Ariton, Alabama
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Ozark census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36311. The Survey maps it on the Ariton quadrangle. 662 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 459 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresAriton fell from 764 to 662 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 | 764 | |
| 2020 | 662 | -102 (-13%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 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.
- 1953 USGS Dothan quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Dothan quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Dothan quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Ariton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Troy quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
47 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Ariton between 1994 and 2019, burning about 458 acres in total. None started naturally. 8 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 | 22 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190930-27 |
| 28 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 24 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 August 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | SER-20140829-001 |
| 23 July 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 June 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 May 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 31 May 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 17 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 17 workings within 5 miles of Ariton: 9 unknowns, 6 past producers, 2 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dal 2 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Dal 5 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown |
Storms near this place
22 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ariton in 22 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 18 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $100,000 | One barn was destroyed and a residence was heavily damaged. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $25,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in the Ariton area. Highway 51 was blocked. There was also roof damage to a building. Damage was estimated. |
| April 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $25,000 | Thunderstorm winds tore off siding, damaged a carport and peeled the roof off a mobile home on Phillips Road south of Ariton. |
| January 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $5,000 | River Road at the Barbour County line was closed due to numerous trees and power lines down. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $5,000 | Several large trees and power lines down in Ariton and on State Road 51 near Ariton. Winds were estimated near 60 mph. Reported by Ariton Police. |
| March 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $2,000 | Roof damage was reported to a building. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $2,000 | Downed trees and power lines in Ariton. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $1,000 | A tree and a power line were blown down on County Road 72 near Ariton. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $1,000 | A tree was blown down on Mincey Bridge Road. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $1,000 | The Dale County EMA reported several downed trees. |
| January 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $500 | A tree was blown down near Ariton. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | $500 | The Dale County EMA reported a few downed trees. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | - | A tree was blown down on CR72 just outside of Ariton. |
| December 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | - | A tree was blown down at Highway 51 and West County Road 72. |
| January 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | - | Trees were blown down at Highway 123 and County Road 120, blocking both lanes. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | - | Trees were down in the Ariton area. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | - | A tree was blown down on County Road 72. |
| March 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ariton | - | Trees were blown down onto Highway 123 going towards Ariton. |
| April 2014 | Hail | Ariton | - | A picture of quarter size hail was submitted via social media. |
| April 2005 | Hail | Ariton | - | Golfball size hail reported by the public. |
| March 2001 | Funnel Cloud | Ariton | - | A funnel cloud was observed by the Dale County Sheriff on Highway 51. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Ariton | - | Golfball sized hail reported by Dale County S.O. in Ariton. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Head | 3.4 miles | 11 | |
| Barnes | 4.6 miles | 8 | |
| Dillard | 5.8 miles | 8 | |
| Phillips Crossroads | 6.0 miles | 7 | |
| Arguta | 6.9 miles | 7 | |
| Dill | 7.1 miles | 8 | |
| Marley Mill | 7.5 miles | 12 | |
| Dykes Crossroad | 8.4 miles | 7 |
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 Ariton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q66022 | 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 151663. 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.




