BlockCotton, Alabama
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Eclectic census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36024. The Survey maps it on the Eclectic quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 16 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.
- 1901 USGS Wetumpka quadrangle1:125000
- 1901 USGS Wetumpka quadrangle1:62500
- 1903 USGS Wetumpka quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS Montgomery quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Montgomery quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Montgomery quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Wetumpka quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1984 USGS Eclectic quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Clanton quadrangle1:100000
- 1987 USGS Clanton quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
171 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 171 fires within 5 miles of Cotton between 1994 and 2020, burning about 1,072 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 17 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 burning | 77 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 24 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 17 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 15 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1.2 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2001 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 2001 | Debris and open burning | 3.9 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 August 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 8.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | AL HWY 9, AL |
| 24 August 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
7 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cotton in 7 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 hail. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2010 | Lightning | Cotton | $10,000 | A lightning strike and subsequent fire caused moderate damage to a home on Kowalinga Road. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cotton | $1,000 | Several trees were blown down east of the Central Community. |
| February 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cotton | - | Multiple trees were downed from Eclectic eastward to the Tallapoosa River, including along Double Bridge Ferry Rd, Deer Track Rd, and Red Hill Rd, where a tree fell on a home. |
| April 2020 | Hail | Cotton | - | Large hail covering the ground. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cotton | - | Power lines downed. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cotton | - | Trees and powerlines were reported down at Highway 63 and West Cotton Road. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cotton | - | Powerlines were reported down along Kowaliga Road. |
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.
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 155039. 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.
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.