Oleander, Alabama
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Union Grove census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35016. It lies near Pritchett Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Newsome Sinks quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 20 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 Cullman quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Cullman quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1936 USGS Newsome Sinks quadrangle1:24000
- 1947 USGS Newsome Sinks quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1950 USGS Newsome Sinks quadrangle1:24000, 2 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 Guntersville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
49 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Oleander between 1995 and 2019, burning about 464 acres in total. 1 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 | 20 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 9 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 1268 HICKORY CIRCLE, AL |
| 26 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190926-7 |
| 24 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 26 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160902-1 |
| 19 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Oleander: 2 producers. All of them still produce. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Shale Pits | Clay | Producer | ||
| Shale Pit No 2 | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
11 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oleander in 11 storm reports between 2007 and 2025: 8 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2009 | Flood | Oleander | $5,000 | Heavy rainfall from strong to severe storms caused water to cover the following roads south of Morgan City: Mount View Road, Mount Olive Church Road, Midway Road. |
| April 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Oleander | $2,000 | The first area, near Union Grove, found damage consistent with an EF-0 tornado. The tornado produced slight damage to the back of one home, destroyed a shed, and several trees were uprooted. The tornado damage path was approximately 1.6 miles in length, and approximately 100 feet in width. Maximum wind speeds were approximately 85 mph with this tornado. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | $1,000 | A tree was knocked down on Brock Chapel Road. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | $1,000 | A tree was reported down near the intersection of highway 231 and Mountain View road. Time was estimated from radar. |
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | $500 | One tree was knocked down on the road at 6000 Union Grove Road near Mountainview Church Road. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | - | Several trees were snapped several feet off the ground and blown across the road on Union Grove Road. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | - | Multiple trees were knocked down on McDermott Drive. |
| November 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | - | Power lines were knocked down along Water Tank Road and Mountain View Road in Union Grove. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | - | Power lines and trees were knocked down near the intersection of Quarry Road and Union Grove Road. |
| November 2016 | Tornado (EF1) | Oleander | - | A tornado developed near the Union Grove Road and Tinner Mayo Road intersection in the Union Grove Community. As it developed multiple trees were snapped and uprooted causing minor roof damage to one single family home. More significant home damage was sustained to another nearby single family house due to trees snapping and falling on the roof.||As the tornado proceeded northeast to Tinner Mayo Road, it flipped a recreational vehicle and moved it into a single family home causing damage to the home and destroying the recreational vehicle. Meanwhile, the tornado caused shingles to come off the roof of this single family house. Further to the northeast, the tornado uplifted the roof of a storage shed for hay and caused minor roof damage to a double wide manufactured home.||More damage was sustained to a single family dwelling near Tinner Mayo and Brock Chapel road as the tornado continued northeast where the roof was completely uplifted and blown into the field. The tornado then snapped a few more hardwood trees before lifting just northeast of Bean Rock Road. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oleander | - | Trees and power lines were blown down at Brocks Chapel Road and Mountain View Road. Some trees were 4 feet in diameter and over 100 feet tall. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allens Crossroads | 1.2 miles | 20 | |
| Cherokee Ridge | 1.9 miles | 20 | |
| Mount Olive | 3.3 miles | 20 | |
| Meadowood | 3.6 miles | 20 | |
| Ruth | 3.8 miles | 20 | |
| Eddy | 4.2 miles | 20 | |
| Southern (historical) | 4.2 miles | 20 | |
| Union Grove | 4.3 miles | 22 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 124276. 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.









