BlockBefore

Athens, Arkansas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Mountain Township. It lies in ZIP code area 71971. It stands on Indian Creek. The Survey maps it on the Athens quadrangle.

Athens within Howard County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 16 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.

Fires near this place

80 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 80 fires within 5 miles of Athens between 1995 and 2020, burning about 3,220 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 42 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
Arson/incendiarism42
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Natural10
Debris and open burning7
Equipment and vehicle use3
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Fireworks1
Smoking1

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
9 September 1999Debris and open burning1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 2000Arson/incendiarism15 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined21 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2006Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 2000Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2000Natural91 acresOuachita National ForestVILES BRANCH
27 September 2004Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 2004Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Howard County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Athens: 4 unknowns, 2 prospects, 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Manganese, Silica, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Barium-Barite. 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
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Pike County ClaysKaolinUnknown
Viles CreekBarium-BaritePast Producer
Little MissouriSilicaUnknown
UnknownSilicaUnknown
E S White ProspectManganeseProspect
Harold Bullard ProspectsManganeseProspect
Shady Lake MillManganesePast Producer

Every working recorded in Howard County

Storms near this place

8 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Athens in 8 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flash flood. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2025Thunderstorm WindAthens-Trees were blown down near Goat Ranch Road north of the Athens community.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindAthens-A large tree fell on a home along Highway 84 in the Athens community, and hail was also reported with the size unknown.
March 2020HailAthens-Dime to penny size hail was reported at the Athens Deli and Fried Pie in the Athens community.
March 2019Thunderstorm WindAthens-Several chicken houses and barns were damaged in the Athens community. Trees and power lines were downed in the area as well.
February 2018Thunderstorm WindAthens-Strong thunderstorm winds damaged 4 hog buildings, removed the roof off of 3 chicken houses, and debris knocked the windows out of one vehicle north of Dierks near the Athens community.
June 2010Flash FloodAthens-Sections of Goat Ranch Road 2 miles northeast of Athens in extreme northeast Howard County were washed away by flood waters.
March 2009Thunderstorm WindAthens-A couple of trees were downed west of Athens along Hwy. 84.
May 1996HailAthens-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Howard 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
Old Thompson (historical)1.4 miles16
New Thompson (historical)2.3 miles16
Midway (historical)2.6 miles18
Henry2.6 miles16
Mineola2.9 miles18
Saline (historical)2.9 miles18
Mouton (historical)2.9 miles18
New Moon (historical)3.6 miles18

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 AthensAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4813438The 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 76208. 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.