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Bradford, Arkansas

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Liberty Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72020. It stands on Oats Creek. The Survey maps it on the Bradford quadrangle. 678 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 256 feet above sea level.

Bradford within White County

On record in Bradford

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 11 records

Population over time

2 figures

Bradford fell from 759 to 678 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010759
2020678-81 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 12 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

55 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 55 fires within 5 miles of Bradford between 1997 and 2020, burning about 1,874 acres in total. None started naturally. 25 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/incendiarism25
Missing data/not specified/undetermined21
Debris and open burning7
Equipment and vehicle use2

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 1998Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1998Equipment and vehicle use10 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
22 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 2004Arson/incendiarism8.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
15 September 2000Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
8 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined60 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
31 August 2000Arson/incendiarism80 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 2000Arson/incendiarism80 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in White County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Bradford: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Reeves PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Viking PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in White County

Storms near this place

45 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bradford in 45 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 16 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 9 flood, 3 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
March 2008FloodBradford$500,000While minor river flooding was ongoing at the beginning of the month, the White River at the Augusta gage rose to highest levels since completion of the large flood control reservoirs in the mid twentieth century. Along the White River, about a dozen homes and recreational cabins flooded near Green Tom Lake and along the riverbank at U.S. Highway 64. Numerous county roads in the floodplain were inundated and some winter wheat was lost. The flooding in this reach of the White River continued into April.
April 2008FloodBradford$150,000Major flooding levels were repeated in April at the Augusta gage on the White River. Some homes and cabins were again flooded along U.S. Highway 64. The river crested slightly lower at Augusta in April than the crest in March, so damages were limited to whatever repairs were made between crests. This was the third highest crest since the flood control reservoirs were completed in the mid-twentieth century.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindBradford$50,000Trees were blown down in the area around Bradford. One of the trees landed on a house.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBradford$30,000Tin was peeled off barns, a fence was blown down, and numerous trees were blown down.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBradford$20,000Trees were blown down.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindBradford$15,000The roof was blown off a tractor shed, part of the roof was taken off a shop building, and the roof of a house was damaged. A number of large trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBradford$10,000Tin was blown off a barn.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindBradford$10,000Power lines were down.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindBradford$7,000A power pole was broken and power lines were blown down.
June 2011FloodBradford$5,000High levels on the White River caused areal flooding in White County throughout June and on into July.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBradford$5,000Trees were blown down.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindBradford$1,000A tree was down on Steed Road.
July 2011FloodBradford$1,000no account filed
June 2023HailBradford-Hail was estimated to be penny-sized near Bradford.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindBradford-The fire department reported an estimated 60 mph gust.
May 2016Flash FloodBradford-Numerous streets were flooded in the city of Bradford.
September 2009FloodBradford-High stages along the White River caused crop losses in the floodplain.
May 2008FloodBradford-Heavy rainfall in March and April caused a prolonged high water event along the lower White River. Along the White County side of the floodplain within the Augusta reach of the river, high water delayed planting of cropland in the floodplain. The river did not recede below flood stage in this reach of the river until July, with the primary impact being the delayed planting of corn and rice, causing many farmers to switch to soybeans, and preventing the planting of many hundreds of acres that were either inundated or isolated by the high river stages. Some of this cropland, which lies below the flood stage, remained flooded into the summer months.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindBradford-Trees and many large limbs were down.
July 2008FloodBradford-Reservoir releases from the upstream Corps of Engineers' lakes prolonged the high water event and kept the stage at Augusta above flood stage into the middle of the month. While the stage remained slightly above flood stage, farmers planted down to the water's edge. A brief period of higher stages during the week after the 4th of July holiday put water over several hundred acres of newly sprouted soybeans and killed the tender plants. Additional damages were noted.
June 2008FloodBradford-Flood control releases from Bull Shoals and Norfork Dams in the upper White River basin caused minor flooding along the lower White River in the Augusta reach of the river. The river remained above flood stage throughout the month of June. Primary impact was to the row crop agricultural community with portions of the Taylor Bay bottoms flooded or isolated by high water. Dollar damages were reported in May totals.
September 2008FloodBradford-Heavy rainfall from Tropical Depression Gustav created minor flooding along the White River. Approximately 2000 acres of soybeans were flooded and destroyed in the Augusta vicinity on the White County side of the river.
September 2007Flash FloodBradford-Several county roads were flooded around Bradford.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindBradford-Numerous trees and power lines were downed. Five houses sustained damage due to fallen trees.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindBradford-Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and power lines.
May 2003Tornado (F2)Bradford-A strong tornado was spawned near Bradford and moved to the northeast. The tornado downed a number of trees which fell on residences in and near town. Some of the trees were quite old, and were likely at least 100 years old. The tornado tracked to about 1 mile north-northwest of town before heading into Jackson County.
May 2003Tornado (F1)Bradford-A weak tornado touched down over northeast White County about 1 mile east of Bradford. The tornado downed a number of trees and power poles. Several homes sustained roof damage, mainly from falling trees. The tornado continued to track northeastward in Jackson County.
March 1998HailBradford-Golfball size hail covered the ground.
April 2018HailBradford-no account filed
April 2018Funnel CloudBradford-no account filed
April 2007HailBradford-no account filed
July 2005HailBradford-no account filed
July 2005HailBradford-no account filed
April 2003HailBradford-no account filed
April 2003HailBradford-no account filed
May 2003HailBradford-no account filed
May 2003HailBradford-no account filed
May 2003HailBradford-no account filed
May 2003HailBradford-no account filed
May 2003Flash FloodBradford-no account filed
June 1998HailBradford-no account filed
April 1998HailBradford-no account filed
September 1998HailBradford-no account filed
July 1998HailBradford-no account filed
November 1998Thunderstorm WindBradford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in White 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
Keeler Corner4.6 miles14
Russell5.0 miles10
Twentythree6.4 miles9
Velvet Ridge6.4 miles9
Bliss (historical)8.7 miles9
Worden9.1 miles14
Rio Vista9.2 miles14
Bare Stone9.7 miles9

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 BradfordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79313The 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 46885. 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.