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Forney, Alabama

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Spring Garden census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35960. It lies near Suzanne Davis Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Indian Mountain quadrangle. It stands 702 feet above sea level.

Forney within Cherokee County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 18 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

311 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 311 fires within 5 miles of Forney between 1992 and 2020, burning about 9,048 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 212 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/incendiarism212
Debris and open burning50
Missing data/not specified/undetermined34
Natural7
Equipment and vehicle use7
Recreation and ceremony1

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 2005Arson/incendiarism45 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 2005Arson/incendiarism37 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1993Arson/incendiarism31 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2005Arson/incendiarism15 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2000Arson/incendiarism18 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1997Arson/incendiarism13 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cherokee County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 65 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 65 workings within 5 miles of Forney: 37 past producers, 14 unknowns, 9 prospects, 5 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Aluminum, Iron, Manganese, Kaolin. 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
Alabama Company PropertyIron, ManganesePast Producer1874, 1918
MccollumManganese, Nickel, CobaltUnknownResidual
Price-Rowland ProspectManganese, Cobalt, IronPast Producer1938
Gorman ProspectsCobalt, Iron, ManganesePast Producer1930
Mccollum Prospect Cave SpringCobalt, ManganeseOccurrence
North of Bluffington DepositsCobalt, ManganeseOccurrence
Northeastern AlababaCobalt, Iron, ManganesePast Producer1918
Price Rowland DepositManganese, IronPast Producer1938
Price-Rowland ProspectManganese, IronPast ProducerResidual
Central Rock Run AreaAluminum, Water, FreePast Producer1891

Every working recorded in Cherokee County

Storms near this place

17 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Forney in 17 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 10 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash 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
July 2005Thunderstorm WindForney$11,000A few trees were blown down near Forney. One home had its porch blown off and destroyed.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindForney$10,000Wind damaged a barn, and caused several trees to be blown down, in the Bauxite Community.
February 1999Thunderstorm WindForney$5,000Numerous trees and power lines knocked down in the McCord Crossroads area. Several outbuildings sustained minor damage and a few mobile homes lost their front porches.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindForney$2,000A few trees were blown down across the southern part of the county.
August 2025Flash FloodForney-Numerous roadways were flooded or washed out in southern and southeastern Cherokee County, including the Spring Garden area. Impacted roadways included CR 18, CR 12, CR 29, CR 177, CR 8, and Alabama Highway 9. Approximately 4-7 of rain fell in this part of the county. After the flash flooding event, runoff into the Terrapin Creek basin led Terrapin Creek along Highway 9 south of Centre to rise into minor flood stage for a few hours.
January 2020Thunderstorm WindForney-Structural damage to a home and a shed destroyed on County Road 157.
January 2017Flash FloodForney-Cherokee Road 29 under water near the Old Nazareth Church.
May 2005HailForney-Penny size hail was reported along US 431 near Forney.
July 2005HailForney-Dime to penny size hail covered the ground along US 411.
March 2002HailForney-Quarter size hail was reported near the town of Forney.
April 2017HailForney-no account filed
April 2013HailForney-no account filed
June 2011HailForney-no account filed
June 2008HailForney-no account filed
April 2006HailForney-no account filed
May 2006HailForney-no account filed
June 2006HailForney-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cherokee 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
Adams Crossroads1.5 miles18
Hanson2.0 miles18
McCord Crossroads2.1 miles18
Sandy Springs2.2 miles18
Bauxite2.7 miles18
Whorton3.9 miles19
Key4.0 miles18
Rock Run4.4 miles18

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 ForneyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5470373The 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 118508. 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.