Sipsey, Alabama
21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Sipsey census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35584. It stands on Burton Creek. The Survey maps it on the Sipsey quadrangle. 363 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 430 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresSipsey fell from 437 to 363 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 | 437 | |
| 2020 | 363 | -74 (-17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 21 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.
- 1893 USGS Jasper quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1949 USGS Sipsey quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1951 USGS Sipsey quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Sipsey quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Jasper quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
224 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 224 fires within 5 miles of Sipsey between 1994 and 2020, burning about 4,267 acres in total. None started naturally. 89 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 | 89 |
| Debris and open burning | 77 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Other causes | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 1.8 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 24 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1999 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Sipsey: 1 producer. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drummond Coal Co., Pit | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
31 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sipsey in 31 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 18 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | 1 hurt, $35,000 | Several trees and power lines were blown down in and around Sipsey. A few homes were damaged by fallen trees. One woman suffered minor injuries when a tree fell on her home. |
| April 1998 | Tornado (F1) | Sipsey | $130,000 | no account filed |
| December 2008 | Tornado (EF2) | Sipsey | $100,000 | The tornado touched down near the intersection of Snow Drive and Old Pineywoods Road, just north of US-78. It then traveled northeastward and crossed CR-77 and lifted shortly thereafter. One mobile home was totally destroyed and rolled approximately 50 feet. At least two additional mobile homes suffered significant damage. Two chicken houses were damaged. A few hundred trees were either snapped off or were uprooted along the path. |
| May 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | Sipsey | $25,000 | A tornado briefly touched down along Highway 69 and crossed the road before lifting. A carport was destroyed with debris scattered across the road. Several trees were uprooted and snapped and a trampoline was carried 200 yards downwind. A utility pole was also snapped but was likely impacted by debris. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | $3,000 | Several trees were blown down on Mountain View Road. |
| February 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | $2,000 | Several trees down reported in Sipsey. |
| February 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | $2,000 | Several trees blown down on Smith Lake Dam rd, near Highway 69. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | $500 | A few trees were downed in the Argo area of Walker County. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Trees were downed on Sipsey Rd. |
| February 2026 | Hail | Sipsey | - | Quarter-size hail fell in the Pineywoods area. |
| February 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Social media report of trees and a power line down on Pineywoods Sipsey Rd. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Several trees were downed in the Sipsey area. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Several trees uprooted on Highway 69 between Jasper and the Cullman County line. |
| November 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | A QLCS produced wind damage in the town of Sipsey, consisting of uprooted trees and downed power lines. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed along Sipsey Road. |
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Several trees uprooted along Highway 78. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Wind gust estimated between 60 and 70 mph west of Sipsey, near old U.S. Highway 78. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Trees were blown down at the intersection of Pineywoods Sipsey Rd and Capps Rd. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Trees were blown down at the intersection of Tidwell Cemetery Rd and Old Pineywoods Rd. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Trees and power lines were blown down in the 1200 block of Sipsey Road. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Trees were blown down on Pineywoods Sipsey Rd and Claude Banks Rd, blocking the roadway. A school bus was trapped due to the fallen trees. No injuries. |
| March 2008 | Hail | Sipsey | - | Penny size hail covered the ground several inches deep in the Sipsey Community. |
| December 2008 | Flash Flood | Sipsey | - | Heavy rain caused water to flow over a bridge near the Sipsey Community. |
| April 1995 | Hail | Sipsey | - | Quarter-size hail was reported in Jasper by the sheriff's office. Half dollar-size hail was reported at Sipsey in the eastern part of the county. |
| March 1994 | Hail | Sipsey | - | Three-quarter-inch hail was reported in Eastern Walker County. |
| March 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sipsey | - | Three-quarter-inch hail was reported in Eastern Walker County. |
| March 2021 | Hail | Sipsey | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Hail | Sipsey | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Hail | Sipsey | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Hail | Sipsey | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Hail | Sipsey | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campbellville | 1.8 miles | 21 | |
| Black Warrior Town (historical) | 2.0 miles | 21 | |
| Argo | 2.3 miles | 21 | |
| Dilworth | 2.3 miles | 21 | |
| Rocky Hollow | 3.0 miles | 21 | |
| Coon Creek | 3.1 miles | 21 | |
| Lynns Park | 3.3 miles | 19 | |
| Hull | 3.8 miles | 21 |
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 Sipsey | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q68142 | 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 153455. 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.







