BlockOld Bethel, 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 35654. It stands on Mulwee Branch. The Survey maps it on the Old Bethel quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 19 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.
- 1924 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:48000
- 1924 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:62500
- 1926 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1936 USGS Old Bethel quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Old Bethel quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
86 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 86 fires within 5 miles of Old Bethel between 1996 and 2019, burning about 501 acres in total. None started naturally. 24 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 | 32 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 24 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 20 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160908-16 |
| 5 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160927-3 |
| 27 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Old Bethel: 10 unknowns, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Storms near this place
21 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Old Bethel in 21 storm reports between 2009 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 1 lightning, 1 flash 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 2009 | Tornado (EF1) | Old Bethel | $33,000 | This was an EF-1 tornado with a peak wind of 100 mph, path length of 0.26 miles, and a maximum path width of 75 yards. The tornado touched down along County Line Road about one mile south of Whiteoak and moved northward before lifting before reaching Alabama Highway 157 near Bingham. The roof of a church was heavily damaged and several large trees were snapped or uprooted. Also, numerous power lines were blown down. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $5,000 | A pole and tornado siren were knocked down near the La Grange Volunteer Fire Department. Time estimated by radar. |
| November 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were knocked down. |
| March 2010 | Lightning | Old Bethel | $5,000 | Lightning struck a storage shed at a residence and set it on fire. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $3,000 | A tree and some power lines were knocked down at this location on Waldrep Loop. Time was estimated from radar data. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $2,000 | A single tree was reported down at 1565 Poplar Creek Loop near Missionary Baptist Church south of Leighton. An additional tree was reported down near that address. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $1,000 | A tree was knocked down at Bethel Cemetery Road and County Line Road. Time estimated by radar. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $1,000 | A tree was knocked down at this location on Aycock Cemetery road. Time was estimated from radar. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $1,000 | A tree and power lines were knocked down at 1725 Pineywoods Road. |
| October 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $500 | A tree was knocked down at Lagrange Road and Clement Road. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $500 | A tree was knocked down at 3110 Waldrep Loop. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $500 | Large tree limbs were reported blown around. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $200 | A tree was knocked down on County Line Road at Bethel Cemetery Road. Time estimated by radar. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $200 | A tree was knocked down at 2540 Piney Woods Road. Time estimated by radar. |
| November 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $100 | A tree was knocked down at LaGrange Road west of Witt Store Road. |
| February 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | $100 | A wind gust of 53 mph was reported. |
| November 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Old Bethel | - | Trees were knocked down near the intersection of Piney Woods Road and Aycock Bridge Road. |
| July 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Old Bethel | - | A tornado touched down in the southeast corner of Colbert County in the LaGrange community. The tornado touched down along Poplar Creek Loop west of County Road 48 (County Line Road). Here, numerous trees were uprooted or had large sections of branches snapped. The tornado continued to move southeast crossing County Line Road. Damage to mainly softwood trees was noted along Wolf Springs Road as the tornado straddled the Bring Crossing into Lawrence County. |
| December 2015 | Flash Flood | Old Bethel | - | Bridge washed out on County Road 1518. |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF1) | Old Bethel | - | A tornado touched down Monday evening near the intersection of Clement Road and LaGrange road in the LaGrange community in southeast Colbert County. Here, several hardwood trees were either snapped or uprooted. A large outbuilding was completely destroyed and another smaller one sustained significant damage. Several hardwood trees were sheared off very near the base along LaGrange Road. Damage here was consistent with winds of at least 100 mph.||The tornado moved east-northeast crossing Logan Lane and Waldrep Loop. Minor damage, mainly lost shingles, was noted to several homes with one home losing an awning. Numerous trees had large limbs snapped or twisted in this area.||The tornado then produced sporadic tree damage in the forested area between Waldrep Loop and Country Line Road (CR 48). As the tornado crossed CR 48, substantial tree damage was noted at a homestead. Large hardwood trees, some greater than 2 feet in diameter, were snapped or uprooted. A utility pole was also snapped near the ground. The damage was consistent with at least 105 mph here. |
| May 2011 | Tornado (EF2) | Old Bethel | - | A tornado touched down immediately west of Waldrep Loop and north of Lagrange Road in extreme southeastern Colbert County. Multiple large trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. The most significant damage occurred to a house along Waldrep Loop, where large sections of the roof structure were removed, or pushed off the adjoining carport. A chicken house across the street completely collapsed with roofing material tossed up to 100 yards. Tree damage continued eastward to the intersection of County Line and Wolf Springs Roads. A church at this intersection sustained roof damage and dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted around a nearby single family home. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Grange | 1.3 miles | 19 | |
| Poplar Creek (historical) | 2.4 miles | 19 | |
| Pane (historical) | 2.9 miles | 19 | |
| Bingham | 4.7 miles | 15 | |
| Campbell Settlement (historical) | 4.7 miles | 19 | |
| Whiteoak | 5.0 miles | 19 | |
| Cottontown | 5.6 miles | 15 | |
| La Grange (historical) | 5.9 miles | 19 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q122557180 | 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 152765. 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.