BlockBefore

Ballplay, Alabama

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Hokes Bluff census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35903. The Survey maps it on the Ballplay quadrangle. 1,437 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 594 feet above sea level.

Ballplay within Etowah County

Population over time

2 figures

Ballplay fell from 1,580 to 1,437 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
20101,580
20201,437-143 (-9%)

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

81 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 81 fires within 5 miles of Ballplay between 1995 and 2020, burning about 1,364 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 39 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/incendiarism39
Debris and open burning23
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Natural1
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
9 September 2016Debris and open burning6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160909-11
9 September 1998Arson/incendiarism53 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
9 September 1998Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 2007Debris and open burning12 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2016Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160906-10
6 September 2010Debris and open burning6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2002Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1998Arson/incendiarism35 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Etowah County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Ballplay: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron. 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
Chulafinnee Mine-Lot 1050IronPast Producer
Leeth Mt. AreaIronPast ProducerHematite
Black Bros. S&G PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Boatfield PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sogna PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Etowah County

Storms near this place

16 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ballplay in 16 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 11 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 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 2002LightningBallplay$23,000no account filed
April 2011Thunderstorm WindBallplay$5,000A tree was knocked down on Gowens Road. Another tree was blown down on Fords Valley Road in the community of Ballplay.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindBallplay$4,000no account filed
July 2010Thunderstorm WindBallplay$3,000Trees were blown down on Gilley Road near the Ballplay community.
May 1999HailBallplay$3,000Nickel to quarter size hail was reported near Ballplay and in other locations across eastern Etowah County.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindBallplay-Several trees uprooted near the intersection of Tom Cat Road and Beaird Road.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindBallplay-Several trees were uprooted in the Hokes Bluff and Ball Play areas. One tree fell on a house.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBallplay-Several trees and power lines downed in the Coates Bend area.
March 2017HailBallplay-Quarter size hail fell along Beard Road.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindBallplay-Several trees uprooted.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindBallplay-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the Coates Bend Community.
December 2014Thunderstorm WindBallplay-Power lines downed on Centre Highway in the Ballplay Community.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBallplay-Trees were reported down along Coats Bend Road.
March 2017HailBallplay-no account filed
March 2012Thunderstorm WindBallplay-no account filed
May 2011HailBallplay-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Etowah 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
Coato Bend (historical)2.0 miles19
Hale (historical)2.6 miles19
Mayes Crossroad3.1 miles19
Banner (historical)3.9 miles19
Bachelors Chapel4.3 miles19
Oak Hill (historical)4.6 miles19
Luke4.9 miles18
Murrycross5.0 miles19

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 BallplayAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1261613The 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 113428. 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.