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Blackford, Kentucky

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Clay census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42404. It lies near Gobblers Knob. The Survey maps it on the Blackford quadrangle. It stands 364 feet above sea level.

Blackford within Webster County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 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

14 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Blackford between 1999 and 2019, burning about 180 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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/undetermined3
Arson/incendiarism3
Recreation and ceremony3
Debris and open burning2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
21 September 2019Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryCOWNA STORE ROAD
18 September 1999Misuse of fire by a minor2.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
4 March 2010Railroad operations and maintenance4.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
30 March 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
25 March 2001Arson/incendiarism50 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
23 March 2009Debris and open burning50 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
21 March 2012Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestrySWINGSET
19 March 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Webster County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Blackford: 1 producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. 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
Highway Junction ShaleClayUnknown
Marion Mine & MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Webster County

Storms near this place

5 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Blackford in 5 storm reports between 2005 and 2023: 3 flood, 1 tornado, 1 hail. 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
November 2005Tornado (F2)Blackford$75,000The tornado crossed into Webster County from Crittenden County and moved rapidly east-northeast. The track ended on the north side of the community of Wheatcroft. Most of the damage occurred along and near Highway 109 around Wheatcroft, the only community directly affected by the tornado. West of Wheatcroft, there was slight structural damage, and trees were snapped. A large shed door was blown off, and pillar columns on a house were bent. On the north side of Wheatcroft, a tool shed was destroyed and two campers were overturned. A pickup truck without an engine was rolled about 200 feet. The hood of the truck went through a window. Smaller trees and a house antenna were blown down.
January 2023FloodBlackford-A couple of state roads were closed due to flooding, including portions of Kentucky 138 at mile markers 7 to 8 and Kentucky 270. These were flood-prone locations.
February 2019FloodBlackford-The Tradewater River flooded large areas of fields and woodlands, along with some state roads including Highway 120.
March 2008FloodBlackford-Several roads were closed due to flooding. Kentucky 109 between Clay and Wheatcroft was closed due to two feet of water across it. Most of the other roads were near Clay and in the Slaughter area. State Route 132 between Dixon and Clay was covered with water but not closed.
April 2006HailBlackford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Webster 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
Derby1.9 miles13
Virginia2.5 miles13
West Wheatcroft4.3 miles12
Rock Spring4.4 miles13
Fairmont4.6 miles12
Wheatcroft4.8 miles12
Clay6.4 miles12
Williams6.5 miles13

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 BlackfordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4922870The 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 487410. 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.