Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
“The Tristram Bethea House, also known as Pleasant Ridge, is a historic plantation house in Canton Bend, Alabama. The two-story brick house was built in 1842 in the Federal style.”
Wikipedia article Tristram Bethea House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 14 National Register listings published here for Wilcox County · listed in 1985 · 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 141 fires within 5 miles of Tristram Bethea House between 1994 and 2020, burning about 700 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 6 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 | 56 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 23 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 9 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160906-11 |
| 5 September 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 35 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 8.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190930-28 |
| 30 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 25 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1.2 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 23 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | SWR-20150918-003 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Camden, the town this property stands in, in 37 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 19 thunderstorm wind, 16 hail, 1 lightning, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $30,000 | Trees were blown down and some roofs of houses were damaged, mainly due to falling trees, as strong thunderstorms moved through the area. A roof was also peeled off a larger building in the downtown area. |
| March 2016 | Lightning | Camden | $25,000 | Lightning struck a house and caused a fire. |
| April 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $8,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down by high winds from a thunderstorm just southeast of Camden. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $8,000 | Trees were blown down by high winds from a thunderstorm near Camden. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $8,000 | High winds from a thunderstorm blew down several trees near Camden. |
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $8,000 | Alabama Power Company reported power lines and trees down in Camden and in the Millers Ferry areas. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $5,000 | Winds estimated at 70 mph downed numerous trees and power lines across the county. |
| December 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $5,000 | Trees were blown down near Camden by high thunderstorm winds. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $5,000 | Numerous trees up to a foot in diameter were downed along Highway 162 in the western part of Wilcox County. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $4,000 | High winds blew several trees down. |
| March 2005 | Hail | Camden | $3,000 | Golfball size hail fell just south of Camden. Some residences suffered roof damage and a few vehicles were damaged by the large hail. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $3,000 | High winds blew several trees down 6 miles east of Camden. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $3,000 | Several trees were blown down near Camden. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $2,000 | Winds estimated at 60 mph downed trees. |
| January 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $2,000 | no account filed |
| January 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | $1,000 | Several trees were blown down in and around Camden. |
| March 2022 | Tornado (EF1) | Camden | - | The tornado began along Mayo street in Camden where a couple|trees were uprooted. The tornado quickly intensified as it moved|Northeast across Broad St. with numerous uprooted large hardwood|and softwood trees. A strong convergent pattern was noted at this|location. Peak intensity occurred as it crossed Pine Ridge Road and|Rolling Hills Dr. where several large hardwoods were snapped and|most other trees were uprooted. The tornado than began to weaken|as it crossed Highway 10. The tornado lifted just northeast of|Elizabeth Avenue but not before causing damage to a small barn and|uprooting some trees. Significant wind damage still occurred along|Elizabeth avenue southeast of the circulation where several large|hardwoods were uprooted or snapped. However, this was determined|to be straight-line wind damage given divergent pattern to the|damage right of the parent circulation. |
| April 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | - | High winds downed trees in Camden. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | - | High winds downed a large tree and blew part of a roof of of a shed. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | - | A mobile home was damaged by a downed tree. |
| February 2000 | Hail | Camden | - | Dime size hail was reported near Camden. |
| April 1997 | Hail | Camden | - | Golfball size hail fell just south of Camden. |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Camden | - | A SKYWARN spotter reported wind gusts of 60 mph just northwest of Camden. No damage was observed. |
| March 2023 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| March 2003 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| March 2003 | Hail | Camden | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Hail | Camden | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | William King Beck House | 1.1 miles | 1993 |
 | Wilcox Female Institute | 5.2 miles | 1975 |
 | Wilcox County Courthouse Historic District | 5.6 miles | 1979 |
 | Liberty Hall | 5.6 miles | 1984 |
 | Tait-Ervin House | 5.8 miles | 1995 |
 | Prairie Mission | 7.6 miles | 2001 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 85001501 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Wilcox County | All 14 listed properties in this county. |
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