Hartselle Downtown Commercial Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

From the record

“The Hartselle Downtown Commercial Historic District is a historic district in Hartselle, Alabama. The town was founded in 1870 when the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was extended south to Birmingham and Mobile.”
Wikipedia article Hartselle Downtown Commercial Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 20 National Register listings published here for Morgan County · listed in 1999 · category: District.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. Roughly along Main, Railroad, Hickory, and Sparkman Sts., Hartselle, 35640
When was it listed? April 1999
Category. district
Census division. Hartselle
National Register reference number. 99000469 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

92 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 92 fires within 5 miles of Hartselle Downtown Commercial Historic District between 1994 and 2020, burning about 460 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 13 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	33
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	14
Arson/incendiarism	13
Equipment and vehicle use	11
Recreation and ceremony	7
Smoking	6
Misuse of fire by a minor	4
Railroad operations and maintenance	2
Natural	1
Fireworks	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 1999	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
6 September 2018	Equipment and vehicle use	6.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	20180906-1
6 September 1999	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
4 September 1998	Arson/incendiarism	1.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
3 September 2000	Smoking	1.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
3 September 1998	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
29 September 2016	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3.5 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	20160929-21
2 September 2000	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	5.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named

Every fire recorded in Morgan County

Storms near this property

60 of 91 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hartselle, the town this property stands in, in 91 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 50 thunderstorm wind, 26 hail, 6 flash flood, 4 lightning. 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
March 2012	Lightning	Hartselle	1 hurt, $20,000	Lightning struck a female who was taking photos with a cell phone of a storm with her arm outside the home through a doorway. The female felt a surge of electricity through her arm, into her neck and out her wrist which appeared bruised. She then fell backwards and suffered a seizure for several minutes, then called 911 for emergency assistance. She was hospitalized overnight and released the next morning. The Morgan County emergency manager reported at least 3 fires sparked by lightning their county. Two 46000 volt circuits were also damaged in Decatur with about 4250 utility customers losing power for a few hours.
May 2009	Lightning	Hartselle	$2,000,000	Lightning struck a four story, 20,000 square foot house on Breeding Drive north of Hartselle. A mother and child were in the home at the time and escaped without injury, as the fire erupted and quickly spread throughout the house. Tragically, this house was burned to the ground. In addition, the blaze destroyed two antique cars.
October 1997	Lightning	Hartselle	$90,000	Lightning struck a switch box and traveled into a house starting a fire in Falkville. The house was completely destroyed. A man inside the house died of smoke inhalation.
April 2006	Hail	Hartselle	$40,000	Tennis ball size hail was reported and produced slight to moderate damage to around ten vehicles and five homes.
February 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$40,000	A large tree fell onto a home damaging it. One outbuilding was totally destroyed. A roof was torn off a car wash in Hartselle with no injuries reported.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$25,000	no account filed
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$25,000	no account filed
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$20,000	Two trees were knocked down onto townhomes at 708 Midway Street NW.
April 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$15,000	A few trees were downed by thunderstorms from Hartselle to Somerville, Alabama. A tree also fell onto a home, producing some roof damage at Somerville, Alabama.
July 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$15,000	no account filed
February 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$10,000	Roof damage occurred due to high winds.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	Several trees were reported down in the Hartselle area.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	A photo of a large tree down onto a home casing significant damage on Rock Street in Hartselle was sent into social media. Time was estimated from radar.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	A tree was knocked down onto a house at 403 Rock Street SE in Hartselle.
February 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	A horse barn was heavily damaged by thunderstorm winds. The metal roof was torn off and a piece of lumber was driven into the ground. Eight horses which occupied the barn were not injured. Time estimated.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	Strong winds heavily damaged a car wash business. An 80-foot long section of metal roof was torn off the 33 year old facility. A few trees and power lines were blown down in the area producing brief power outages.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	One large tree fell through the roof of a mobile home and severely damaged it. No injuries were reported.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	Trees were down on the road in Hartselle.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	A funnel cloud was reported by a spotter over Flint City just south of Decatur. Trees were down and one house was reported with structural damage just north of Neel in extreme western Morgan County on Boys Ranch Road.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$5,000	Large trees and some power lines were downed along Highway 36 west of Hartselle.
January 1997	Hail	Hartselle	$5,000	no account filed
January 1997	Hail	Hartselle	$5,000	no account filed
January 1997	Hail	Hartselle	$5,000	no account filed
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$4,000	A large 60 foot Oak tree was block down on South Sparkman Street.
October 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$4,000	Several large trees were blown down.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$4,000	Large trees and power lines were downed by thunderstorm wind in the western section of Morgan County around Neel.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	A tree was knocked down and completely blocking the road at 2214 Bethel Road. Time estimated by radar.
March 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	Trees were knocked down near Ray Road and Tunsel Road. Time estimated by radar.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	A tree was down and transformer damaged at Curry Street at Highway 31. Time estimated by radar.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	A tree and power lines were knocked down on Sparkman Street NW. Time estimated by radar.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds knocked three trees down. Pieces of a tin roof from a barn were blown off.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	Trees were blown down in Hartselle. Hail of unknown size also fell during this storm.
April 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$2,000	A few trees were reported down near Hartselle.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	A tree was reported down on an apartment on Midway Steet.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	A large tree was split and knocked down onto Main Street near Morrow road in Hartselle. Time was estimated from radar.
December 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	A tree was reported down near the intersection of Longhorn Pass Street and Georgia Street NE in Hartselle.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	A tree was knocked down onto a patio and home on Cherokee Lane NW in Hartselle. Time estimated by radar.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	Multiple tree was knocked down in Hartselle.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	A wind gust to 50 mph was reported.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	A few trees were downed by thunderstorm winds near the Morgan county 911 center.
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$1,000	A large tree was blown down across a road in the east part of Hartselle. A roof was reported blown off an out-building in Danville.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$500	A tree limb was blocking the road at Tunsel Road Southwest at Rustic Lane in Hartselle.
June 2013	Lightning	Hartselle	$500	Lightning struck a transformer off of state highway 36 on Elrod Road.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$500	A tree was knocked down along Sparkman Street south of Hartselle. Time estimated by radar.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$200	A tree was knocked down on Sparkman Road near First Baptist Church in Hartselle.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$200	A tree was knocked down near the intersection of Corsbie Street Southwest and Speegle Street. Time estimated by radar.
April 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$200	A tree was knocked down near Morning Side Road at the 2000 block.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Hartselle	$200	A tree was knocked down onto the road.
February 2026	Hail	Hartselle	-	Half dollar sized hail was reported via mPING.
February 2026	Hail	Hartselle	-	Half dollar sized hail was reported. Time estimated by radar.
April 2025	Hail	Hartselle	-	Quarter size hail was reported by an observer from the MPING observing network.
May 2025	Hail	Hartselle	-	A report of quarter size hail was reported at this location in Hartselle.
May 2025	Flood	Hartselle	-	Heavy rain caused nuisance flooding on Hwy 31 in Hartselle, with water ponding in the right lane in the 500 block. Depth of water estimated at 3-4 inches.
May 2025	Hail	Hartselle	-	Quarter sized hail was reported at this location via the MPING observing network.
May 2025	Hail	Hartselle	-	Three quarter inch in diameter hail reported at this location from an MPING observing network.
May 2025	Flash Flood	Hartselle	-	Main Street at Stewart Street in Hartselle flooded. Depth of water estimated at 6 to 8 inches and rising.
May 2025	Flash Flood	Hartselle	-	Main Street at Corsbie Street flooded in Hartselle. Depth of water estimated at 4 to 6 inches and rising.
May 2024	Hail	Hartselle	-	Penny sized hail was reported in the Hartselle area.
August 2023	Flood	Hartselle	-	Flooding across Pattillo Street in Hartselle. Depth of water unknown.

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

3 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
Westview	3.8 miles	1982
Crabb-Stewart-Key House	6.2 miles	2019
Somerville Courthouse	8.0 miles	1972

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 99000469 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
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.
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.