BlockBefore

Wells, Texas

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Wells census division. It lies in ZIP code area 75976. The Survey maps it on the Wells quadrangle. 853 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 325 feet above sea level.

Wells within Cherokee County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 12 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.

Photographs

8 photographs, 1939

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Lineup of school buses near Wells, Texas
Lineup of school buses near Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Sawmill and waste lumber pile being burned. Wells, Texas
Sawmill and waste lumber pile being burned. Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Sawmill. Wells, Texas
Sawmill. Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Burning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, Texas
Burning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Sawmill and waste lumber pile being burned. Wells, Texas
Sawmill and waste lumber pile being burned. Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Burning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, Texas
Burning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Lineup of school buses near Wells, Texas
Lineup of school buses near Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress
Lineup of school buses near Wells, Texas
Lineup of school buses near Wells, Texas
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

278 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 278 fires within 5 miles of Wells between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,600 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 35 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 burning168
Missing data/not specified/undetermined41
Arson/incendiarism35
Smoking10
Equipment and vehicle use8
Natural7
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Recreation and ceremony2
Fireworks1

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 2012Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceJOHN COLLINS
7 September 2015Smokingunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE MEDIAN
6 September 2013Debris and open burning2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS WOODS/CHEVRON PIPELINE
30 September 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCURVE FIRE
30 September 2010Debris and open burning1.0 acresLivingston AreaLIVINGSTON - 327
30 September 1992Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
29 September 2010Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSEWER PLANT
27 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceDEER SHINE FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cherokee 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 Wells: 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Bentonite. 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
Durham & PolkBentoniteUnknown

Every working recorded in Cherokee County

Storms near this place

10 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wells in 10 storm reports between 1995 and 2020: 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 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
January 2020Thunderstorm WindWells$10,000A downburst snapped two cedar trees, partially damaged a small outbuilding, and removed a few shingles from a roof of a single family home along FM 1911 just northeast of County Road 2628.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindWells-Several trees were blown down in the Wells community near the Angelina County line.
April 2017HailWells-Quarter size hail fell in Wells per the KTRE-TV Facebook page.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindWells-Several trees were downed in and around the Wells, Texas community.
January 2012Thunderstorm WindWells-A tree was downed on FM. 1911 near Wells, Texas.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindWells-Telephone lines were blown down.
November 1995Thunderstorm WindWells-Several trees were blown down.
April 2017HailWells-no account filed
April 2004HailWells-no account filed
December 2002HailWells-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cherokee 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
Cross Roads3.1 miles11
Forest4.3 miles10
Sweet Union4.8 miles12
Wild Hurst4.8 miles10
Brunswick9.1 miles10
Morrill9.8 miles10
Linwood12.4 miles11
Alto13.2 miles10

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 WellsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q978123The 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 1371031. 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.