Kaolin, Alabama
23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Valley Head-Mentone census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35989. The Survey maps it on the Sulphur Springs quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 23 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.
- 1886 USGS Stevenson quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Stevenson quadrangle1:125000
- 1895 USGS Stevenson quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1936 USGS Sulphur Springs quadrangle1:24000
- 1946 USGS Sulphur Springs quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS Sulphur Springs quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Chickamauga quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1982 USGS Sulphur Springs quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
334 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 334 fires within 5 miles of Kaolin between 1992 and 2020, burning about 10,113 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 195 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 | 195 |
| Debris and open burning | 75 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 24 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | NOR-20120924-001 |
| 24 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | CO RD 759, VALLEY HEAD ALABAMA, AL |
| 2 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | NOR-20150902-002 |
| 19 September 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.5 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | NOR-20150918-002 |
| 13 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 27 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 27 workings within 5 miles of Kaolin: 14 occurrences, 8 prospects, 5 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Sulfur-Pyrite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Prospect | Sulfur-Pyrite | Prospect | ||
| Clyde Hulgen Iron Property | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| J.C.Mcelroy Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| L.O.Clark Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Ragon Mining Co. Battelle Area | Iron | Past Producer | Hematite | |
| Unnamed | Iron | Past Producer | Hematite | |
| Unnamed Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Prospect |
Storms near this place
3 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kaolin in 3 storm reports between 2011 and 2025: 2 thunderstorm wind, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kaolin | $5,000 | Multiple trees were knocked down on I-59 close to the Hammondville exit. Time estimated by radar. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kaolin | $1,000 | A tree was down at CR 730 at CR 241. Time estimated by radar. |
| April 2011 | Tornado (EF1) | Kaolin | - | A tornado producing damage of EF-1 intensity with peak winds of up to 100 mph touched down near Mentone. The tornado first touched down west of County Road 89 north of downtown Mentone. The tornado moved along a ridge line uprooting many softwood and hardwood trees and snapping them sporadically. The tornado eventually straddled the road further north partially removing a roof to a residence and snapping numerous trees in this area. The tornado lifted about a mile shy of the Georgia state line. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battelle | 1.7 miles | 23 | |
| Oak Grove | 3.3 miles | 21 | |
| Mentone | 3.3 miles | 22 | |
| Hammondville | 4.0 miles | 22 | |
| Valley Head | 4.4 miles | 22 | |
| Townsend Crossroads | 4.6 miles | 21 | |
| Riverdale | 4.7 miles | 22 | |
| Sulphur Springs | 4.8 miles | 23 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 156543. 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.











