Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
“The Looney House is a historic residence near Ashville, Alabama. The dogtrot house was built in 1818 by Henry Looney and his father John.”
Wikipedia article Looney House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 14 National Register listings published here for St. Clair County · listed in 1974 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 194 fires within 5 miles of Looney House between 1994 and 2020, burning about 2,822 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 69 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 burning | 82 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 69 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 1998 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 22 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Looney House: 3 past producers, 3 prospects, 2 occurrences, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Barium-Barite, Aluminum, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dobbins Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Quartz | |
| Hebble Mine | Aluminum | Past Producer | ||
| A T Cox Prospect | Barium-Barite | Prospect | ||
| Will Morris | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | Residual | |
| Will Morris Mine | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | ||
| Ashville Tract | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Iron | Prospect |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ashville, the town this property stands in, in 31 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 20 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2000 | Tornado (F2) | Ashville | 2 hurt, $175,000 | In St. Clair County, an F2 tornado track extended from near Cool Springs to south of Ashville to near Gum Springs Church. The total track was 8.5 miles long and about 200 yards wide at its widest point. The tornado began at 220 PM on County Road 31, just west of Cool Springs. The tornado lifted around 231 PM about 3 miles east of Ashville. Four houses sustained significant damage and two mobile homes were annihilated. A baseball park was damaged at the Ashville High School. Two injuries occurred near the beginning of the tornado track near Cool Springs. Beginning: 33 47.292/86 19.737 Ending: 33 50.819/86 12.055 |
| February 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $240,000 | Significant straight line wind damage occurred in NE St. Clair County. The damage length was 3 miles and the average damage width was 1/4 mile. The damage paralleled CR 24 starting near Lickskillet Road and ended in the Lakeview Canyon Road area. The Oldham Chapel Church fellowship hall was destroyed. One house had its roof blown off and an adjacent garage was pushed off its foundation. Several mobile homes were damaged and one was destroyed. Hundreds of trees were either uprooted or snapped off and power lines were blown down. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $8,000 | Several trees were blown down and blocking the road on US Highway 231 just south of State Highway 33. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down in the Cool Springs Community. |
| April 2002 | Hail | Ashville | $5,000 | Golf ball size hail was observed 3 miles north of US 231 between Steele and Ashville. |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $5,000 | Trees were down and power was out in Ashville. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $5,000 | Trees were reported down in the Ashville area of St. Clair County. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $3,000 | Several trees were blown down on Greensport Road in Ashville. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $3,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down on 8th Street. |
| April 1997 | Hail | Ashville | $3,000 | Three-quarter inch hail was covering the ground in Ashville and was reported between Steele and Ashville. |
| April 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $2,000 | Trees were blown down at several locations in the city of Ashville. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $2,000 | Several trees were knocked down on CR 33 near Ashville. |
| April 2005 | Hail | Ashville | $1,000 | Quarter size hail was observed in and around Ashville. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | $1,000 | A few trees were blown down in Ashville. |
| February 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Trees were downed in the Ashville area. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Multiple trees were downed in the Ashville area. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Trees were downed in the Ashville area. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Numerous trees uprooted and power lines downed around the city of Ashville. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Fire started when power lines were downed in the city of Ashville. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Numerous trees reported across northern St. Clair County west of the city of Ashville. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Several trees uprooted near the town of Ashville. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in city of Ashville. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Several trees were uprooted and blown into power lines. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashville | - | Several trees were uprooted near the junction of Highway 231 and Shoal Creek Road. |
| April 2000 | Hail | Ashville | - | Penny size hail was reported in Ashville. |
| April 1995 | Hail | Ashville | - | Hail the size of dimes was reported at Ashville. |
| July 2013 | Hail | Ashville | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Ashville | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ashville | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Funnel Cloud | Ashville | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Ashville | - | no account filed |
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.
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.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ashville Historic District | 3.4 miles | 2005 |
 | Dr. James J. Bothwell House | 3.5 miles | 1982 |
 | Inzer House | 3.6 miles | 1973 |
 | Judge Elisha Robinson House | 3.6 miles | 1991 |
| Jacob Green House | 6.4 miles | 1980 | |
| John Ash House | 7.0 miles | 1991 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 74002179 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| St. Clair County | All 14 listed properties in this county. |
Block