Williams, Alabama
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Gadsden census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35906. It stands on Rook Creek. The Survey maps it on the Dunaway Mountain quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 22 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.
- 1889 USGS Springville quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Springville quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1947 USGS Dunaway Mountain quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS Steele quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Dunaway Mountain quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Birmingham North quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
120 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 120 fires within 5 miles of Williams between 1994 and 2019, burning about 613 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 30 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 |
| Debris and open burning | 37 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 30 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 1995 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 24 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | NER-20150924-002 |
| 22 September 1997 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 1999 | 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 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Williams: 4 past producers, 3 unknowns, 2 occurrences, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Barium-Barite, Lead, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunaway Mtn. Dolomite Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Pete Green Prospect | Barium-Barite, Lead | Occurrence | ||
| Southside Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Will Morris | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | Residual | |
| Will Morris Mine | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | ||
| Ashville Tract | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Mine | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Prospect |
Storms near this place
5 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Williams in 5 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. 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 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Williams | $154,000 | A thunderstorm downburst produced an extensive area of damage in southern Etowah County, just south of the Southside Community. The damage swath extended from the southern end of Babe Jackson Drive, northeastward for about 3 miles, to AL-77. The heaviest concentration of damage was in the Grant Drive, Routon Circle, Meadow Circle, Nabors Drive, Broughton Springs Road, and Mountain Top Road areas. At least 27 homes and other structures, and 2 vehicles, received minor to moderate damage due to the wind and from fallen trees. Around 100 trees were either uprooted or snapped off. Peak wind gusts were estimated around 100 mph. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Williams | - | Golf ball size hail fell in the Rainbow City area. |
| March 2018 | Hail | Williams | - | Large hail reported in the Riddle Bend area. |
| March 2018 | Tornado (EF2) | Williams | - | National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northern southern Etowah County and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 120 mph. This tornado began in St. Clair County and crossed into Etowah County at Neely Henry Lake. The tornado crossed Highway 77 near Leota Road where numerous trees were either snapped off or uprooted and several structures were damaged by falling trees. The tornado continued east where it narrowed and further intensified as it approached Green Valley Road. The most intense damage was observed along Green Valley Road and Matt Smith Road where several homes suffered complete loss of roofing material and exterior walls. The tornado continued eastward several miles and weakened as it entered Calhoun County. |
| March 2015 | Hail | Williams | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etowahton (historical) | 1.3 miles | 22 | |
| Gum Springs (historical) | 2.4 miles | 22 | |
| Old Harmony | 3.4 miles | 22 | |
| Southside | 4.8 miles | 22 | |
| Rainbow City | 5.0 miles | 22 | |
| Brannon Springs (historical) | 5.0 miles | 22 | |
| Riverside | 5.2 miles | 22 | |
| Morgans Crossroads | 5.2 miles | 22 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 128997. 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.








