Waco, Alabama

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1936 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Russellville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35654. The Survey maps it on the Spruce Pine quadrangle.

Waco within Franklin County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 14 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.

1936 USGS Spruce Pine quadrangle1:24000
1945 USGS Spruce Pine quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
1947 USGS Spruce Pine 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
1980 USGS Haleyville quadrangle1:100000

Fires near this place

86 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 86 fires within 5 miles of Waco between 1996 and 2020, burning about 2,034 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 34 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	34
Debris and open burning	27
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	17
Equipment and vehicle use	4
Smoking	2
Fireworks	1
Natural	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
5 September 1999	Arson/incendiarism	50 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
21 September 2018	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	20180921-6
21 September 2010	Arson/incendiarism	40 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
2 September 2007	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
19 September 1999	Arson/incendiarism	10 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
18 September 1999	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	18 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
15 September 1999	Equipment and vehicle use	460 acres	National Forests in Alabama	CHERRY HILL
15 September 1999	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	706 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 41 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 41 workings within 5 miles of Waco: 35 unknowns, 3 past producers, 2 producers, 1 occurrence. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, 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.

Site	Commodity	Status
Russellville Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Ensley-Sloss Number 1	Iron	Unknown
Pearl R Peters Iron Mine No 2	Iron	Past Producer
Russellville Mine	Iron	Producer
Sloss Number 10	Iron	Unknown
Sloss Number 11	Iron	Unknown
Sloss Number 14	Iron	Unknown
Sloss Number 2	Iron	Unknown
Sloss Number 3	Iron	Unknown
Sloss Number 6	Iron	Unknown

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this place

7 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Waco in 7 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 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
February 2025	Tornado (EF2)	Waco	1 hurt	The tornado quickly formed while embedded within the line of severe thunderstorms late Saturday night. It touched down just south of Russellville Road and east of Harris Creek. There the tornado blew out the doors of a large, metal storage shed and lofted an ATV across the property. The tornado shifted east-northeast just south of Russellville Road and Highway 75 where it uprooted numerous hardwood trees, some of which fell on houses. Residents at this location received advanced National Weather Service warning and took refuge in their tornado shelter before their home was impacted. Several homes also experienced partial roof loss further east on Russellville Road. The tornado shifted north of Highway 24 where the vortex contracted and strengthened. Among uprooted hardwood trees on one property, the upper quarter of a large silo collapsed. Further east, numerous trees were uprooted, some on houses and cars. Near the Highway 78 and Highway 83 junction, a manufactured home was impacted with roof and siding damage. The resident was thankful for the early warning from the National Weather Service as it allowed time for her family to safely seek refuge. The tornado tracked east-northeast of Highway 78 and destroyed several small farm buildings before impacting homes near the McGuire Loop area. Near McGuire Loop and Rocky Glen Road, the tornado knocked down numerous power lines in trees before completely removing the roof of one single-family residence. A brick wall collapsed on an male occupant requiring hospitalization. This is where the strongest intensity of the tornado likely occurred. The tornado traveled to the northeast portion of McGuire Loop where pine trees were snapped. The tornado lifted west of Highway 87.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Waco	$10,000	Trees were knocked down onto County Road 175. Power outages were reported.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Waco	$10,000	Trees were knocked down onto County Road 75. Power outages were reported.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Waco	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds knocked two trees down along Highway 24 east of Russellville.
December 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Waco	$3,000	Some trees were blown down by severe thunderstorms winds along highway 724 near Russellville. Time estimated by radar.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Waco	$2,000	A shed was destroyed and a few trees were blown down along Baker Road.
February 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Waco	$500	Thunderstorm winds blew a shed over on a property along CR 144 southeast of Russellville.

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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
Pleasant Ridge	2.5 miles	20
Tharptown	3.1 miles	20
Mountain Star	4.1 miles	20
Newburg	4.1 miles	14
Russellville	4.3 miles	20
Gravel Hill	4.7 miles	14
Good Springs	4.7 miles	20
Reedtown	4.8 miles	14

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 128482. 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.