Gurley, Alabama
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Gurley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35748. It stands on Gurley Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Moontown quadrangle. 816 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 640 feet above sea level.
On record in Gurley
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 1 record
Gurley Historic Districtlisted 2004
Population over time
2 figuresGurley grew from 801 to 816 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 801 | |
| 2020 | 816 | +15 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 22 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.
- 1888 USGS Scottsboro quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Scottsboro quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1936 USGS Moontown quadrangle1:24000
- 1948 USGS Moontown quadrangle1:24000, 5 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
- 1984 USGS Huntsville quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
35 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 35 fires within 5 miles of Gurley between 1997 and 2016, burning about 311 acres in total. None started naturally. 9 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 14 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 9 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
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 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 26 September 1999 | Smoking | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 14 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 August 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 August 2007 | Smoking | 27 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 July 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Gurley: 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elm 1 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect |
Storms near this place
34 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gurley in 34 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 6 flash flood, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2006 | Hail | Gurley | $100,000 | Baseball size hail occurred in this vicinity and was measured at four to five inches deep. Extensive tree damage was also noted along with slight to moderate damage to several vehicles and seven residences. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $20,000 | A mobile home was blown off a trailer transport. |
| June 1996 | Lightning | Gurley | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $12,000 | Trees and some power lines were reported down from Gurley to the eastern edge of the county. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $8,000 | Trees were blown down near the intersection of highway 72 and Gurley Pike. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $6,000 | Public report received via social media of several trees down on Keel Mountain Road near the intersection of Laurel Lane. There was also one tree that fell on a home. Time estimated by radar. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $5,000 | Power lines were reported knocked down from Childress to Jackson roads. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $2,000 | A tree was blown down at 791 Gurley Pike. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $2,000 | A few power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds in the Salty Bottom Road area near Gurley. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $1,000 | A tree was reported down on Chruch Street. Time estimate from radar. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $1,000 | Trees were snapped at 351 Old Gurley Pike. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $1,000 | A tree and power line was knocked down on Gurley Pike. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $500 | A tree was knocked down on utility equipment at Keel Mountain Road in Gurley. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | $500 | A tree was knocked down in Gurley. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Gurley | - | Penny sized hail was reported in Gurley. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Gurley | - | Hail larger than a quarter was reported in Gurley. Time estimated by radar. |
| March 2021 | Flash Flood | Gurley | - | Car submerged at Rock Road at Hwy 72. Water was flowing over the roadway, but depth of water unknown at this time. |
| October 2021 | Flash Flood | Gurley | - | Flooding reported along Little Cove Road. |
| September 2021 | Flash Flood | Gurley | - | Car submerged on Hwy 72 between Gurley and Paint Rock. Image seen on social media. |
| September 2021 | Flood | Gurley | - | Video of roads flooded on social media at the intersection of Rock Cut Road and U.S. Highway 72 in Gurley. |
| March 2018 | Flood | Gurley | - | McMullen Lane at Old Cove Place are covered with water. Flooding is from heavy rainfall, not river flooding just yet. |
| March 2018 | Flood | Gurley | - | Little Cove Road being closed due to floodwaters from the Flint River covering the roadway. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | - | A 30 by 40 foot section of metal roofing was blown onto the intersection of Miller and Gray Roads in Gurley. |
| January 2011 | Flash Flood | Gurley | - | Heavy rainfall caused some roads to be impassable in and near the Gurley community. A car was stranded as it drove into a flooded roadway southwest of Gurley. Rock Cut road was closed due to flash flooding in the same area. |
| January 2009 | Flood | Gurley | - | Heavy rainfall caused isolated flooding to occur in the Gurley area near and at the intersection of highway 72 and Cut Rock Road. |
| January 2009 | Flash Flood | Gurley | - | Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding to occur at the intersection of Little Cove Road and McMullen Road, leaving the intersection completely underwater. |
| December 2008 | Flood | Gurley | - | Moderate to heavy rainfall atop already saturated soils produced renewed flooding on small creeks and streams in central Madison County in and around the Hampton Cove community. Little Cove, Cherry Tree, and Bailey Cove Roads experienced flooding. Little Cove Road was impassible during much of this period. |
| August 2008 | Hail | Gurley | - | Penny sized hail was reported in Gurley. |
| August 2008 | Hail | Gurley | - | Golf ball size hail was reported by the Gurley Fire Department. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Gurley | - | Quarter size hail was reported. |
| February 2005 | Hail | Gurley | - | Golf ball size hail reported. |
| July 2005 | Flash Flood | Gurley | - | Torrential rain from a thunderstorm resulted in several inches of water covering roads. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gurley | - | A few power lines were blown down. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Gurley | - | Golf ball-size hail was reported in Gurley in east-central Madison 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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sublett Mill | 2.3 miles | 22 | |
| Moontown | 4.8 miles | 22 | |
| Brownsboro | 4.8 miles | 22 | |
| Berkley | 5.1 miles | 22 | |
| Cherrytree | 5.3 miles | 22 | |
| Maysville | 5.5 miles | 24 | |
| Dug Hill | 6.0 miles | 22 | |
| Big Cove | 6.4 miles | 22 |
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 Gurley | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q67451 | The 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 119509. 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.








