Leighton, Alabama

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1924 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Leighton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35646. The Survey maps it on the Leighton quadrangle. 665 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 568 feet above sea level.

Leighton within Colbert County

On record in Leighton

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 3 records

Old Brick Presbyterian Churchlisted 1989
Preuit Oakslisted 1986
John Johnson Houselisted 1986

Surveyed buildings and structures 3 records

Hugh C. Leckey House, State Highway 20 & County Road 48, Leightonfederal building survey, 2 photographs
Presbyterian Church, Mount Pleasant Road, Leightonfederal building survey, 1 photograph
The Oaks, Ricks Lane, Leightonfederal building survey, 12 photographs

Population over time

2 figures

Leighton fell from 729 to 665 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	729
2020	665	-64 (-9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 19 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.

1924 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:48000
1924 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:62500
1926 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
1936 USGS Leighton quadrangle1:24000
1952 USGS Leighton quadrangle1:24000
1956 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1958 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
1960 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1963 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
1971 USGS Leighton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1986 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings

Fires near this place

144 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 144 fires within 5 miles of Leighton between 1994 and 2019, burning about 669 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 40 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	50
Arson/incendiarism	40
Equipment and vehicle use	21
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	13
Recreation and ceremony	10
Smoking	4
Railroad operations and maintenance	2
Natural	2
Misuse of fire by a minor	2

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 2016	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	20160909-9
7 September 2016	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	20160907-6
6 September 1999	Arson/incendiarism	80 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
5 September 1995	Recreation and ceremony	1.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
28 September 1999	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
27 September 2008	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
27 September 2000	Misuse of fire by a minor	1.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
27 September 1999	Arson/incendiarism	1.5 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Colbert County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Leighton: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: 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
	Tuscumbia Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer

Every working recorded in Colbert County

Storms near this place

51 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Leighton in 51 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 29 thunderstorm wind, 14 hail, 5 flash flood, 1 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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
June 1997	Tornado (F1)	Leighton	1 hurt, $100,000	A tornado touched down near the intersection of Sockwell Lane and CR 22 and moved nearly due east causing damage to five houses in the area where it first touched down and to the high school near the end of the track. One person was injured when he fell down the stairs heading to shelter. Several trees were also downed. Several storage sheds were destroyed, too.
August 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$50,000	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down from near the city of Leighton, northward all the way to the Tennessee River. A few of the fallen trees landed on homes.
March 1996	Hail	Leighton	$15,000	no account filed
February 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$14,000	Three large trees were blown down at Colbert County High School. Some of the trees damaged some of the awning at the school.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$10,000	A barn was blown down.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$8,000	no account filed
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$5,000	A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds on New High School Street in Leighton, Alabama.
February 1997	Hail	Leighton	$5,000	no account filed
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$4,000	Trees and powerlines were blown down at this location.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$3,000	Trees and powerlines were knocked down near the intersections of Main Street and New High School Street.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$3,000	Trees were knocked down near this location.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$3,000	Trees were reported blown down at this location.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$3,000	Trees were reported down at this location.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$2,000	Trees were blown down behind a residence on New High School Street.
July 2012	Lightning	Leighton	$2,000	Lighting sparked a small tree fire.
August 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$2,000	A few power lines were downed by severe thunderstorm winds near Colbert County High School.
October 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$2,000	Power lines were blown down in Leighton according to State Police.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$2,000	no account filed
April 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$1,000	A tree was knocked down on High School Street near Colbert County High School.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$1,000	A tree was reported down at near the intersection of Countyline road and Crockett Lane. Time was estimated from radar data.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$1,000	A tree was knocked down at this location on Old Highway 20. Time was estimated from radar.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$1,000	A tree was reported down on near the intersection of Meadow Street and Circle Drive. Time was estimated from radar.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$1,000	A tree was knocked down onto a residence at 1900 Clark Street.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$1,000	A tree was knocked down onto a residence at 2226 North Washington Avenue.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$1,000	Several trees were downed by the wind. One large tree was blown down and blocked Wallace Mill Road temporarily.
February 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$500	A tree was knocked down near 8180 Old Highway 20.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$500	Winds caused damage to a baseball field backstop and net.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$200	A tree was knocked down at the intersection of Crockett Lane and County Line Road.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	$200	A tree was knocked down on 2nd Street and Sadie Roberson Street. Time estimated by radar.
September 2021	Flash Flood	Leighton	-	Leighton Police Dept reports several streets in downtown Leighton under 4-5 feet of water. Also, County Line Road just south of Hwy 20 has about 5-6 feet of water covering it.
June 2019	Hail	Leighton	-	Half dollar sized hail was reported through broadcast media.
March 2017	Hail	Leighton	-	Quarter sized hail was reported.
March 2013	Hail	Leighton	-	Nickel sized hail was reported.
May 2012	Hail	Leighton	-	Nickle sized hail was reported in Leighton.
July 2012	Hail	Leighton	-	Quarter sized hail was reported in Leighton.
August 2011	Flash Flood	Leighton	-	Several inches of water was over the road due to flash flooding along old highway 20, just southeast of Leighton near county line road.
May 2008	Flash Flood	Leighton	-	Heavy rainfall from training thunderstorms produced several inches of running water over several roadways in the Leighton community.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	-	A tree was blown down by thunderstorm winds.
January 2006	Flood	Leighton	-	Heavy rainfall of 1 to 3 inches fell across this region during the 17th and 18th.
April 2006	Hail	Leighton	-	Golfball hail was reported.
September 2006	Hail	Leighton	-	Penny sized hail was reported near the Hatton Fire Department.
September 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	-	Several trees were blown down along Nat Pond Road and 3 Mile Road. Also, a roof was blown off a mobile home and a tree fell on a house.
September 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	-	Two mobile homes sustained roof damage.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Leighton	-	A tree and transformer was blown down due to thunderstorm winds.
February 2003	Flash Flood	Leighton	-	Sixth street flooded in Leighton.
February 2003	Flash Flood	Leighton	-	Sixth Street closed due to two foot of flood waters in Leighton.
May 2003	Hail	Leighton	-	penny size hail reported
May 2002	Hail	Leighton	-	Dime size hail was reported just north of Leighton.
October 2001	Hail	Leighton	-	Nickel size hail was reported in the Lagrange Community.
May 1999	Hail	Leighton	-	Nickel size hail fell in the northeastern part of the county near Leighton.
August 2001	Hail	Leighton	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Colbert 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Section	2.8 miles	15
La Grange (historical)	3.2 miles	19
Whiteoak	3.3 miles	19
Emco-Listerhill Junction	3.5 miles	19
Campbell Settlement (historical)	3.8 miles	19
Underwood Crossroads	3.8 miles	18
Cottontown	4.0 miles	15
Bingham	4.1 miles	15

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 Leighton	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q66513	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 152020. 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.