BlockBefore

Meridian, Texas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Meridian census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76665. The Survey maps it on the Meridian quadrangle. 1,396 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 761 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Meridian within Bosque County

On record in Meridian

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 6 records

Population over time

2 figures

Meridian fell from 1,493 to 1,396 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
20101,493
20201,396-97 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 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.

Photographs

2 photographs, 2014

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin' Post in Meridian, a town in Bosque County, Texas
Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin' Post in Meridian, a town in Bosque County, Texas
Highsmith, Carol M, 2014. Library of Congress
Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin' Post in Meridian, a town in Bosque County, Texas
Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin' Post in Meridian, a town in Bosque County, Texas
Highsmith, Carol M, 2014. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

114 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 114 fires within 5 miles of Meridian between 2006 and 2020, burning about 819 acres in total. 3 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 burning68
Missing data/not specified/undetermined17
Equipment and vehicle use16
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Natural3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Recreation and ceremony2
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
5 September 2015Equipment and vehicle use50 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceREED RANCH
14 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCR 1110
1 September 2012Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePR 1112
1 September 2012Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServicePR 1112 BRUSH
8 August 2012Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service22 W ALLEN
4 August 2017Debris and open burning3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceLEMONS FIRE
4 August 2012Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceBNSF 1991
4 August 2010Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceHAY BAILS 3

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bosque County

Storms near this place

60 of 72 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Meridian in 72 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 39 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 10 flash flood, 3 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 2007Flash FloodMeridian$250,000Highway 22 near Meridian was flooded, and the Bosque River flooded the city park and forced the evacuation of a jail. Near Valley Mills, Highway 56 was flooded and a bridge on CR 3491 was damaged. The Bosque River also flooded Riverside Drive and Whipple Bridge.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindMeridian$200,000Downburst thunderstorm winds damaged several trees and dislodged a dock on the lake at Meridian State Park. Several large, healthy tree branches were broken and entire trees were knocked down.
June 2007FloodMeridian$100,000Officials reported loss of livestock and tens of thousands of dollars of fencing along the Bosque River washed away.
May 2014Flash FloodMeridian$75,000Flash flood waters entered a home near the intersection of FM 2840 and Hwy 174 in Meridian. A third of the home was damaged. Rainfall totals with the storm was 2.5-3 in the area.
March 2007Thunderstorm WindMeridian$20,000A tree was uprooted and a carport damaged.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindMeridian$20,000Large trees were uprooted and several buildings damaged. Power lines were also downed.
March 1998Flash FloodMeridian$15,000A car was washed off a bridge by high water.
April 1995Thunderstorm WindMeridian$15,000Outbuildings were destroyed and a railroad sign was ripped off by high winds.
May 2025HailMeridian$11,000Broadcast media relayed a photo of measured 2.11 inch hail.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindMeridian$10,000A tree was blown onto a building by high winds.
March 2014HailMeridian$5,000no account filed
March 2014HailMeridian$5,000no account filed
May 2006HailMeridian$5,000no account filed
April 2011Thunderstorm WindMeridian$2,000Trees were knocked down by high winds at the Bosque Valley Golf Course.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindMeridian$2,000Trees were blown down and a shed was blown over.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindMeridian$2,000Trees down on Highway 6 between Meridian and Clifton.
May 1996LightningMeridian$2,000no account filed
May 2017HailMeridian$1,000Meridian Voluntary Fire Department reported quarter size hail in Meridian.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindMeridian$500Large tree limbs were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
March 2025HailMeridian-Amateur radio operator reported quarter sized hail in Meridian.
March 2018HailMeridian-Fire and Rescue reported quarter sized hail approximately half a mile north of the city of Meridian, TX.
March 2018HailMeridian-A public report indicated nickel-sized hail in the city of Meridian, TX.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindMeridian-Emergency management reported several trees of 8 to 12 inches diameter were blown down.
June 2014HailMeridian-Half dollar sized hail was reported along Highway 6 approximately 5 miles northwest of Meridian.
April 2014HailMeridian-Meridian VFD reported nickel sized hail.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindMeridian-Large trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds 1 to 2 miles south of Meridian on Highway 6.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindMeridian-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated to be 60 MPH in Meridian.
May 2007Flash FloodMeridian-Street flooding reported in town.
May 2006HailMeridian-Recorded by cooperative observer on monthly report.
May 2005HailMeridian-Golf ball size hail fell at Meridian State Park.
May 2005HailMeridian-Baseball size fell hail near Meridian State Park.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindMeridian-Trees were blown down by high winds.
March 1999Tornado (F0)Meridian-A tornado briefly touched down on Highway 22. No damage was reported.
December 1997Flash FloodMeridian-Several roads across the county were reported flooded.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindMeridian-Trees were blown down by high winds.
April 1994Tornado (F0)Meridian-The Sheriff's office reported a brief touchdown with no known damage.
April 1994Tornado (F0)Meridian-The Sheriff's Office reported a brief touchdown.
April 1993HailMeridian-At Clifton, hail covered the ground three inches deep.
March 2021HailMeridian-no account filed
March 2017HailMeridian-no account filed
May 2015HailMeridian-no account filed
June 2014HailMeridian-no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindMeridian-no account filed
November 2004HailMeridian-no account filed
May 2003HailMeridian-no account filed
June 2003HailMeridian-no account filed
January 2002HailMeridian-no account filed
April 2002HailMeridian-no account filed
May 2001HailMeridian-no account filed
March 2000HailMeridian-no account filed
March 2000HailMeridian-no account filed
May 1999HailMeridian-no account filed
April 1998HailMeridian-no account filed
February 1997Flash FloodMeridian-no account filed
February 1997Flash FloodMeridian-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodMeridian-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodMeridian-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodMeridian-no account filed
October 1997Thunderstorm WindMeridian-no account filed
September 1996HailMeridian-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bosque 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
Bosque5.5 miles12
Morgan7.1 miles17
Womack10.4 miles15
Walnut Springs10.5 miles16
Clifton10.6 miles12
Lakeside Village11.0 miles18
Cedar Shores11.4 miles16
Norse11.6 miles13

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 MeridianAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q973084The 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 1341379. 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.