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.
Population over time
2 figuresBallplay 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,580 | |
| 2020 | 1,437 | -143 (-9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 19 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.
- 1893 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000
- 1898 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000
- 1900 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1955 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Ballplay quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1981 USGS Rome quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
81 since 1995Regional 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/incendiarism | 39 |
| Debris and open burning | 23 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160909-11 |
| 9 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 53 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160906-10 |
| 6 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 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 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chulafinnee Mine-Lot 1050 | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Leeth Mt. Area | Iron | Past Producer | Hematite | |
| Black Bros. S&G Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Boatfield Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Sogna Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
16 since 1999Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2002 | Lightning | Ballplay | $23,000 | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | $5,000 | A tree was knocked down on Gowens Road. Another tree was blown down on Fords Valley Road in the community of Ballplay. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | $4,000 | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | $3,000 | Trees were blown down on Gilley Road near the Ballplay community. |
| May 1999 | Hail | Ballplay | $3,000 | Nickel to quarter size hail was reported near Ballplay and in other locations across eastern Etowah County. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | Several trees uprooted near the intersection of Tom Cat Road and Beaird Road. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | Several trees were uprooted in the Hokes Bluff and Ball Play areas. One tree fell on a house. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | Several trees and power lines downed in the Coates Bend area. |
| March 2017 | Hail | Ballplay | - | Quarter size hail fell along Beard Road. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | Several trees uprooted. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the Coates Bend Community. |
| December 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | Power lines downed on Centre Highway in the Ballplay Community. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | Trees were reported down along Coats Bend Road. |
| March 2017 | Hail | Ballplay | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballplay | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ballplay | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coato Bend (historical) | 2.0 miles | 19 | |
| Hale (historical) | 2.6 miles | 19 | |
| Mayes Crossroad | 3.1 miles | 19 | |
| Banner (historical) | 3.9 miles | 19 | |
| Bachelors Chapel | 4.3 miles | 19 | |
| Oak Hill (historical) | 4.6 miles | 19 | |
| Luke | 4.9 miles | 18 | |
| Murrycross | 5.0 miles | 19 |
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 Ballplay | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1261613 | 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 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.








