BlockBefore

Chewacla, Alabama

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Auburn-Opelika census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36804. The Survey maps it on the Parkers Crossroads quadrangle. It stands 771 feet above sea level.

Chewacla within Lee County

On record in Chewacla

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

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 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

1 photograph,

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.

Chewacla Limeworks, Limekiln Road, Chewacla, Lee County, AL
Chewacla Limeworks, Limekiln Road, Chewacla, Lee County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

36 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 36 fires within 5 miles of Chewacla between 1994 and 2016, burning about 504 acres in total. None started naturally. 6 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 burning11
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Recreation and ceremony6
Arson/incendiarism6
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Equipment and vehicle use2

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 2010Equipment and vehicle use35 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
26 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry CommissionECR-20140926-001
10 September 2011Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission3590 CR 38, AL
9 August 2000Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2000Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
31 August 1998Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
22 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 July 2006Misuse of fire by a minor34 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lee County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Chewacla: 3 occurrences, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Aluminum, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Ballinger ProspectGoldOccurrenceGold
Hilyer-Knight ProspectIronOccurrence
Kiln-Gilmore Dolomite QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
North Opelika Gibbsite ProspectAluminumOccurrence1977

Every working recorded in Lee County

Storms near this place

5 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chewacla in 5 storm reports between 2007 and 2025: 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2007Thunderstorm WindChewacla$2,000Several trees were blown down along AL-158, east of Opelika.
May 2025Tornado (EF0)Chewacla-A weak EF0 tornado embedded in a line of severe thunderstorms|occurred in the Salem area on the evening of May 3. The tornado|began over a wooded area east of Lee Road 151, northeast of the|National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) Test Track. The |1start point was estimated using radar data as the area was |inaccessible by roads. Moving slightly south of due east, the tornado |passed just north of Lee Road 2119, where a few small trees or |limbs were snapped on Lee Road 187. By this point a Tornado |Debris Signature (TDS) was evident on radar. On Lee Road 749, a |few small pine trees had the tops snapped or limbs snapped off. |Little damage was noted across Highway 280 near Dudley Lumber, |but more significant tree damage was noted on property just |northwest of Wacoochee Elementary School. Numerous trees were |uprooted and limbs were snapped across the property, in line with |the TDS on radar. One tree limb fell on part of a home, causing |very little damage. Tree damage continued to just northeast of a |large pond, where the track ended. NWS Birmingham would like |to thank Lee County EMA for conducting this survey.
October 2021Flash FloodChewacla-At least six inches of flowing water over Highway 280 near the intersection of Meadows Mill Road. Lee Road 215 and Lee Road 318 flooded and impassable.
July 2018HailChewacla-Golf ball sized hail reported east of the town of Opelika.
June 2011HailChewacla-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lee 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
Edgewood Forest1.2 miles13
Hallway2.0 miles13
Crooked Creek2.2 miles15
Spring Villa2.6 miles13
Opelika2.8 miles14
West Ridge3.3 miles15
Rocky Brook3.6 miles14
Five Points3.7 miles14

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 ChewaclaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q14679023The 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 156176. 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.