Cottonwood, Alabama
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Cottonwood census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36320. The Survey maps it on the Cottonwood quadrangle. 1,048 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 164 feet above sea level.
Population over time
4 figuresCottonwood grew from 352 to 1,048 between 1910 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 352 | |
| 2000 | 1,170 | |
| 2010 | 1,289 | +119 (+10%) |
| 2020 | 1,048 | -241 (-19%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 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.
- 1953 USGS Dothan quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Dothan quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Dothan quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Cottonwood quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Dothan quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
55 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 55 fires within 5 miles of Cottonwood between 1993 and 2020, burning about 460 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 4 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 | 23 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190909-8 |
| 20 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | 32/SELLERS ROAD-0544 |
| 20 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 32/SELLERS ROAD #2-0547 |
| 18 September 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 19 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20200804-2 |
| 29 August 2011 | Debris and open burning | 8.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 18195 COTTONWOOD RD, AL |
| 28 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 428 BUDMOORE ROAD, AL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
45 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cottonwood in 45 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 34 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2002 | Lightning | Cottonwood | 1 hurt | A woman was injured when she was struck by lightning. Reported by the Houston County EMA. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $30,000 | One shed was heavily damaged and a mobile home's roof was damaged by flying debris. A few trees down. Reported by WTVY-TV meteorologist. |
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $30,000 | Straight-line winds downed trees and caused roof damage to a residence southwest of Cottonwood near the Florida-Alabama state line. |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $30,000 | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $25,000 | Downed trees damaged two homes in Cottonwood. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $20,000 | A downburst associated with a collapsing thunderstorm produced a concentrated swath of wind damage in southern Houston county stretching about 2 miles away from either side of a roughly 6.5 mile long line from Cottonwood to about 3 miles east-northeast of Love Hill. Within this area, around 18 trees were blown down along with numerous power lines down, numerous utility sheds damaged, and a few barns damaged. Trees blocked roads in the following areas: Sweetie Smith Road, 1560 Kirkland Rd., Gene Terry at Nobles, September Rd, Womack Rd, 4763 S. Rocky Creek Rd., Hickory Grove at Co. Rd. 81, 1243 E. County Rd. 8, 172 Edwin Reynolds Rd., 591 Kirkland, and 435 Rooster. Trees fell on houses in the following areas: 188 September Rd., Cottonwood RV Park, and the 700 block of September Rd. Two chainsaw teams from Houston county were activated to clear roads. No injuries were reported. Monetary damage was estimated. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $20,000 | Downed power lines. A barn was destroyed. Reported by NWS Mobile. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $20,000 | Downed trees and roof damage just east of Cottonwood. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $5,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in the Cottonwood area. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $3,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down about 2 miles from Cottonwood. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $3,000 | The roof was blown off an unoccupied mobile home in Cottonwood and a sign was blown down. Monetary damage was estimated. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $2,000 | Trees were blown down. Monetary damage was estimated. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $2,000 | A few trees were blown down. Monetary damage was estimated. |
| March 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $2,000 | Several trees and power lines were down in Cottonwood. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,500 | Trees were blown down along with hail of unknown size. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,000 | Power lines were blown down around Cottonwood. |
| November 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,000 | A power line was blown down at the 6700 block of Cottonwood Road. |
| November 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,000 | A tree was blown down at the intersection of Womack and Hickory Grove Roads. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,000 | A power line was blown down in Cottonwood. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,000 | Large limbs and power lines were blown down about 2 miles northwest of Cottonwood. Monetary damage was estimated. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,000 | Sheriff's office reported 2 trees down along Cottonwood Rd. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $1,000 | Numerous trees down reported by county EMA. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $750 | The public reported a large tree down across a driveway about 3 miles north of Cottonwood. The report was obtained via facebook. Monetary damage was estimated. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $250 | A few trees were down. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | Trees were blown down in the Cottonwood area. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | Trees were blown down along Fletcher Smith Road at Metcalf Street near Cottonwood. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | Trees were blown down in the Cottonwood area. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | A tree was blown down on McCoy Road near Cottonwood. |
| January 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | A tree was blown down in the Cottonwood area. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | A tree was blown down across a road in the Cottonwood area. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | Numerous trees and a power line were blown down in the Cottonwood area. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | A tree was blown down at the 14000 block of Cottonwood Road. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | Trees and power lines were blown down on the 1100 block of Cottonwood Road. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | A tree was blown down in Cottonwood with no damage reported. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | A couple of trees were blown down in Cottonwood. |
| July 2012 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | The public reported a hail size between dimes and quarters 5 miles north of Cottonwood. The report was obtained via facebook. |
| June 2004 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Penny size hail reported by the Houston County EMA. |
| July 2002 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Dime size hail reported by NWS Mobile. |
| July 2002 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Dime size hail reported by NWS Mobile. |
| June 2002 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Dime size hail reported by the Houston County EMA. |
| March 2000 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Dime size hail on Highway 53. Reported by the Houston County EMA. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Golfball sized hail reported by Houston County Fire Department. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Hail up to three-quarters of an inch was reported across the southern portion of Houston County. |
| March 2025 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| April 2021 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sealy Springs | 0.8 miles | 8 | |
| Terry Crossroads | 4.1 miles | 8 | |
| Hodgesville | 4.3 miles | 8 | |
| Madrid | 4.8 miles | 8 | |
| Love Hill | 4.9 miles | 8 | |
| Keytons | 5.4 miles | 8 | |
| Grangeburg | 5.7 miles | 8 | |
| Five Points | 5.7 miles | 8 |
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 Cottonwood | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q68127 | 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 116695. 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.




