Watson, Alabama
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Cedar Bluff-Gaylesville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35973. The Survey maps it on the Gaylesville quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 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.
- 1893 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000
- 1898 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000
- 1900 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1955 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Gaylesville quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1981 USGS Rome quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
350 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 350 fires within 5 miles of Watson between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,675 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 247 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 | 247 |
| Debris and open burning | 51 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160909-15 |
| 8 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 90 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 9.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 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 25 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 25 workings within 5 miles of Watson: 14 occurrences, 7 past producers, 3 prospects, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Clay, Manganese. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che 6 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Wilder Manganese Prospect | Manganese | Occurrence | ||
| Gaylesville Area | Iron | Past Producer | Hematite | |
| J A Pilgrim Iron Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Rilgrim Land Area | Iron | Past Producer | Hematite | |
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Mine | Iron | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Watson in 5 storm reports between 2009 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watson | $500 | Trees were downed sporadically north of Gaylesville, including County Road 91, County Road 133 between Blanche and Broomtown, County Road 15 at Henderson Hill Cemetery, and County Road 108. |
| February 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watson | $500 | Several trees were blown down along AL-35, near Watson. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watson | - | Several trees uprooted onto roadways in the Gaylesville and Broomtown areas. |
| November 2019 | Hail | Watson | - | Dime size hail reported near the intersection of Highway 35 and County Road 41. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watson | - | A tree was reported down across County Road 114, near Alabama Highway 35. |
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.
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 128636. 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.








