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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1906 USGS Caddo Gap quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1936 USGS Athens quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1936 USGS Athens quadrangle1:48000
- 1942 USGS Athens quadrangle1:62500
- 1955 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Athens quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Arkadelphia quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
80 since 1995Regional 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/incendiarism | 42 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Natural | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2000 | Natural | 91 acres | Ouachita National Forest | VILES BRANCH |
| 27 September 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Pike County Clays | Kaolin | Unknown | ||
| Viles Creek | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | ||
| Little Missouri | Silica | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Silica | Unknown | ||
| E S White Prospect | Manganese | Prospect | ||
| Harold Bullard Prospects | Manganese | Prospect | ||
| Shady Lake Mill | Manganese | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 1996Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Athens | - | Trees were blown down near Goat Ranch Road north of the Athens community. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Athens | - | A large tree fell on a home along Highway 84 in the Athens community, and hail was also reported with the size unknown. |
| March 2020 | Hail | Athens | - | Dime to penny size hail was reported at the Athens Deli and Fried Pie in the Athens community. |
| March 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Athens | - | Several chicken houses and barns were damaged in the Athens community. Trees and power lines were downed in the area as well. |
| February 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Athens | - | 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 2010 | Flash Flood | Athens | - | Sections of Goat Ranch Road 2 miles northeast of Athens in extreme northeast Howard County were washed away by flood waters. |
| March 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Athens | - | A couple of trees were downed west of Athens along Hwy. 84. |
| May 1996 | Hail | Athens | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Thompson (historical) | 1.4 miles | 16 | |
| New Thompson (historical) | 2.3 miles | 16 | |
| Midway (historical) | 2.6 miles | 18 | |
| Henry | 2.6 miles | 16 | |
| Mineola | 2.9 miles | 18 | |
| Saline (historical) | 2.9 miles | 18 | |
| Mouton (historical) | 2.9 miles | 18 | |
| New Moon (historical) | 3.6 miles | 18 |
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 Athens | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4813438 | The 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.









