BlockBefore

Meriden, Kansas

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1960. It stands in Rock Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66512. It stands on Tick Creek. The Survey maps it on the Meriden quadrangle. 744 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 974 feet above sea level.

Meriden within Jefferson County

Population over time

2 figures

Meriden fell from 813 to 744 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
2010813
2020744-69 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 19 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

136 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 136 fires within 5 miles of Meriden between 2002 and 2020, burning about 2,108 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 13 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 burning62
Missing data/not specified/undetermined55
Arson/incendiarism13
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Natural1
Other causes1

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
5 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreJefferson County242
17 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreJefferson County251
17 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service209
26 August 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreKansas Forest Service116
2 August 2018Smoking5.0 acresKansas Forest Service675
19 August 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreJefferson County221
18 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service184
16 August 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreJefferson County216

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

60 of 77 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Meriden in 77 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 40 hail, 29 thunderstorm wind, 7 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2016HailMeriden2 hurtTwo injuries reported by the Emergency Manager. The victims refused treatment. Time was based on radar.
October 2005Flash FloodMeriden$420,000Officials closing several roads in the Meriden area due to flash flooding and deep water over the roads.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindMeriden$80,000no account filed
June 2005Flash FloodMeriden$50,000Rural 54th street low water crossing has at least 6 inches of fast flowing water.
September 1993HailMeriden$50,000A slow moving supercell thunderstorm that formed north of Manhattan moved across southern Jefferson county during the mid afternoon producing numerous reports of large hail and winds up to 75 knots. Widespread damage was inflicted to crops, vehicles and buildings by the combined effects of hail and high wind. Heavy rainfall of 3.00 to 5.00 inches temporarily flooded low lying and poor drainage areas, especially roads and highways.
May 2007Flash FloodMeriden$20,000Water over roads near Meriden and Oskaloosa. 10 inches of water over roadway at 102nd and Osage. 8 to 12 inches of water over roadway at 54th and Clark.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindMeriden$20,000no account filed
April 1994Thunderstorm WindMeriden$5,000Winds estimated to 60 mph knocked down large trees.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindMeriden$2,000A bradford pear tree was blown down on top of a house causing roof damage.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindMeriden$1,000A Kansas Mesonet station near Meriden measured a 71 mph wind gust. In Perry, the top of a 15 inch diameter tree was blown down and the intersection of Front Street and Main Street.
May 2005Flash FloodMeriden$500Nearly 5 inches of rain brought fast flowing water across roads in Meriden area.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Power lines and poles downed. Damage to roofs and trees also reported.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Roof blown off of shed and fencing blown down at a local co-op.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Tree down and blocking highway south of Meriden.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Wind gusts over 80 mph reported.
May 2022HailMeriden-Nickel sized hail reported.
May 2022Flash FloodMeriden-Bridge closed due to flash flood damage.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Trained spotter reported a 60 mph wind gust.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Public reported wind gust of 77 mph.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Public reported wind gust of 75 mph.
April 2020HailMeriden-Reported at K-4 and 54th St.
April 2020HailMeriden-Reported at K-4 Highway and 62nd St.
April 2020HailMeriden-Reported at 66th and Clark Road.
July 2020Flash FloodMeriden-Report of water over the road at K-4 and 39th Street.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindMeriden-A tree and other branches reported down on the Muddy Creek bridge on K-4. The highway was closed for a brief time.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Three foot diameter tree 20 to 30 feet tall were split and were blocking traffic.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Windows were blown out of a mobile home. A small outbuilding was blown into a tree. Winds were estimated to be 60 to 90 mph. Time was estimated from radar.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Power lines down at K-4 and Detlor Road. Time estimated based on radar signature.
June 2011FloodMeriden-Water flowing across 62nd Street, south of Meriden, caused closure of the road near the Shawnee/Jefferson County line.
April 2009Flash FloodMeriden-Water reported to be running over the intersection of 82nd and Meriden Roads, rendering the roadway impassable.
April 2008Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Power lines and one tree reported down in the city.
April 2008Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Powerlines and one large tree reported down.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Three inch limbs were blown down, and a barbecue grill was blown over.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Estimated 70 mph winds damaged a shop and barn door, blew over a carport, and blew over a child's play fort. The wind gust also blew a second shed that had been anchored and tied down approximately 25 feet from it's original location. Tree limbs 6 to 10 inches in diameter blown down.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Trees downed and pontoon boat overturned.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindMeriden-Tree blown down onto a car in downtown.
August 2005HailMeriden-At Perry Lake Marina.
April 2025HailMeriden-no account filed
June 2017HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2016HailMeriden-no account filed
April 2011HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2011HailMeriden-no account filed
June 2011HailMeriden-no account filed
June 2008HailMeriden-no account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindMeriden-no account filed
March 2006HailMeriden-no account filed
April 2006HailMeriden-no account filed
April 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
April 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
May 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
June 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
June 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
October 2005HailMeriden-no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindMeriden-no account filed
June 2004HailMeriden-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson 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
Rock Creek4.3 miles19
West Shore4.9 miles22
Hilldale5.0 miles22
Hilldale South5.0 miles22
Indian Ridge5.4 miles22
Lake Ridge5.4 miles22
Ozawkie6.3 miles22
Grantville7.3 miles22

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 MeridenAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2094322The 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 478474. 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.

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.