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.
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
Canaan Baptist Churchlisted 2005
Dunbar High Schoollisted 2011
Thomas McAdory Houselisted 1972
Southern Railway Terminal Stationlisted 1973- Downtown Bessemer Historic Districtlisted 1992
- Owen Plantation Houselisted 1976
- Dr. Thomas McAdory Owen Houselisted 1982
Surveyed buildings and structures 12 of 42 shown
- Black Worker Houses, Morgan Road, Bessemerfederal building survey, 2 photographs
- Company School for Blacks, 413 Morgan Road, Bessemerfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Company School for Whites, Bessemerfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Concord Mine, Bessemerfederal building survey, 5 photographs
- F. S. Royster Guano Company, Plant, 32nd Street, Bessemerfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- F. S. Royster Guano Company, Shed, 32nd Street, Bessemerfederal building survey, 2 photographs
- Gibson Sheet Metal Works & Western Rope & Fittings, Incorporated, Twentieth Street at Fourth Avenue North, Bessemerfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Independent Baptist Church, Avenue G, Bessemerfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Koopers Coke Works, Woodward Iron Company Site, 2134 Koopers Drive, Bessemerfederal building survey, 5 photographs
- McAdory House, 214 Eastern Valley Road, Bessemerfederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Muscoda Red Ore Mining Community, Bessemerfederal building survey, 3 photographs
- New Village Worker Houses, New Avenue, Bessemerfederal building survey, 2 photographs
Population over time
2 figuresBessemer 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 27,456 | |
| 2020 | 26,019 | -1,437 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 24 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.
- 1890 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1905 USGS Bessemer Iron District quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1905 USGS Bessemer Special quadrangle1:48000
- 1907 USGS Bessemer Iron District quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1907 USGS Bessemer Special quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1975 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Birmingham South quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Photographs
8 photographs, 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
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fires near this place
138 since 1994Regional 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/incendiarism | 62 |
| Debris and open burning | 44 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 1995 | Smoking | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 14 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | 1025 MANOR CIRCLE, AL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 42 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Portland Cement Company Plant | Stone | Plant | ||
| Dolonah Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Mine No. 53 | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Producer | ||
| Bessemer Mine | Clay | Producer | ||
| Bessemer Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Shannon Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Ironaton | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Ironaton | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Potter Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Potter No. 1 Mine | Iron | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
26 since 1994Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | 1 hurt, $20,000 | Several 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 2002 | Hail | Bessemer | $100,000 | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Hail | Bessemer | $95,000 | A 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 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | $50,000 | Nickel 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 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Flash Flood | Bessemer | $15,000 | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Bessemer | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | $10,000 | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Hail | Bessemer | $5,000 | Quarter to golfball size hail was reported in Bessemer. |
| January 1997 | Hail | Bessemer | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | $3,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down around Bessemer. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | $3,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down along Camp Oliver Road. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | $3,000 | Trees were knocked down in the city of Bessemer. |
| April 2005 | Hail | Bessemer | $1,000 | Nickel size hail was observed at Visionland Theme Park. |
| November 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | $1,000 | Several trees were blown down in and around Bessemer. |
| March 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bessemer | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Bessemer. |
| March 2007 | Hail | Bessemer | - | Reported on the northwest side of Bessemer. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Bessemer | - | Nickel to quarter sized hail fell for several minutes around Bessemer. The hail completely covered the road along Interstate 59 near Brighton. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Bessemer | - | Reported in Midfield. |
| April 2006 | Funnel Cloud | Bessemer | - | Observed near I-50 and 18th Street. |
| June 2003 | Hail | Bessemer | - | Half dollar size hail was reported by a motorist in Bessemer. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Bessemer | - | Nickel size hail was reported on 1-459 at mile marker 4. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Bessemer | - | Penny size hail was reported in Midfield. |
| February 2007 | Hail | Bessemer | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Bessemer | - | no account filed |
| April 2000 | Hail | Bessemer | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longbrook Estates | 0.8 miles | 24 | |
| Sloss | 0.8 miles | 24 | |
| Bessemer Homestead | 0.8 miles | 24 | |
| Cloverdale | 0.8 miles | 24 | |
| Brickyard Junction | 0.9 miles | 24 | |
| Blue Creek Junction | 1.0 miles | 24 | |
| West Lake Highlands | 1.0 miles | 24 | |
| Circle Heights | 1.2 miles | 24 |
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 Bessemer | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79973 | 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 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.











