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Hokes Bluff, Alabama

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1900 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Hokes Bluff census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35903. The Survey maps it on the Colvin Gap quadrangle. 4,446 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 587 feet above sea level.

Hokes Bluff within Etowah County

Population over time

2 figures

Hokes Bluff grew from 4,286 to 4,446 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.

YearPeople Change
20104,286
20204,446+160 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 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

96 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 96 fires within 5 miles of Hokes Bluff between 1994 and 2019, burning about 1,550 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 34 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/incendiarism34
Missing data/not specified/undetermined31
Debris and open burning21
Recreation and ceremony3
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Smoking1

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 2019Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190909-3
7 September 1998Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2016Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160906-10
6 September 1998Arson/incendiarism8.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 2010Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2016Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160904-5
19 September 2000Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 2010Debris and open burning27 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Etowah County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 16 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Hokes Bluff: 10 unknowns, 6 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Black Bros. S&G PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Boatfield PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Laney MineIronPast Producer
Laney OpeningsIronPast ProducerHematite
Scarborough Iron MineIronPast Producer
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown

Every working recorded in Etowah County

Storms near this place

31 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hokes Bluff in 31 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 18 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 1 lightning, 1 tornado. 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
April 2011Tornado (EF1)Hokes Bluff$9,400,000This tornado initially touched down in eastern Jefferson County, north northeast of Trussville. The tornado moved northeast through portions of St. Clair, Calhoun, Etowah and Cherokee Counties, before it moved into Georgia, across Polk, Floyd and Bartow (See Storm Data Peachtree City) Counties. The tornado moved into southeastern Etowah County, east of Cannon Gap Rd, where it caused mainly tree damage consistent with an EF1 rating and winds of 100 mph. This tornado just clipped the corner of the county. The tornado crossed back into Calhoun County, just south of US Hwy 278. ||This tornado was produced by a supercell thunderstorm that began in Newton County Mississippi at 13:54 pm CST, and eventually dissipated in Macon County, North Carolina at approximately 21:18 pm CST. This supercell spawned several strong to violent tornadoes along its long path, which included another violent EF4 tornado that crossed portions of Tuscaloosa and western suburbs of the Birmingham.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$10,000Numerous trees were blown down in and around Hokes Bluff. One home had structural damage near Ball Play.
August 2002LightningHokes Bluff$10,000no account filed
March 2008Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$5,000Several trees and power lines were blown down.
November 2000Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$5,000One mobile home was pushed completely off its foundation in Hokes Bluff. One garage roof was also damaged. A few trees were blown over near Posey Road.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$5,000no account filed
August 2008Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$3,000Several trees were blown down in the area around Rocky Ford Road and Reeves Road, east of Hokes Bluff.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$3,000Several trees were knocked down on Rocky Ford Road in Hokes Bluff.
November 1996HailHokes Bluff$3,000no account filed
April 2010Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$2,000Trees were blown down onto power lines on Troy Road, east of Hokes Bluff.
December 2009Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff$1,000Two trees were blown down on Bachelors Chapel Road, in the Hokes Bluff area.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-Three trees were downed in the Hokes Bluff area.
April 2025HailHokes Bluff-Quarter size hail was reported in Hokes Bluff.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-Several trees were downed around Hokes Bluff.
March 2024Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-A tree fell onto an occupied vehicle at Young's Chapel Methodist Church, although the motorist escaped without injury.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-Several trees uprooted near the intersection of Colvin Gap Road and Ford Valley Road.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-Several trees uprooted in Hokes Bluff.
March 2013Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-The roof was removed off of a barn on Yancy Drive in Hokes Bluff.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-A tree was downed across Ford's Valley Road near Hokes Bluff.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-One tree was reported down at the intersection of Posey Road and Nora Drive and a second tree was reported down along Croft Ferry Road, northeast of Hokes Bluff.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-Wind gusts were estimated around 60 mph just east of downtown Hokes Bluff.
April 2006HailHokes Bluff-Reported in the Ballplay Community.
April 1999HailHokes Bluff-Dime size hail or larger fell in Hokes Bluff.
March 1995HailHokes Bluff-Dime-size hail was reported at Hokes Bluff in eastern Etowah County.
March 2017HailHokes Bluff-no account filed
April 2017HailHokes Bluff-no account filed
June 2008HailHokes Bluff-no account filed
June 2008HailHokes Bluff-no account filed
June 2008HailHokes Bluff-no account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindHokes Bluff-no account filed
April 2006HailHokes Bluff-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Etowah 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
Bachelors Chapel1.5 miles19
Ewing2.2 miles18
Mayes Crossroad2.2 miles19
Smiths Crossroads2.2 miles18
Noojinsville2.8 miles18
Coato Bend (historical)3.9 miles19
Luke4.0 miles18
Edwardsville4.3 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 Hokes BluffAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79707The 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 155100. 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.