Watts, South Carolina
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Abbeville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29620. It stands on Flagreed Creek. The Survey maps it on the Abbeville West quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 15 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.
- 1892 USGS Abbeville quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1948 USGS Abbeville West quadrangle1:24000
- 1949 USGS Abbeville quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Abbeville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
157 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 157 fires within 5 miles of Watts between 1992 and 2020, burning about 409 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 15 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 | 69 |
| Debris and open burning | 30 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 20 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 15 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 7 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2005 | Smoking | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 August 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 August 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 August 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 August 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 August 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Watts: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard B. Russell Dam Project Quar | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Watts in 5 storm reports between 2009 and 2024: 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. The reports record 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2009 | Tornado (EF2) | Watts | 2 hurt, $1,000,000 | NWS survey found an extensive area of damage in the city of Abbeville consistent with a strong EF2 tornado. The tornado began near the intersection of highway 71 and Rock Hill Rd before moving east/southeast through the city of Abbeville. The main areas affected in the city were Church Street, McGowan, Ave, Main St, and especially Secession Ave. The roofs were blown off about a half dozen frame homes in the city, while numerous mobile homes were heavily damaged or destroyed. A few other office buildings and businesses received major roof damage in this area. Numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted along the path. One tree fell through a home, injuring the man inside. Another man caught outside received head injuries from flying debris. The tornado lifted about a mile east/southeast of the city. The tornado was produced by a supercell embedded in a line of rapidly moving storms. |
| April 2009 | Tornado (EF1) | Watts | $50,000 | Numerous trees were blown down along Old Calhoun Falls Rd. Part of the roof of a home was also severely damaged, and some siding was torn off. A tree fell through the roof of another home. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watts | $10,000 | Fire dept reported multiple trees blown down from Mt Carmel Rd, across Highway 28, to Candy Branch Rd. A tree fell on a house on Candy Branch Rd. |
| December 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watts | - | County comms reported scattered trees blown down throughout Abbeville County. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watts | - | Large tree limbs were blown down. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrenton | 1.5 miles | 15 | |
| Chesnut Hill (historical) | 1.8 miles | 14 | |
| Dresden (historical) | 3.1 miles | 14 | |
| Monterey (historical) | 3.3 miles | 12 | |
| Charleston Crossroads | 4.0 miles | 13 | |
| Sharon | 4.0 miles | 15 | |
| Latimer | 5.5 miles | 12 | |
| Bethel | 5.9 miles | 13 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1231897. 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.





