BlockBefore

Wilton, Alabama

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Montevallo census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35115. It stands on Black Branch. The Survey maps it on the Aldrich quadrangle. 587 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 397 feet above sea level.

Wilton within Shelby County

Population over time

2 figures

Wilton fell from 687 to 587 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.

YearPeople Change
2010687
2020587-100 (-15%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 18 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.

Photographs

1 photograph,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Wilton Depot, Ninth Street, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Wilton Depot, Ninth Street, Calera, Shelby County, AL
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

129 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 129 fires within 5 miles of Wilton between 1994 and 2019, burning about 1,289 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 39 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 burning48
Arson/incendiarism39
Missing data/not specified/undetermined24
Recreation and ceremony7
Natural3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Fireworks1
Smoking1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
29 September 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionECR-20140927-001
27 September 2005Arson/incendiarism22 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 1998Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
23 September 2005Arson/incendiarism18 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.5 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNWR-20140919-001
14 September 1998Arson/incendiarism15 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 1995Debris and open burning20 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

10 of 18 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 18 workings within 5 miles of Wilton: 9 producers, 3 past producers, 2 unknowns, 2 plants. 11 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Iron, Fire Clay (Refractory). 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
Martin Marietta Cement PlantStonePlant
White Chert PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Montevallo MineFire Clay (Refractory)Producer
No 1 PitFire Clay (Refractory)Producer
Brierfield Furnace PitsIronPast ProducerGoethite
UnnamedIronUnknown
UnnamedIronUnknown
Alabama Refractory Clay Co. PitClayProducer
Pit No. 3ClayProducer
She 2 Clay ProspectClayProspect

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

3 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wilton in 3 storm reports between 2012 and 2022: 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
March 2022Tornado (EF1)Wilton1 hurtNational Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southwest Shelby County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 88 mph. This tornado originated in Perry County, crossed through eastern Bibb County, and crossed into Shelby County near Moreland Road. The tornado mostly uprooted softwood trees as it approached the town of Wilton. A few homes were damaged in Wilton, in the area of Church Street due to fallen trees. The tornado continued northeast and dissipated over the University of Montevallo campus where a few trees were blown over, several building windows were blown out and some roofing damage was observed on a few buildings.
April 2014Flash FloodWilton-Heavy rainfall moved over Shelby County for an extended period of time, resulting in widespread flash flooding as water flowed across roadways and creeks exceeded bank full. Highway 31 through Pelham and Alabaster, Highway 119 near Oak Mountain, Highway 280 in Chelsea, Highway 25 from Vandiver to Dunnavant became impassable, as well as roads in other cities including Montevallo, Columbia and Harpersville. Buck Creek saw extreme rises and quickly came out of its bank in Alabaster. Parking lots along Highway 31 in Alabaster flooded, with cars partially underwater. Residents were evacuated from a mobile home park along highway 119 due to rising waters.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindWilton-Numerous large trees and power lines were blown down along Highway 25, County Road 8, and Reeder St. Streets were closed until trees could be cleared.

Every storm 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
Montevallo1.8 miles19
Aldrich2.1 miles18
Almont2.5 miles18
Valley Junction3.0 miles19
Dry Valley3.4 miles19
Roberta4.1 miles19
Dogwood5.0 miles19
Underwood5.0 miles19

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 WiltonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q65636The 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 154006. 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.