BlockBefore

Watkins, Alabama

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Alabaster-Helena census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35242. The Survey maps it on the Chelsea quadrangle.

Watkins within Shelby County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 23 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.

Fires near this place

109 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 109 fires within 5 miles of Watkins between 1994 and 2020, burning about 1,143 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 28 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 burning33
Arson/incendiarism28
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Railroad operations and maintenance11
Recreation and ceremony5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Natural3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 1999Natural220 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1995Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 1995Recreation and ceremony7.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1995Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2016Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160930-6
27 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNER-20150927-001
25 September 2005Arson/incendiarism6.1 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shelby County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Watkins: 2 past producers, 2 unknowns, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Perlite, Vermiculite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Irondale PlantVermiculitePast Producer
W. R. Grace Irondale PlantPerlitePast Producer
Johnson ProspectIronProspect
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown

Every working recorded in Shelby 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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Simmsville1.1 miles23
New Hope2.8 miles23
Heritage Oaks2.9 miles22
Chelsea3.4 miles23
Indian Springs Village3.5 miles27
Sunnymeadows3.5 miles22
Hickory Ridge3.5 miles22
Indian Springs Ranch3.8 miles27

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 157221. 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.