Cambridge, Wisconsin
23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1991. It lies in ZIP code area 53523. The Survey maps it on the Deerfield quadrangle. 1,638 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 850 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 23 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.
- 1890 USGS Sun Prairie quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1896 USGS Sun Prairie quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1905 USGS Sun Prairie quadrangle1:62500
- 1907 USGS Sun Prairie quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
- 1957 USGS Madison quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Madison quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Deerfield quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Sun Prairie quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1991 USGS Madison quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
115 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 115 fires within 5 miles of Cambridge between 2003 and 2020, burning about 226 acres in total. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 50 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 15 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 6 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 September 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 September 2003 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 1 September 2003 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 August 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 August 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 27 August 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 August 2003 | Natural | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Cambridge: 3 producers, 2 past producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpenter Quarry No. 2 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Norman Carpenter and Son | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Cambridge Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Mankowski Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Nelson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
10 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cambridge in 10 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 lightning, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Cambridge | $100,000 | Several trees either uprooted or damaged. Some fascia, shingles removed from a roof. Shed and fencing damaged. |
| April 1998 | Lightning | Cambridge | $100,000 | no account filed |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $80,000 | A swath of scattered tree, power line, and structural damage across central and southern Jefferson County. This included many uprooted and snapped trees, power lines down, and fallen trees on homes and vehicles especially in Fort Atkinson and Jefferson. The entire roof of a home was removed by the strong winds in Jefferson near the high school. Lakeview Cemetery in Fort Atkinson suffered significant tree damage with trees down on grave sites. An agricultural business near Hellenville sustained damage to fences and shelters built for animals. A 60 mph wind was estimated at the National Weather Service office several miles southeast of Sullivan. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | - | Powerful thunderstorm winds raked the area from around Cambridge east to the Jefferson area. Dozens of large trees were uprooted, and a number of power-lines and power-poles were snapped by broken tree branches. In Jefferson, three buildings were damaged: one of them had extensive damage to its roof and interior ceilings, a business's outdoor sign was damaged, and motel had a roof peel and several imploded windows. A fence in a subdivision east of Cambridge was blown down. A few roads were temporarily closed until tree debris was removed. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Cambridge | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cambridge | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Cambridge | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Hail | Cambridge | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Ripley | 1.6 miles | 16 | |
| Sylvan Mounds | 2.0 miles | 18 | |
| Breezy Knoll | 2.7 miles | 16 | |
| Oakland | 3.7 miles | 18 | |
| Kroghville | 4.0 miles | 23 | |
| Busseyville | 7.4 miles | 18 | |
| Koshkonong Manor | 7.7 miles | 18 | |
| Lake Mills | 7.7 miles | 16 |
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 Cambridge | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2415104 | 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 1562561. 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.








