BlockBefore

Bessemer, Alabama

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Birmingham census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35020. The Survey maps it on the Bessemer quadrangle. 26,019 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 513 feet above sea level.

Bessemer within Jefferson County

On record in Bessemer

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 7 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 12 of 42 shown

Every surveyed structure in Jefferson County

Population over time

2 figures

Bessemer fell from 27,456 to 26,019 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
201027,456
202026,019-1,437 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 24 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.

Photographs

8 photographs, 1937

Taken 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.

Home of Frank F. Densmore, near Bessemer, Alabama. Mr. Densmore and family will move to Greenwood, Alabama
Home of Frank F. Densmore, near Bessemer, Alabama. Mr. Densmore and family will move to Greenwood, Alabama
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Tennessee Coal & Iron Company Church, State Route 150 at Morgan Road, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Tennessee Coal & Iron Company Church, State Route 150 at Morgan Road, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Tennessee Coal & Iron-U.S. Steel Surface Plant, Shop, East of State Route 150, on South slope of Red Mountain, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Tennessee Coal & Iron-U.S. Steel Surface Plant, Shop, East of State Route 150, on South slope of Red Mountain, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Pyne Red Ore Mine, Boiler House, State Route 150, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Pyne Red Ore Mine, Boiler House, State Route 150, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Worker Houses, 1500 Block Minnesota Avenue, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Worker Houses, 1500 Block Minnesota Avenue, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Southern Railway Terminal Station, 1905 Alabama Avenue, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Southern Railway Terminal Station, 1905 Alabama Avenue, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Southern Railway Depot, 1905 Alabama Avenue, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Southern Railway Depot, 1905 Alabama Avenue, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Muscoda Red Ore Mining Community, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Muscoda Red Ore Mining Community, Bessemer, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

138 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 138 fires within 5 miles of Bessemer between 1994 and 2019, burning about 954 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 62 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/incendiarism62
Debris and open burning44
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Equipment and vehicle use5
Recreation and ceremony5
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Smoking1
Natural1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
7 September 2010Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 2010Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1995Smokingunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1995Arson/incendiarism72 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 1995Debris and open burning14 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1995Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission1025 MANOR CIRCLE, AL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 42 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 42 workings within 5 miles of Bessemer: 23 past producers, 9 occurrences, 5 producers, 4 unknowns. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Fire Clay (Refractory). 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
Alpha Portland Cement Company PlantStonePlant
Dolonah QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Mine No. 53Fire Clay (Refractory)Producer
Bessemer MineClayProducer
Bessemer PitClayProducer
Shannon PitClayProducer
IronatonIronUnknown
IronatonIronUnknown
Potter MineIronPast Producer
Potter No. 1 MineIronPast Producer

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

26 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bessemer in 26 storm reports between 1994 and 2020: 15 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 1 injury. 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
March 2006Thunderstorm WindBessemer1 hurt, $20,000Several trees were blown down and one home was damaged in Bessemer. One injury resulted from a tree that fell onto a house on Dicky Springs Road.
March 2002HailBessemer$100,000no account filed
April 1998HailBessemer$95,000A large hail storm moved over Jefferson County, dropping hail ranging from dime size to golf ball size. Leaves were knocked off some trees. In the Birmingham area, hail was reported at McAdory, Lipscomb, Bessemer, Midfield, Pratt City, and throughout the city of Birminghami including the civic center, university hospital, the Birmingham airport, and Roebuck Plaza.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindBessemer$50,000Nickel size hail was reported at Tannehill State Park in extreme southern Jefferson County. A 13-inch diameter tree was downed in the northwest section of Bessemer.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindBessemer$50,000no account filed
May 1996Flash FloodBessemer$15,000no account filed
May 1996HailBessemer$10,000no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindBessemer$10,000no account filed
March 2000HailBessemer$5,000Quarter to golfball size hail was reported in Bessemer.
January 1997HailBessemer$5,000no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindBessemer$3,000Trees and power lines were blown down around Bessemer.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBessemer$3,000Trees and power lines were blown down along Camp Oliver Road.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindBessemer$3,000Trees were knocked down in the city of Bessemer.
April 2005HailBessemer$1,000Nickel size hail was observed at Visionland Theme Park.
November 2000Thunderstorm WindBessemer$1,000Several trees were blown down in and around Bessemer.
March 2020Thunderstorm WindBessemer-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Bessemer.
March 2007HailBessemer-Reported on the northwest side of Bessemer.
April 2006HailBessemer-Nickel to quarter sized hail fell for several minutes around Bessemer. The hail completely covered the road along Interstate 59 near Brighton.
April 2006HailBessemer-Reported in Midfield.
April 2006Funnel CloudBessemer-Observed near I-50 and 18th Street.
June 2003HailBessemer-Half dollar size hail was reported by a motorist in Bessemer.
June 1998HailBessemer-Nickel size hail was reported on 1-459 at mile marker 4.
April 1998HailBessemer-Penny size hail was reported in Midfield.
February 2007HailBessemer-no account filed
April 2006HailBessemer-no account filed
April 2000HailBessemer-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson 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
Longbrook Estates0.8 miles24
Sloss0.8 miles24
Bessemer Homestead0.8 miles24
Cloverdale0.8 miles24
Brickyard Junction0.9 miles24
Blue Creek Junction1.0 miles24
West Lake Highlands1.0 miles24
Circle Heights1.2 miles24

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 BessemerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79973The 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 113977. 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.