BlockBefore

Balltown, South Carolina

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Aiken census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29801. The Survey maps it on the Aiken quadrangle.

Balltown within Aiken County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 18 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

448 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 448 fires within 5 miles of Balltown between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,496 acres in total. 18 started naturally. 44 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/undetermined170
Debris and open burning122
Misuse of fire by a minor50
Arson/incendiarism44
Equipment and vehicle use21
Natural18
Smoking8
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Other causes5
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Recreation and ceremony2

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/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2010Equipment and vehicle use9.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2010Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2008Debris and open burning8.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 2017Smoking2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2009Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1999Debris and open burning3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Aiken County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 43 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 43 workings within 5 miles of Balltown: 26 past producers, 11 unknowns, 6 producers. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Kaolin, Stone, Dimension. 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
Unidentified MineStone, DimensionPast ProducerIgneous Intrusive
Aiken MineKaolinProducer
Barden MineKaolinUnknown
Rodgers-Younce MineKaolinUnknown
Finley Sand and Clay PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknownSedimentary
Finley Sand and Clay PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gene Williams Sand & Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Mine Number 47Sand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknownSedimentary
Mine Number 47Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Sand and Clay PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Aiken County

Storms near this place

14 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Balltown in 14 storm reports between 2011 and 2024: 12 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 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
October 2011Thunderstorm WindBalltown$8,000Sheriff reported trees down between Vaucluse and Aiken.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindBalltown$100Gage at ETV tower in Aiken, on Barnwell Ave NW near John Elliot Ln, measured a peak wind gust of 55 mph.
November 2024Flash FloodBalltown-Social media report that the Aiken Department of Public Safety closed the intersection of University Parkway and Vaucluse Rd. due to flooding.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Sheriff dispatch reported a tree fell on a vehicle near the intersection of Shiloh Heights Rd and Pipeline Rd. No injuries reported. Time estimated.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Sheriff dispatch reported trees down along Valley Rd near Oak St NW in the city of Aiken.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Power lines down on Columbia Ave. Time estimated.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Tree down in roadway at Croft Mill Rd and University Pkwy. Time estimated.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Trees down on Wire Rd and New Bridge Rd.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Public report and photo, received via social media, of trees and power lines downed on Forest Dr in Aiken.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Trees down blocking both lanes of Hampton Ave in Aiken.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindBalltown-A couple of trees were downed in the city of Aiken.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Reported trees down in the city of Aiken on Vaucluse Road.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBalltown-Trees down on the NW side of the city of Aiken in the vicinity of Vaucluse Rd and Trolley Line Rd.
September 2011HailBalltown-Hail larger than golfball size covering the ground on Wire Rd. outside of Aiken.

Every storm recorded in Aiken 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
Forrest Park0.7 miles18
Shiloh Heights1.0 miles18
Pinecrest1.1 miles18
Hillview1.1 miles18
Crosland Park1.4 miles18
Six Points1.5 miles18
Aiken Heights1.9 miles19
Kalmia Hills2.1 miles19

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1244954. 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.