konigsmark5.8 miles16

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 ElyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1144361The 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 456356. 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.