Damascus, Arkansas
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Barnett Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72039. The Survey maps it on the Damascus quadrangle. 382 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 696 feet above sea level.
On record in Damascus
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 4 records
Melvin Chrisco Houselisted 2005
Damascus CCC Camp, Co. No. 3781 Historic Districtlisted 2002
Damascus Gymnasiumlisted 1992
Carl and Esther Lee Houselisted 2005
Population over time
2 figuresDamascus grew from 382 to 382 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 382 | |
| 2020 | 382 | 0 (0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 13 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.
- 1956 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Bee Branch quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Damascus quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1964 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Conway quadrangle1:100000
- 1984 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
- 1992 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
- 1994 USGS Damascus quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
75 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 75 fires within 5 miles of Damascus between 1997 and 2020, burning about 1,172 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 21 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 | 26 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 21 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Natural | 4 |
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 | 40 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 19 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | DOCS LANE |
| 4 September 2000 | Natural | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 21 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Damascus: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stell Pit & Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Stone | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
47 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Damascus in 47 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 29 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 5 heavy rain, 4 flash flood. The reports record 3 deaths and 7 injuries. 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 2008 | Tornado (EF3) | Damascus | 3 killed, 6 hurt, $10,000,000 | This tornado moved out of Conway County, east of Center Ridge, and entered Van Buren County, west-southwest of Damascus. The tornado destroyed 17 permanent homes and 8 mobile homes. It caused major damage to 30 homes and minor damage to 19 homes. Four chicken houses were destroyed, 8 horses were killed, and one bull was killed. A feed mill was destroyed and three businesses received major damage. One church was destroyed and another was severely damaged. A 4 year-old girl and her grandparents were killed when their house was destroyed on Scroggins Creek Rd. (County Road 65). The tornado exited Van Buren County, east-northeast of Morganton, and moved into Cleburne County, northwest of Crossroads. |
| December 2007 | Lightning | Damascus | 1 hurt | A man in his early 20's was injured by lightning while working outside on a farm. He complained of tingling and numbness and was treated at a hospital. |
| April 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $50,000 | Trees were down in the area. A roof was blown off a barn. Siding was damaged on a house. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $30,000 | A tree fell on a house. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $25,000 | Two structures had minor damage, and numerous trees and power lines were blown down. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $25,000 | Roofs were blown off two barns and some trees were blown down. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $20,000 | A home anemometer measured a 73 mph wind gust. Several roofs in the area were damaged and a few trees were blown down. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $20,000 | Part of the roof was blown off of a barn. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $10,000 | Trees and power lines were down. A tree was reported on a house. |
| September 2009 | Flash Flood | Damascus | $10,000 | A dam at a small pond was washed away and water emptied. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $5,000 | A shed was destroyed. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $5,000 | Shingles were blown off a house in Damascus. Multiple trees were blown down across northern Faulkner County. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $5,000 | A metal roof was blown off of a shop just north of Damascus. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $5,000 | Roof damage to a home was reported about 1 mile south of the Van Buren and Faulkner County line on Highway 65. |
| September 2009 | Flash Flood | Damascus | $5,000 | Pine Mountain Creek was well over its banks, and flooded Bricky Road. |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $2,000 | Large limbs were blown down. One limb fell on a house, causing minor roof damage. |
| August 2011 | Lightning | Damascus | $2,000 | Lightning started a grass fire on Oak Tree Rd., set fire to a shed on North Rd., and ignited fumes at a gas well on Arkansas 285, all in a stretch of only 19 minutes. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $1,000 | Several pieces of siding were blown off the co-operative observer's house. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | $1,000 | Tree limbs were blown down and hail 1/2 inch in diameter covered the ground. |
| September 2009 | Flash Flood | Damascus | $1,000 | Jack Hall Road was impassable. |
| January 2025 | Flash Flood | Damascus | - | COOP observer reported that 4.3 inches of total rainfall had fallen over the course of the heavy rain event with high water over multiple local roads and low water bridges in and around the community of Damascus. |
| October 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | Numerous power poles and trees down along multiple roadways just northeast of the town of Damascus, report via COOP observer. |
| July 2024 | Heavy Rain | Damascus | - | A 24 hour rainfall total of 3.53 inches was measured at Damascus. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Damascus | - | Half dollar and golf ball sized hail fell covering Arkansas Highway 65 in Damascus. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Damascus | - | Hen egg sized hail fell in Damascus. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | Peak winds were estimated to be between 70 and 80 mph. Damage |occurred along and parallel to US 65 S, along Gravesville Cutoff |Road between Highway 124 and Black Hill Road, and portions of Black |Hill Road east of Gravesville Cutoff Road. Along the damage path, |softwood trees were uprooted and snapped with several small |outbuildings either completely destroyed or missing significant |portions of the roof. Roofing material was scattered downstream |into a field in the direction of storm movement. The swath of wind |damage was estimated at 1000 yards wide and 3.2 miles in length |with maximum winds of 80 mph. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | The observer had a few trees down around his house. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | The wind speed was estimated by the COOP observer. |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | Several trees were downed in the city of Damascus in about a 100 yard swath. |
| April 2017 | Heavy Rain | Damascus | - | The 24 hour rainfall total was 4.28 inches. |
| August 2017 | Heavy Rain | Damascus | - | The 24 hour total was 7.20 inches...although nearly all of the rain fell in the previous 3-4 hours. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | A tree was blown down. |
| November 2011 | Heavy Rain | Damascus | - | The Damascus reporting station recorded the wettest November ever. Rainfall of 15.35 inches broke the record of 10.82 inches set in 1940. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | Large limbs were blown down. |
| October 2009 | Heavy Rain | Damascus | - | In Damascus, it was the wettest October ever recorded. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF1) | Damascus | - | Damage was limited to some trees being knocked down. This was a satellite tornado of the EF3 tornado that traveled about one-half mile to the northwest. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | Corn crops were blown down. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | Two barns were destroyed with several trees downed. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | A roof was partially torn off of a home about 4 miles west of Damascus. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | Thunderstorm winds blew some shingles off the roofs of several homes. The roof of a feed store was also blown off. |
| March 2017 | Hail | Damascus | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Damascus | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Damascus | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | no account filed |
| February 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Damascus | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbit Ridge | 3.5 miles | 12 | |
| Gravesville | 3.6 miles | 12 | |
| Southside | 4.2 miles | 12 | |
| Whipple | 4.7 miles | 12 | |
| Bee Branch | 5.8 miles | 12 | |
| Morganton | 8.2 miles | 12 | |
| Formosa | 8.5 miles | 16 | |
| East Mountain (historical) | 8.7 miles | 12 |
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 Damascus | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1955496 | 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 76744. 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.








