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Alabaster, Alabama

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Alabaster-Helena census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35007. The Survey maps it on the Alabaster quadrangle. 33,284 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 502 feet above sea level.

Alabaster within Shelby County

Population over time

2 figures

Alabaster grew from 30,352 to 33,284 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
201030,352
202033,284+2,932 (+10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

126 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 126 fires within 5 miles of Alabaster between 1994 and 2020, burning about 1,459 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 42 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
Arson/incendiarism42
Debris and open burning37
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Railroad operations and maintenance12
Recreation and ceremony10
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking3
Natural3
Other causes1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
9 September 1995Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1995Debris and open burning60 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1997Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1995Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 2007Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 1999Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
17 September 1998Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shelby County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 20 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Alabaster: 7 past producers, 6 producers, 4 unknowns, 3 prospects. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Barium-Barite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Calcium. 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
Alabaster Lime PlantCalciumPast Producer
Landmark Quarry & Lime MillCalciumProducer
Longview Mine & Lime PlantCalciumProducer
Helena QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Scotrock QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Verlie QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Verlie QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
A M Leonard ProspectBarium-BariteProspect
C B Naish MineBarium-BaritePast Producer
C V Moore ProspectBarium-BariteUnknown

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

35 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alabaster in 35 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 17 hail, 15 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning. 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
August 2005LightningAlabaster$90,000no account filed
May 2001Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$20,000no account filed
August 1996HailAlabaster$15,000no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$13,000Several trees were blown down in the southwest part of Shelby County. Trees and street signs were blown down along CR 17 and along SR 119 in Alabaster. A few trees were blown down along CR 10 in Montevallo and temporarily blocked the roadway.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$10,000A few trees were blown down and a service station received some minor roof damage on SR 119.
July 1996Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$10,000no account filed
July 1996HailAlabaster$8,000no account filed
August 1997Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$6,000Numerous trees and power lines were down across the city of Alabaster.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$5,000Several trees and power lines were knocked down in Alabaster and in Montevallo.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$5,000no account filed
January 1997HailAlabaster$5,000no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$5,000no account filed
February 2000Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$2,000Trees were blown down on CR 17 between CR 44 and CR 58.
July 1997HailAlabaster$2,000no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$2,000no account filed
April 2005HailAlabaster$1,000Nickel size hail fell in Alabaster.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$500A tree was downed on Fulton Springs Rd.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$500Trees were blown down at 1st Street South and Old Highway 31, in Alabaster.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindAlabaster$500A single tree was blown down on US-31, near the Instructional Service Center.
March 2020Thunderstorm WindAlabaster-Several trees uprooted in the city of Alabaster.
May 2006Flash FloodAlabaster-Flash flooding was reported on Highway 17, in the Maylene Community.
August 2006Flash FloodAlabaster-CR-17, near the intersection of CR-44, was flooded and temporarily closed.
April 2004HailAlabaster-Penny size hail was observed from Alabaster to Calera. The hail fell at the National Weather Service Office located at the Shelby County Airport for about 7 minutes. The hail briefly covered the sidewalks.
May 2004HailAlabaster-Penny size hail was observed in Alabaster. Numerous branches were also snapped off during the storm.
June 2000HailAlabaster-Dime size hail was reported in the Alabaster area and in some locations it covered the ground.
July 1998HailAlabaster-Dime size hail was reported in Alabaster.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindAlabaster-Hail from one-half to three-quarters of an inch fell at Helena and Alabaster in west-central Shelby County. Nickel-size hail fell at Siluria immediately east of Alabaster. Four large trees up to two feet in diameter were downed in the Scottsdale Subdivision of Alabaster. Wind gusted to 54 mph at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at the Shelby County airport on the south side of Alabaster.
April 1994HailAlabaster-Storm spotters reported three-quarter inch hail in Alabaster.
June 1994HailAlabaster-Quarter-size hail was observed at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at the Shelby County Airport on the south side of Alabaster.
June 2009HailAlabaster-no account filed
May 2008HailAlabaster-no account filed
April 2006HailAlabaster-no account filed
April 2006HailAlabaster-no account filed
April 2006HailAlabaster-no account filed
May 2001HailAlabaster-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Shelby 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
Scottrock0.6 miles27
Siluria1.1 miles19
Valley Forge1.2 miles27
Navajo Hills1.3 miles27
Hardy1.4 miles27
Kingwood1.4 miles27
Navajo Pines1.4 miles27
Port South1.6 miles27

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 AlabasterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79936The 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 112965. 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.