Gratis, Georgia
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Campton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 30656. The Survey maps it on the Winder South quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 17 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.
- 1896 USGS Monroe quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Athens quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Athens quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Athens quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Athens quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Winder South quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1980 USGS Athens quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1988 USGS Athens quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
117 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 117 fires within 5 miles of Gratis between 1992 and 2018, burning about 290 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 9 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 | 64 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 9 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 9 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
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 1997 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 1.6 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 25 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2017-WALTON-003 |
| 23 September 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 2008 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2012-BARROW-002 |
| 19 September 1993 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 1999 | Smoking | 4.7 acres | Georgia 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 Gratis: 1 past producer, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Mica, Manganese. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H B Marble Prospect | Manganese | Prospect | ||
| Thompson Placer | Gold | Past Producer | Stream Placer | |
| Unnamed Prospect | Mica | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
10 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gratis in 10 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 7 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 lightning, 1 tornado. 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 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Gratis | $100,000 | A National Weather Service survey determined that an EF0 tornado with maximum winds of 85 MPH and a maximum path width of 200 yards touched down over a rural area of northern Walton County along Ike Stone Road NW near Waller Lake, snapping or uprooting several trees as it moved northeast. There was minor structural damage to a fence and a home between Beagle Run NW and Paul Verner Road NW where a few larger pines were snapped around the property as the tornado peaked in intensity. The tornado ended north of the Ike Stone Road NW after crossing Mt. Vernon Road NW. [5/3/21: Tornado #3, County #1/1, EF-0, Walton, 2021:011]. |
| April 2009 | Lightning | Gratis | $10,000 | The Walton Times reported that the steeple of a church in Gratis was struck by lightning. While no fire resulted, the sound system and some computers in the church suffered electronic damage. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gratis | $3,000 | The public reported that many trees and power lines were blown down in the far northeast corner of the county near the Oconee county line. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gratis | $1,000 | Tree was downed on Shoal Creek Road. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gratis | $1,000 | Tree down on home on Gratis Rd between Hale Place Rd and Shoal Creek Rd. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gratis | $1,000 | Tree down on home along Gratis Rd near Bradley Gin Rd. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gratis | $1,000 | The Emergency Manager reported a tree blocking both lanes of Perry Smith Road in Monroe. |
| January 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gratis | - | Tree down near intersection of Dry Pond Rd and Gratis Rd. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gratis | - | Emergency manager reported a tree down and a snapped power pole near the intersection of Shoal Creek and Perry Smith Rd. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Gratis | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley | 1.5 miles | 17 | |
| Campton | 3.1 miles | 17 | |
| Mount Vernon | 3.4 miles | 17 | |
| Caruthers Mill | 3.7 miles | 18 | |
| Walker Park | 4.9 miles | 17 | |
| Nicholasville | 4.9 miles | 16 | |
| Snows Mill | 6.3 miles | 16 | |
| Monroe | 6.6 miles | 17 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 356081. 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.







