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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 14 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.
- 1936 USGS Spruce Pine quadrangle1:24000
- 1945 USGS Spruce Pine quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS Spruce Pine quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Haleyville quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
120 since 1997Regional 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/incendiarism | 52 |
| Debris and open burning | 38 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
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 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 17 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190906-1 |
| 5 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 21 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190921-7 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 142 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russellville Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Rockwood Crushed Stone Plant | Limestone, Dimension | Plant | ||
| Rockwood Mine | Limestone, Dimension | Producer | ||
| Auxford | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Blackburn | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Cedar Creek | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Debardeleben | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Douglas | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Ensley-Sloss Number 1 | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Macy | Iron | Unknown |
Storms near this place
9 since 2010Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gravel Hill | $2,000 | Trees were knocked down along U.S. Highway 43 at the Frosty Inn. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gravel Hill | - | Thunderstorm winds knocked down multiple trees and damaged a crane in the industrial park near Russellville. |
| March 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gravel 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 2020 | Flash Flood | Gravel Hill | - | EMA reports at least 5 roads covered in water and in the process of being blockaded across Franklin County, AL. |
| October 2017 | Flood | Gravel Hill | - | Reports of 1/2 foot of water observed flowing over AL HWY 243 due to runoff and drainage issues along Payne Creek. |
| June 2011 | Lightning | Gravel 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 2011 | Hail | Gravel Hill | - | Quarter size hail was reported. |
| October 2010 | Hail | Gravel Hill | - | Golfball size hail was reported. |
| October 2010 | Hail | Gravel Hill | - | Golfball size hail was reported near Russellville. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reedtown | 0.8 miles | 14 | |
| Russellville | 1.7 miles | 20 | |
| Isbell | 2.2 miles | 14 | |
| Rockwood | 3.1 miles | 14 | |
| Pleasant Ridge | 3.1 miles | 20 | |
| Woodlawn Heights | 3.3 miles | 20 | |
| Hester Heights | 4.4 miles | 20 | |
| Good Springs | 4.6 miles | 20 |
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.







