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Cordova, Alabama

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Cordova census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35550. It lies near Reservoir Hill. The Survey maps it on the Cordova quadrangle. 1,728 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 303 feet above sea level.

Cordova within Walker County

On record in Cordova

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Cordova fell from 2,095 to 1,728 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
20102,095
20201,728-367 (-18%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 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

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.

Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes), Cordova, Walker County, AL
Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes), Cordova, Walker County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

353 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 353 fires within 5 miles of Cordova between 1994 and 2020, burning about 5,300 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 186 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/incendiarism186
Debris and open burning99
Missing data/not specified/undetermined32
Recreation and ceremony12
Railroad operations and maintenance8
Other causes4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Smoking3
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
9 September 1995Debris and open burning4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 2003Arson/incendiarism3.5 acresAlabama Forestry Commission1768 NEW PARRISH HWY, AL
6 September 1999Debris and open burning1.2 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 1995Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 1995Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2019Arson/incendiarism12 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190904-5
4 September 2000Arson/incendiarism10 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2000Smoking5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Walker County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Cordova: 5 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Fire Clay (Refractory), Coal. 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
Cordova Fire Clay DistrictFire Clay (Refractory), CoalProducerSEDIMENTARY
Cordova MineClayProducer
Cordova PitClayProducer
Drummond Coal Co., PitClayProducer
Shale PitClayProducer

Every working recorded in Walker County

Storms near this place

29 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cordova in 29 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 16 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 WindCordova2 hurt, $50,000A diseased tree was blown over and onto a house. Two people inside were injured, and were treated and released from a nearby hospital. One person suffered a broken arm and collarbone, while the other sustained minor injuries. Time of occurrence was estimated.
May 2009Tornado (EF1)Cordova$260,000The tornado touched down on the west side of Cordova along South Street. It then moved east-northeastward through the city of Cordova, and lifted shortly after it crossed near the intersection of Disney Street and Mass Avenue, near Cane Creek. Numerous trees were snapped off or were uprooted along the path. At least 15 homes were damaged by the fallen trees. One of the trees fell on a train and damaged some of the cars but the train did not derail.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindCordova$20,000At least two vehicles were flipped on future I-22, near the Cordova/Parrish exit.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindCordova$10,000A tree fell down on a car and power lines were downed.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindCordova$5,000Four trees were blown down within the city limits of Cordova, in the eastern part of the county, requiring clean up.
May 2003HailCordova$5,000no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindCordova$3,000Multiple trees were blown down between Lynns Park and Cordova, along River Road.
July 2001Flash FloodCordova$3,000Several roads were covered with water and temporarily impassable in and around the city of Cordova.
March 2000HailCordova$3,000Quarter size hail fell in Cordova.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindCordova$3,000no account filed
September 2011Thunderstorm WindCordova$2,000Trees and powerlines were reported down in and around Cordova.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindCordova$2,000Trees and power lines were blown down in and around Cordova.
September 2009Flash FloodCordova$2,000Several roads in the city of Cordova had to be closed due to flooding.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindCordova$2,000Several trees were blown down in Cordova.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindCordova$2,000no account filed
April 2000HailCordova$2,000no account filed
August 2011Thunderstorm WindCordova$1,000A tree was knocked down onto powerlines in Cordova.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindCordova-Trees were downed in the Cordova area.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindCordova-Several trees uprooted along Twin Pines Road.
March 2017HailCordova-Quarter size hail along I-22 in the town of Cordorva.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindCordova-Several trees uprooted in the town of Cordova.
February 2014Thunderstorm WindCordova-Several trees were blown down near the intersection of Highway 78 and Evans Rd.
November 2010Thunderstorm WindCordova-A car was blown off the road by winds estimated around 60 mph, at the Cordova exit on future Interstate 22.
March 2005HailCordova-Ham Radio operators reported nickel size hail in and around Cordova.
April 2012HailCordova-no account filed
April 2012HailCordova-no account filed
April 2011HailCordova-no account filed
April 2010HailCordova-no account filed
December 2008HailCordova-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Walker 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
Ruby (historical)0.9 miles23
Benoit1.4 miles19
Gobblers Crossing1.9 miles19
Corinth2.0 miles19
Dovertown2.2 miles23
Deason Hill2.4 miles23
Big Ridge3.0 miles23
Mount Hope3.1 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 CordovaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79249The 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 116626. 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.