BlockBefore

Gravel Hill, Alabama

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1936 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Russellville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35653. It stands on Town Branch. The Survey maps it on the Spruce Pine quadrangle.

Gravel Hill within Franklin County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 14 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

120 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 120 fires within 5 miles of Gravel Hill between 1997 and 2020, burning about 1,468 acres in total. None started naturally. 52 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/incendiarism52
Debris and open burning38
Missing data/not specified/undetermined20
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Fireworks2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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 2010Arson/incendiarism17 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
9 September 1999Arson/incendiarism20 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2019Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190906-1
5 September 1999Arson/incendiarism50 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2000Debris and open burning7.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
22 September 2010Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
22 September 2010Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
21 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190921-7

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 142 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 142 workings within 5 miles of Gravel Hill: 119 unknowns, 12 occurrences, 6 past producers, 3 producers. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Limestone, Dimension, 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
Russellville QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Rockwood Crushed Stone PlantLimestone, DimensionPlant
Rockwood MineLimestone, DimensionProducer
AuxfordIronUnknown
BlackburnIronUnknown
Cedar CreekIronUnknown
DebardelebenIronUnknown
DouglasIronUnknown
Ensley-Sloss Number 1IronUnknown
MacyIronUnknown

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this place

9 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gravel Hill in 9 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 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
September 2025Thunderstorm WindGravel Hill$2,000Trees were knocked down along U.S. Highway 43 at the Frosty Inn.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindGravel Hill-Thunderstorm winds knocked down multiple trees and damaged a crane in the industrial park near Russellville.
March 2021Thunderstorm WindGravel Hill-A narrow swath of winds up to 80 mph snapped tops of trees as it entered the parking lot of a funeral home. The winds then stripped the underside of a parking canopy including metal panels. On the east facing side of the building, the entire brick wall facing the east parking lot collapsed. Just east across Lawrence Street at the John Blackwell Sports Complex, a tall backstop fence of a baseball field was knocked to the ground.
February 2020Flash FloodGravel Hill-EMA reports at least 5 roads covered in water and in the process of being blockaded across Franklin County, AL.
October 2017FloodGravel Hill-Reports of 1/2 foot of water observed flowing over AL HWY 243 due to runoff and drainage issues along Payne Creek.
June 2011LightningGravel Hill-Lightning struck a power line at a hotel. A woman experienced a minor injury and was hospitalized due to a resulting electrical surge. Time estimated.
March 2011HailGravel Hill-Quarter size hail was reported.
October 2010HailGravel Hill-Golfball size hail was reported.
October 2010HailGravel Hill-Golfball size hail was reported near Russellville.

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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
Reedtown0.8 miles14
Russellville1.7 miles20
Isbell2.2 miles14
Rockwood3.1 miles14
Pleasant Ridge3.1 miles20
Woodlawn Heights3.3 miles20
Hester Heights4.4 miles20
Good Springs4.6 miles20

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 119259. 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.