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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.

Ariton within Dale County

Population over time

2 figures

Ariton 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.

YearPeople Change
2010764
2020662-102 (-13%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 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

47 since 1994

Regional 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 burning22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined11
Arson/incendiarism8
Recreation and ceremony3
Equipment and vehicle use2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
30 September 2019Debris and open burning20 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190930-27
28 September 2007Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined12 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
29 August 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionSER-20140829-001
23 July 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 June 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 May 2002Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
31 May 2000Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Dale County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 17 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Dal 2 Clay ProspectClayProspect
Dal 5 Clay ProspectClayProspect
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown

Every working recorded in Dale County

Storms near this place

22 since 1998

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2008Thunderstorm WindAriton$100,000One barn was destroyed and a residence was heavily damaged.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindAriton$25,000Numerous 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 2009Thunderstorm WindAriton$25,000Thunderstorm winds tore off siding, damaged a carport and peeled the roof off a mobile home on Phillips Road south of Ariton.
January 2023Thunderstorm WindAriton$5,000River Road at the Barbour County line was closed due to numerous trees and power lines down.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindAriton$5,000Several 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 2011Thunderstorm WindAriton$2,000Roof damage was reported to a building. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindAriton$2,000Downed trees and power lines in Ariton.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindAriton$1,000A tree and a power line were blown down on County Road 72 near Ariton.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindAriton$1,000A tree was blown down on Mincey Bridge Road.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindAriton$1,000The Dale County EMA reported several downed trees.
January 2014Thunderstorm WindAriton$500A tree was blown down near Ariton.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindAriton$500The Dale County EMA reported a few downed trees.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindAriton-A tree was blown down on CR72 just outside of Ariton.
December 2024Thunderstorm WindAriton-A tree was blown down at Highway 51 and West County Road 72.
January 2023Thunderstorm WindAriton-Trees were blown down at Highway 123 and County Road 120, blocking both lanes.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindAriton-Trees were down in the Ariton area.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindAriton-A tree was blown down on County Road 72.
March 2016Thunderstorm WindAriton-Trees were blown down onto Highway 123 going towards Ariton.
April 2014HailAriton-A picture of quarter size hail was submitted via social media.
April 2005HailAriton-Golfball size hail reported by the public.
March 2001Funnel CloudAriton-A funnel cloud was observed by the Dale County Sheriff on Highway 51.
May 1998HailAriton-Golfball sized hail reported by Dale County S.O. in Ariton.

Every storm recorded in Dale 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
Rocky Head3.4 miles11
Barnes4.6 miles8
Dillard5.8 miles8
Phillips Crossroads6.0 miles7
Arguta6.9 miles7
Dill7.1 miles8
Marley Mill7.5 miles12
Dykes Crossroad8.4 miles7

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 AritonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q66022The 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.