BlockBefore

Dawson, Alabama

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Geraldine census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35963. It lies near Dugout Valley. The Survey maps it on the Crossville quadrangle. It stands 1,161 feet above sea level.

Dawson within DeKalb County

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 21 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.

Fires near this place

93 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 93 fires within 5 miles of Dawson between 1997 and 2019, burning about 1,464 acres in total. None started naturally. 35 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/incendiarism35
Debris and open burning28
Missing data/not specified/undetermined24
Equipment and vehicle use3
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1
Fireworks1

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 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20190909-2
8 September 2002Debris and open burning42 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
28 September 2016Debris and open burning1.5 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160928-21
23 September 2005Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
14 September 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
10 September 2016Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160910-13
31 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20160831-7
3 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry CommissionNOR-20150803-002

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in DeKalb County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Dawson: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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
Collinsville Area, UnnamedIronPast ProducerHematite
Unnamed, Red Mt. AreaIronPast ProducerHematite

Every working recorded in DeKalb County

Storms near this place

15 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dawson in 15 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 11 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flood. 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
March 2008Thunderstorm WindDawson$10,000One tree was blown down and a barn had part of its roof removed near the Dawson community, 3 miles northwest of Collinsville.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindDawson$1,500A tree was knocked down onto a power line and onto the roadway at the intersection of CR 20 and CR 843.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindDawson$1,000A tree was knocked down across the road at 84 CR 268. Time estimated by radar.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindDawson$1,000A tree was knocked down at the intersection of Alabama Highway 68 and CR 57. Time estimated by radar.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindDawson$500A tree was knocked down at 961 CR 30.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindDawson$200One tree was knocked down on George Cagle Drive.
June 2021Heavy RainDawson-Sand Mountain Research Station (NOAA/HCN) measured 7.6 inches of rainfall.
January 2019FloodDawson-Flooding reported along County 192 just west of Dawson. Up to 3 inches of running water from a creek out of its banks is flooding CR 192.
April 2014Tornado (EF2)Dawson-A tornadic cyclic supercell produced another tornado in the community of Dawson along County Road (CR) 20. Numerous trees were snapped and/or uprooted in this area. The tornado tracked north-northeast snapping additional trees along CR 199, and damaging a mobile home. Another home received minor structural damage along CR 196. The tornado fell a wide swath of trees before it crossed Highway 57. Here it reached maximum intensity (EF-2) with winds of 115 mph, nearly destroying a small home. Several large farm buildings were significantly damaged near the intersection of CR 204 and 57. The tornado nearly paralleled the highway as it tracked further north. Another home sustained roof damage along CR 57 as well. The tornado began a weakening phase north of the intersection with CR 204, with mainly tree damage noted north of that location. The tornado finally lifted just north of the intersection of CR 57 and 109.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindDawson-Damaging straight-line winds knocked trees down and were blocking the roadways near the intersection of County Road 20 and County Road 843, east-northeast of Crossville.
April 2009HailDawson-Penny size hail covered the ground in the Dawson community.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindDawson-A line of severe thunderstorms knocked down trees in the Dawson area on county road 20.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindDawson-Pieces of an old Billboard were blown onto the ground next to the Williams Service Station in the Dawson community.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindDawson-Trees were blown down on County Road 57 near Dawson.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindDawson-Large tree and few power lines down. Reported by Marshall/De Kalb Electric Co-op.

Every storm recorded in DeKalb 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
Nicholson (historical)0.7 miles21
Copeland Bridge2.2 miles21
Fairview2.4 miles21
Skirum2.6 miles21
Cotnam (historical)2.6 miles21
Hendrickville (historical)2.8 miles21
Wills (historical)2.9 miles21
Homer (historical)3.0 miles21

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 DawsonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3709394The 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 155048. 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.