BlockBefore

Murphy, Missouri

25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Rock Township. It lies in ZIP code area 63026. The Survey maps it on the Maxville quadrangle. 8,425 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 574 feet above sea level.

Murphy within Jefferson County

Population over time

3 figures

Murphy fell from 9,048 to 8,425 between 2000 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
20009,048
20108,690-358 (-4%)
20208,425-265 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 25 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

31 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 31 fires within 5 miles of Murphy between 2003 and 2014, burning about 42 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 3 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Recreation and ceremony5
Debris and open burning4
Arson/incendiarism3
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
26 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
25 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
16 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
9 June 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
22 June 2003Debris and open burningunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
5 May 2007Naturalunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
18 May 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
8 April 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Murphy: 8 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Unknown - S&GSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown - S&GSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown - S&GSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown - S&GSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bussen Antire Quarry & PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Unknown - LsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - LsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - LsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Vigus Antire QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

10 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Murphy in 10 storm reports between 2007 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 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
May 2025Thunderstorm WindMurphy-Thunderstorm winds downed numerous tree limbs, including snapping and uprooting a few larger trees.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindMurphy-A swath of damaging winds from Murphy southeastward into Herculaneum. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down.
December 2010Tornado (EF0)Murphy-The tornado initially touched down at 11:48 AM approximately one mile east of Murphy, Missouri on W. Lakewood Drive in far northern Jefferson County. The damage path was 40 yards wide. The tornado's second touchdown occurred at the Jefferson, St. Louis County Line at Delmar Gardens on Arbor Terrace. Small trees and minor roof damage occurred at Delmar Gardens. The damage path was 50 yards wide and rated EF0. The tornado continued to the northeast into St. Louis County.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindMurphy-Local law enforcement reported several large tree limbs down along Highway 141.
March 2025HailMurphy-no account filed
March 2025HailMurphy-no account filed
May 2024HailMurphy-no account filed
October 2014Thunderstorm WindMurphy-no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindMurphy-no account filed
May 2011Thunderstorm WindMurphy-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
Parkdale2.1 miles24
High Ridge3.4 miles24
Rock Creek3.5 miles25
Paulina Hills3.7 miles25
Weber Hill5.2 miles24
Echo Lake Ranch5.5 miles24
Byrnes Mill6.2 miles24
Maxville6.4 miles25

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 MurphyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q961017The 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 723069. 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.