BlockBefore

Ensley, Alabama

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Birmingham census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35218. It lies near Enon Ridge. The Survey maps it on the Adamsville quadrangle.

Ensley within Jefferson County

On record in Ensley

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 within a mile 6 records

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 28 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

4 photographs, 1937

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.

Company house near steel mill. Small garden plot in foreground. Ensley, Alabama
Company house near steel mill. Small garden plot in foreground. Ensley, Alabama
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Company store for steel workers. Ensley, Alabama
Company store for steel workers. Ensley, Alabama
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
Company houses near steel mills. Ensley, Alabama
Company houses near steel mills. Ensley, Alabama
Rothstein, Arthur, 1937. Library of Congress
U.S. Steel, Fairfield Works, Blast Furnace No. 8, North of Valley Road, West of Ensley-Pleasant Grove Road, Fairfield, Jefferson County, AL
U.S. Steel, Fairfield Works, Blast Furnace No. 8, North of Valley Road, West of Ensley-Pleasant Grove Road, Fairfield, Jefferson County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

90 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 90 fires within 5 miles of Ensley between 1993 and 2020, burning about 880 acres in total. None started naturally. 44 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/incendiarism44
Missing data/not specified/undetermined18
Debris and open burning15
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony2

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
6 September 1998Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
29 September 1995Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
28 September 2016Misuse of fire by a minor2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160928-8
26 September 2019Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190926-16
18 September 1999Debris and open burning6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 August 1997Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
27 August 2011Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission201 BATES DRIVE, AL
23 August 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionETHERIDGE DR, AL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 29 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 29 workings within 5 miles of Ensley: 14 past producers, 5 plants, 4 producers, 3 occurrences. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Stone, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Alpha Portland Cement Company PlantStonePlant
Birmingham PlantVermiculitePast Producer
East Thomas Quarry & PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Wade Sand & Gravel Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Watkins Number 1 PitClayProducer
Birmingham Red Ore Dist.IronProducer
Birmingham Red Ore Mines DistrictIronPast Producer1864, 1972
Green Spring MineIronPast Producer
Ishkooda MinesIronPast Producer1863, 1969
Republic Steel/ Birmingham, Ala.IronPlant

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

14 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ensley in 14 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 5 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 4 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2009Flash FloodEnsley$10,000Heavy rains caused water to overflow several streets in the Ensley area. A vehicle became stranded in flood waters, near the intersection of 18th Street and Avenue V.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindEnsley$5,000A large tree fell onto and damaged a home.
April 1998HailEnsley$4,000no account filed
January 1999Thunderstorm WindEnsley$3,000Trees and power lines reported down in Ensley.
March 1997HailEnsley$3,000no account filed
November 2025Thunderstorm WindEnsley-Several trees were downed in the Ensley area, with at least one falling on a house.
March 2021Flash FloodEnsley-Village Creek at Avenue W went into flood and several roads in the Ensley Community were flooded and impassable.
July 2013Flash FloodEnsley-Heavy rain fell over a 3 hour period, resulting in a rise in Village Creek at Avenue W in Ensley. The creek exceeded flood stage at 9:30 pm CDT and remained at or above flood stage until 11:15 pm. In 3 hours, Village Creek rose 7 feet.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindEnsley-A tree was blown down and fell on a structure in Ensley.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindEnsley-Trees and powerlines were downed in Ensley, along 19th Street.
March 2006Flash FloodEnsley-Heavy rain caused Village Creek to go briefly into flood.
April 2006Flash FloodEnsley-Village Creek rose above its banks, about one foot above flood stage. This caused water to cover the roadways near Vanderbilt and Tallapoosa Streets.
June 1995HailEnsley-Dime- to nickel-size hail was reported in the Ensley area of Birmingham. Trees and power lines were reported down in the Pleasant Grove area.
August 2007HailEnsley-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson 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
Little Italy0.5 miles28
Shadyside0.5 miles28
Ensley Highlands0.6 miles28
Frenchtown0.8 miles28
Sherman Heights1.3 miles28
Tuxedo Heights1.3 miles28
Village Creek Junction1.4 miles28
Central Park Highlands1.4 miles24

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 118003. 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.