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Calera, Alabama

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Calera census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35040. The Survey maps it on the Montevallo quadrangle. 16,494 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Calera within Shelby County

On record in Calera

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 1 record

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Population over time

3 figures

Calera grew from 234 to 16,494 between 1880 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
1880234
201011,620
202016,494+4,874 (+42%)

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.

Photographs

2 photographs,

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.

Wilton Depot, Ninth Street, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Wilton Depot, Ninth Street, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Vulcan Material Company, Calera Quarry, 1614 Highway 84, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Vulcan Material Company, Calera Quarry, 1614 Highway 84, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

115 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 115 fires within 5 miles of Calera between 1994 and 2020, burning about 943 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 36 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
Debris and open burning49
Arson/incendiarism36
Missing data/not specified/undetermined11
Equipment and vehicle use6
Recreation and ceremony6
Railroad operations and maintenance5
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
7 September 2002Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2000Debris and open burning10 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
29 September 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
28 September 2006Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionECR-20140927-001
20 September 2019Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190920-15
2 September 1999Arson/incendiarism12 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 2000Equipment and vehicle use25 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shelby County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Calera: 5 producers, 4 unknowns, 2 past producers, 2 plants. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Iron, Clay, Stone. 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
Calera PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant
Martin Marietta Cement PlantStonePlant
Alabama Refractory Clay Co. PitClayProducer
Roberta PitClayProducer
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
Calera QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Montevallo MineStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

26 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Calera in 26 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 16 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 tornado, 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
May 2004Thunderstorm WindCalera$14,000Several power lines were blown down on CR 22 near the Shelby Academy. Several trees were blown down on Foundry Road, CR 42, CR 209, and on CR 308.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindCalera$12,000The steeple of the Concord Baptist Church in Calera was blown off and destroyed.
July 2005LightningCalera$11,000Lightning stuck several power lines and transformers. A few of the power lines were knocked down and power outages occurred across many locations in southern Shelby County.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindCalera$11,000Several trees and power lines were blown down in and around Calera.
April 2008Thunderstorm WindCalera$10,000Several large tents were blown over and destroyed, several trees were blown down, and shingles were lifted off the depot building, at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
May 1996HailCalera$10,000no account filed
April 2011Thunderstorm WindCalera$2,000Trees were blown down on CR 16.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindCalera$2,000A few trees were blown down.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindCalera$2,000A few trees were blown down across extreme southern Shelby County. Pea size hail also accompanied this storm.
March 2003Thunderstorm WindCalera$1,000A few trees were blown down on the east side of Interstate 65 near Calera.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindCalera$1,000Trees were blown down in the vicinity of the Shelby County Airport.
February 2025Thunderstorm WindCalera-Trees were downed across much of central and southern Shelby County.
March 2025Tornado (EF1)South Calera-The tornado began in far northern Chilton County near the county line and moved quickly into Shelby County. It moved through South Calera and northward into downtown Calera, where mostly|tree damage was noted. There were several mobile/manufactured|homes damaged on 13th Street as the tornado paralleled US Highway|31 before crossing Interstate 65, where several campers at a|dealership were rolled and/or tossed. Numerous snapped trees were|noted at this location as well. The tornado made a left turn over|Limestone Parkway and moved north-northwest over a shopping|center just east of the intersection of US 31 and AL Highway 70.|Thereafter, the tornado moved into the cone of silence of the|KBMX RADAR near the O'Neal Quarry office, where many trees were|snapped and uprooted. After speaking with Lhoist quarry|officials, no damage was reported at the quarry, and the end of|the tornado was placed just to the north of Oak Tree Lane, where|a few trees were downed and metal farm buildings sustained minor|roof damage. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 90 mph at|both the mobile home neighborhood and the camper dealership. The total path length of the tornado was 7.47 miles.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindCalera-Multiple trees uprooted and power lines downed in Calera.
April 2019Tornado (EF0)Calera-National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Shelby County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 70 mph. The tornado touched down near County Road 16 where it crosses the Vulcan Quarry, causing minor timber damage across Shelby County Road 16 that blocked the roadway. The tornado continued to the north-northeast through inaccessible forested areas and crossed the northern extent of the quarry where no damage was reported by personnel. The tornado moved nearly due north and caused some minor timber damage as it crossed Shelby County Road 22 and uprooted trees as it moved across Sharpsburg Circle. A nearby home had a portion of its wooden fence supports broken due to the winds. Behind a house three trees were uprooted. A few trees were uprooted at the eastern end of Ivanhoe Lane. Further to the north, the tornado crossed Rossburg Drive and Rossburg Place, causing significant roof damage to one home, broke apart portions of five fences, deposited plywood and some roofing material on the roof an other homes, uprooted a few trees and tore a small portion of a roof off of an upstairs room. The tornado then continued northward, between Little John Circle and Nottingham Drive, where it dissipated.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindCalera-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Calera.
January 2015Thunderstorm WindCalera-Several trees uprooted near the intersection of Highway 16 and Faith Lane.
January 2015Thunderstorm WindCalera-A Subway sandwich shop sign was heavily damaged.
April 2013Thunderstorm WindCalera-At least a dozen trees were uprooted across a one mile area near the Timberline Golf Course near the Intersection of Highway 25 and Interstate 65. Two to three dozen trees were also uprooted or snapped near the Water Treatment Plant in Calera.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindCalera-Two large trees fell onto a driveway within the city limits of Calera.
November 2002HailCalera-Dime size hail was observed by NWS personnel at the Shelby County Airport. Quarter size hail was reported on CR 12 at CR 24.
February 1995HailCalera-Dime-size hail was reported in Calera by the Calera Police Department.
April 2012HailCalera-no account filed
March 2011HailCalera-no account filed
March 2011HailCalera-no account filed
April 2006HailCalera-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Shelby 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
Stems2.0 miles19
South Calera2.0 miles16
Ozan2.0 miles16
Pasqua2.6 miles19
Montalla Acres2.8 miles19
Roberta2.9 miles19
Ivanhoe3.3 miles19
Dargin3.4 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 CaleraAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79942The 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 157907. 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.