Bankhead, Alabama
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Valley Head-Mentone census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35984. It stands on Stillhouse Branch. The Survey maps it on the Valley Head quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 22 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.
- 1886 USGS Stevenson quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Stevenson quadrangle1:125000
- 1895 USGS Stevenson quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1936 USGS Little Falls quadrangle1:24000
- 1946 USGS Valley Head quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Valley Head quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Chickamauga quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1983 USGS Valley Head quadrangle1:24000
Photographs
8 of 10 photographs shown, 1937Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Every photograph of DeKalb County
Fires near this place
345 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 345 fires within 5 miles of Bankhead between 1992 and 2019, burning about 5,526 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 221 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 | 221 |
| Debris and open burning | 78 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2020CHATTOOGA005 |
| 6 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2003-CHATTOOGA-018 |
| 21 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160921-2 |
| 20 September 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | CO RD 759, VALLEY HEAD ALABAMA, AL |
| 20 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 8.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 391 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190919-35 |
| 19 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | NOR-20150918-002 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Bankhead: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Head Area | Iron | Past Producer | Hematite |
Storms near this place
5 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bankhead in 5 storm reports between 2007 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2010 | Tornado (EF3) | Bankhead | $1,500,000 | The same supercell which produced the tornado in from Blount into Marshall and DeKalb Counties produced a second tornado around 11:25 PM CDT. This tornado touched down 4 miles south southwest of Mentone, near Desoto State Park. The tornado reached EF-3 intensity with speeds up to 140 mph destroying several single wide manufactured homes. The tornado also snapped and uprooted numerous large trees. Significant damage was seen along it's path to the Alabama/Georgia state line. The hardest hit areas were between CR 117 and CR 106, just to the south southeast of Mentone. The most significant damage occurred to a trailer park (Morning Glory Court) where several single wide manufactured homes were completely destroyed. Numerous large trees were also snapped or uprooted. The tornado continued moving northeast and crossed into Chattooga county (Northwest Georgia) around 11:34 PM CDT. Additional damage occurred as it traveled another 8 miles into northern Chattooga county. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bankhead | $5,000 | A few trees were downed by thunderstorm winds along County roads 89 and 106, about a mile west-southwest of Mentone, Alabama. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bankhead | $1,000 | A tree was knocked down on CR 177 at Moon Lake Church. Time estimated by radar. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bankhead | $1,000 | A tree was knocked down on CR 642. Time estimated by radar. |
| October 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bankhead | - | Thunderstorm winds blew a tree down across CR 89, 1.5 miles south of Mentone. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale | 1.5 miles | 22 | |
| Mentone | 2.4 miles | 22 | |
| Valley Head | 3.3 miles | 22 | |
| Hammondville | 4.2 miles | 22 | |
| Cordell (historical) | 4.7 miles | 22 | |
| Lake Howard | 4.8 miles | 22 | |
| Alpine | 4.9 miles | 22 | |
| Kaolin | 4.9 miles | 23 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 156021. 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.











