Simpson's Florist (Additional Documentation)

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.

From the record

One of 20 National Register listings published here for Morgan County · listed in 2023 · category: Building.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building, 1 object as contributing to the listing.
Address. 902 6th Avenue SE, Decatur, 35601
When was it listed? November 2023
Category. building
Census division. Decatur
National Register reference number. 100009550 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

45 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 45 fires within 5 miles of Simpson's Florist (Additional Documentation) between 1995 and 2016, burning about 359 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 10 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	13
Arson/incendiarism	10
Debris and open burning	8
Equipment and vehicle use	6
Recreation and ceremony	3
Misuse of fire by a minor	2
Smoking	1
Natural	1
Railroad operations and maintenance	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
7 September 2015	Misuse of fire by a minor	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	NOR-20150908-001
5 September 1995	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
4 September 2007	Debris and open burning	10 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
15 September 1999	Debris and open burning	35 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
14 September 1998	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
26 August 1998	Equipment and vehicle use	40 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
17 August 2000	Equipment and vehicle use	40 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
12 August 1999	Debris and open burning	1.1 acres	Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge	WWSSPOTNOD

Every fire recorded in Morgan County

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Simpson's Florist (Additional Documentation): 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: 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.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Plant 1 Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer

Every working recorded in Morgan County

Storms near this property

60 of 128 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Decatur, the town this property stands in, in 128 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 71 thunderstorm wind, 23 hail, 22 flash flood, 8 lightning. The reports record 2 injuries. 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
July 1999	Lightning	Decatur	1 hurt, $10,000	Lightning struck a metal awning at a large home supply store and traveled down a metal pole into the parking lot shocking a man who was loading lumber under the awning. The man was temporarily blinded by the lightning strike but was able to transport himself to a nearby hospital. Doctors kept him overnight but he displayed no serious injuries other than a small exit wound on his left ear. The telephone system in the store was damaged by the lightning strike.
March 1996	Lightning	Decatur	1 hurt, $2,000	no account filed
July 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$30,000	no account filed
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$28,000	no account filed
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$25,000	Trees and power lines were reported down on the 1700 block of Beltline road. A roof was also taken off of an Asian Grill restaurant by the winds.
August 2012	Flash Flood	Decatur	$20,000	Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in less than one hour, much of it occurring in less than one half hour, fell across downtown Decatur and nearby areas causing flash flooding. Several roads were closed or were impassible. A mother and child were stranded in their vehicle in flood water at the intersection of Eighth Street and Church Street Northeast. Flood water was up to the base of car windows on Lee Street at the Courthouse. The City Hall basement had flooding as well.
April 2006	Hail	Decatur	$20,000	Hail two inches in diameter produced damage to several vehicles and minor roof damage to three homes.
June 2002	Lightning	Decatur	$20,000	Two adjacent homes were struck by lightning in Decatur. Fires were ignited in both homes and each sustained damage.
April 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$20,000	no account filed
July 1997	Flash Flood	Decatur	$18,000	Heavy rains, about an inch in 15 minutes, snarled traffic and flooded many downtown roads in Decatur. Numerous cars were flooded out and water reportedly got into the city hall and courthouse buildings but not significant damage occurred.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$15,000	Several trees and powerlines were reported down in Decatur.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$15,000	Several trees and power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds.
September 2002	Lightning	Decatur	$15,000	Lightning struck two homes in the Decatur area. Both homes caught on fire and sustained varying degrees of damage. No injuries were reported.
January 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$15,000	no account filed
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$10,000	The roof of Emmanuel church was lifted and torn off and blown into the adjacent parking lot.
April 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$10,000	Trees and power lines were reported down southwest of Decatur.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$10,000	no account filed
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$10,000	no account filed
July 1997	Lightning	Decatur	$8,000	A nearly direct lightning strike to an electrical substation blew out power to about 15 percent of Decatur for almost an hour.
April 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$6,000	A tree was uprooted and fell on a house at 606 Ferry Street.
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$6,000	Several trees were uprooted in Decatur and Hartselle. There were also some power outages due to trees falling on the lines.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$5,000	A tree fell on a house along 5th Avenue.
April 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$5,000	A tree was downed onto a powerline by thunderstorm winds on Chapel Hill Road, near Decatur, Alabama.
October 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$5,000	Power lines were downed due to thunderstorm winds.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$5,000	A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds just north of Decatur.
January 1997	Hail	Decatur	$5,000	no account filed
November 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$5,000	no account filed
April 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$4,000	A tree was blown down on Johnston Street SE onto a house.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$4,000	Several trees were blown down in and around the city of Decatur.
February 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$4,000	no account filed
February 1997	Lightning	Decatur	$4,000	no account filed
October 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$3,000	Numerous trees were blown down just southwest of the city of Decatur.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$3,000	Trees and power lines were knocked down across the city of Decatur.
April 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$3,000	The Emergency Management Agency reported at least one telephone pole holding a warning siren was snapped off during a thunderstorm. Time is estimated.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$2,000	Multiple trees were knocked down in Decatur.
June 2014	Lightning	Decatur	$2,000	Lightning struck and damaged a barn.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$2,000	A few trees were blown down in Decatur.
September 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$2,000	A few trees were blown down in and around the city of Decatur.
April 1998	Hail	Decatur	$2,000	no account filed
October 1997	Hail	Decatur	$2,000	no account filed
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$1,000	A tree was reported down in the roadway on Jackson Street at this location. Time was estimated from radar.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$1,000	A tree was reported down near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 4th Street.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds knocked trees down at Vine Street and Ferry Street.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$1,000	A few trees and power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds.
April 2006	Tornado (F0)	Decatur	$1,000	A tornado briefly touched down just east of Decatur along highway 20 and produced some light tree damage and heavily damaged a large billboard sign near Interstate 65 before dissipating.
October 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$1,000	no account filed
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$500	A tree was reported down on a house on Oak Street in NE Decatur.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$500	A tree was knocked down blocking the road on Finley Drive NW at the railroad track. Time estimated by radar.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$500	A thunderstorm produced isolated wind damage between Grove Street and Madison Street Northwest. Two portions of a very large tree were blown down, knocking down adjacent power lines. This same thunderstorm produced a waterspout on nearby Lake Wheeler. Time estimated by radar.
March 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$500	Trees were blown down along Highway 36 between Highway 67 and Interstate 65. A billboard sign was blown onto a mobile home on Sixth Avenue.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	$200	A tree was knocked down at Banks-Caddell Elementary School. Time estimated by radar.
August 2023	Flood	Decatur	-	Lee Street blocked due to flooding. Depth of water unknown.
July 2021	Flash Flood	Decatur	-	Flooding reported at the intersection of Church and 6th Avenue in Decatur.
September 2021	Flash Flood	Decatur	-	Lee Street in front of the Courthouse is under water. Parts of Church Street also underwater, affecting businesses. Fire and Police Dept assisting motorists in the area. Depth of water unknown.
February 2019	Flood	Decatur	-	Church Street and east of 6th Avenue flooded in Decatur. Several other streets locally flooding, but water depth unknown at this time.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	-	A large 100 year old oak tree was uprooted onto a 1903 home at 722 Ferry Street in Decatur.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	-	There are multiple reports of trees and power lines down throughout the city limits of Decatur. Numerous power outages reported by broadcast media.
April 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	-	Roof damage was reported to a building on 2nd Avenue SE.
April 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	-	Numerous trees were knocked down on 4th Avenue NW.
April 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Decatur	-	Several trees were knocked down. One tree was knocked down onto a house on 8th Avenue SE.

Every storm recorded in Morgan County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
New Decatur-Albany Residential Historic District (Boundary Increase)	0.3 miles	2004
Albany Heritage Neighborhood Historic District	0.4 miles	1983
Cotaco Opera House	0.7 miles	1986
Princess Theatre	0.7 miles	2025
Princess Theater	0.7 miles	1995
New Decatur-Albany Historic District (Boundary Increase)	0.8 miles	1999

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 100009550 in Record Group 79.
Morgan County	All 20 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
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.