Thornton, Arkansas
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Township 1. It lies in ZIP code area 71766. The Survey maps it on the Fordyce quadrangle. 339 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 318 feet above sea level.
On record in Thornton
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 1 record
- State Highway 274 Bridgelisted 1995
Population over time
2 figuresThornton fell from 407 to 339 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 | 407 | |
| 2020 | 339 | -68 (-17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 12 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.
- 1953 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS Fordyce quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Camden quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
64 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 64 fires within 5 miles of Thornton between 1998 and 2020, burning about 488 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 6 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 |
| Debris and open burning | 19 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 2015 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 7.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 August 2011 | Natural | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 August 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 August 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Thornton: 10 unknowns. None of them 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
34 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Thornton in 34 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 13 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 5 flood, 4 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 2011 | Flood | Thornton | $500,000 | Flooding in Calhoun County continued into June. |
| December 2009 | Flood | Thornton | $250,000 | Flash flooding, which developed on the morning of the 24th, became widespread areal flooding later on the 24th and continued into Christmas morning. |
| December 2009 | Flash Flood | Thornton | $250,000 | Widespread heavy rain resulted in flash flooding on the 24th. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | $250,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down, and there was structural damage to homes. |
| October 2009 | Flash Flood | Thornton | $200,000 | Numerous county roads were damaged by flash flooding. |
| March 2012 | Flood | Thornton | $100,000 | Numerous county roads were flooded, as were sections of Arkansas 274 near Tinsman and Arkansas 203 near Hampton. The county judge declared a disaster due to the flooding. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Thornton | $100,000 | Widespread areal flooding occurred. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | $20,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down in Thornton. |
| October 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | $10,000 | Numerous trees were down. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | $5,000 | Minor roof damage was reported along with trees down along Hwy. 167 south of Thornton. |
| October 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | $2,000 | A tree was blown down onto U.S. 167. |
| July 2022 | Hail | Thornton | - | One inch hail was reported in Thornton. The time was estimated from radar. |
| July 2022 | Hail | Thornton | - | Large hail was reported in Thornton. The time was estimated from radar. Corrected. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Thornton | - | Quarter to golf ball size hail was reported south of Thornton on social media. |
| October 2009 | Flood | Thornton | - | Flash flooding which began on the 29th became widespread areal flooding on the 30th. Flooding on Woodberry Road prevented the school bus from taking students to Hampton. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | A large tree was blown down onto a power line, which then fell onto a house. No damage was reported to the structure. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and caused minor damage to two houses. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down a few trees along Highway 167 at Thornton. |
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | Thornton | - | Minor street flooding was reported in Thornton. |
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | Thornton | - | Heavy rains flooded several roads in and around Thornton. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | Some large limbs and a few small trees were blown down. |
| November 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | Some large tree limbs were knocked down. |
| June 2004 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| March 2001 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| February 2000 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Thornton | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Bay | 2.4 miles | 16 | |
| Hopeville | 3.6 miles | 16 | |
| Chambersville | 3.9 miles | 12 | |
| Green Hall (historical) | 4.1 miles | 12 | |
| Harlow | 4.5 miles | 16 | |
| Ebenezer | 5.3 miles | 12 | |
| Elberta (historical) | 6.0 miles | 12 | |
| Lindale (historical) | 7.7 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 Thornton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79486 | 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 55554. 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.






