BlockBefore

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.

Watts within Abbeville County

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 15 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

157 since 1992

Regional 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/undetermined69
Debris and open burning30
Equipment and vehicle use20
Arson/incendiarism15
Railroad operations and maintenance7
Smoking6
Natural4
Recreation and ceremony3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
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
2 September 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 2005Smoking2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
12 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2002Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
5 August 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
3 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
17 August 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Abbeville County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Richard B. Russell Dam Project QuarStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Abbeville County

Storms near this place

5 since 2009

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2009Tornado (EF2)Watts2 hurt, $1,000,000NWS 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 2009Tornado (EF1)Watts$50,000Numerous 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 2019Thunderstorm WindWatts$10,000Fire 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 2024Thunderstorm WindWatts-County comms reported scattered trees blown down throughout Abbeville County.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWatts-Large tree limbs were blown down.

Every storm recorded in Abbeville 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
Warrenton1.5 miles15
Chesnut Hill (historical)1.8 miles14
Dresden (historical)3.1 miles14
Monterey (historical)3.3 miles12
Charleston Crossroads4.0 miles13
Sharon4.0 miles15
Latimer5.5 miles12
Bethel5.9 miles13

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.