BlockCenter, Missouri
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Center Township. It lies in ZIP code area 63436. The Survey maps it on the Center quadrangle. 528 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 715 feet above sea level.
On record in Center
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 1 record
St. Paul Catholic Churchlisted 1979
Population over time
2 figuresCenter grew from 508 to 528 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 | 508 | |
| 2020 | 528 | +20 (+4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 12 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.
- 1903 USGS Palmyra quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Center quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1991 USGS Center quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
4 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Center between 1997 and 1999, burning about 66 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 | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 August 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 14 August 1999 | Debris and open burning | 55 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 8 April 1997 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 31 March 1997 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Center: 2 past producers. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton's Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
23 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Center in 23 storm reports between 1994 and 2022: 14 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. The reports record 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1996 | Lightning | Center | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $50,000 | Widespread wind damage across Ralls County, especially in Center, New London and portions of Hannibal in northeastern Ralls County. There were numerous tree limbs blown down as well as power lines. In Center, a tree was blown down onto a house causing moderate roof damage. In New London, another large tree was blown down onto a house causing moderate roof damage. A tree was blown down onto Highway HH north of New London. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Center | $30,000 | A tornado initially formed near the intersection of Highway 19 and County Road 209. Power pole and tree damage was noted at this location. The tornado moved east northeast and caused more tree damage about 3/4 mile south of Highway 19 and Clarence Cannon Lane. The tornado crossed Highway P about 1 mile south of Center. Large power poles were bent over about 20 degrees at this location. The tornado moved east northeast and damaged a modular home and a machine shed near Kingbird and Vesper Drive. About 100 yards east of this location a mobile home was turned onto its side. |
| February 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $5,000 | The county sheriff reported trees and power poles down in Center. A billboard sign was also blown down north of New London along Highway 61. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $500 | Several large trees were blown down along Highway 19 northeast of Center. Trees were also knocked down in New London with one damaging the corner of a house. Rainfall up to four inches was reported by a local newspaper. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $200 | Power lines and poles were blown down east of Center. |
| April 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Thunderstorm winds damaged a large trampoline. |
| July 2020 | Flash Flood | Center | - | Up to three inches of rain caused flash flooding in and around the Spalding area. Water two to three feet deep was over Highway M about 3.5 miles west of U.S. Highway 61. Also, a vehicle was stuck in water up to 18 inches deep on Highway H just south of intersection with Highway A. |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs around town. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs and a couple of street signs. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous power lines between Center and New London. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | An intense bow echo moved through blowing down numerous large trees, tree limbs and power lines. Just southwest of Center on Highway 19, a line of trees extending about 200 yards (30 to 50 feet tall) were uprooted. In Center, numerous tree limbs were blown down and a few trees were uprooted. Four homes sustained minor roof damage from fallen tree limbs. Further northeast along Highway 19, several power poles were snapped off. In New London, several more trees were blown down, as well as numerous tree limbs. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Thunderstorm winds snapped off several telephone poles between Center and Perry. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Several large tree limbs were blown down. |
| December 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Center | - | A tornado touched down about 4 miles north of Center near Highway H. Two machine sheds and large tree limbs were damaged by the tornado. The tornado rapidly moved northeast and touched down a second time southeast of the intersection of Homestead and Kingsville Lanes. Three machine sheds were damaged at this location. Further northeast the tornado crossed Highway A west of New London, damaging several large trees before lifting and dissipating. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees across roads south of the town of Center. Then as the storm moved to the north it blew down several large tree limbs and a power line in New London near the county courthouse. No structural damage was reported. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Center | - | The County Sheriff reported 3/4 inch hail. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Amateur radio spotters reported trees and power lines down in Center. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Center | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madisonville | 3.9 miles | 17 | |
| Cincinnati | 5.2 miles | 12 | |
| Hatch | 7.3 miles | 12 | |
| Spalding | 7.6 miles | 12 | |
| Joanna | 7.8 miles | 12 | |
| West Hartford | 7.9 miles | 16 | |
| The Landing | 8.0 miles | 12 | |
| Shaver Ford | 8.6 miles | 12 |
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 Center | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q530678 | 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 729291. 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.