Place:Harvest, Madison, Alabama, United States

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Harvest is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the northwestern part of Madison County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of the community is 5,893.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

From the late 1800s through the early 1900s, Harvest saw growth and development resulting from the construction and operation of a rail line southward from Fayetteville, Tennessee. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis (NC&StL) Railway eventually acquired the rail line. In the early-to-mid-1900s, Harvest was centered around the railroad between the communities of Capshaw (the line's terminus) and Toney. Many early settlers in the Harvest area were from the Fayetteville area. In 1929, the NC&StL abandoned the line, pulled up the rails and transferred the right-of-way to the Madison County Highway Department with a quitclaim deed. Today, that roadbed is a two-lane roadway that continues to serve as a vital link in the modern day-to-day transportation network, and carries the appropriate name, “Old Railroad Bed Road.”

On April 3, 1974, during the 1974 Super Outbreak, two F5 tornadoes struck the community within 30 minutes of each other. Most of Harvest, primarily along the Old Railroad Bed Road area, and other nearby communities, including Tanner, was destroyed. Fifty people were killed by the tornadoes.

Harvest was hit by another violent tornado on May 18, 1995 that devastated the Anderson Hills subdivision. This F4 tornado killed one person.

On April 27, 2011, during the 2011 Super Outbreak, Harvest suffered significant damage from the EF5 tornado that destroyed the towns of Hackleburg and Phil Campbell, primarily north of Nick Davis Road, situated between Old Railroad Bed Road and Wall Triana Highway. The Anderson Hills subdivision was once again devastated, and damage in Harvest was rated EF4. The tornado killed 72 people along its path.

On March 2, 2012, during the tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012, Harvest suffered yet another direct hit from a damaging tornado, this one rated EF3. It hit the same area as the April 27, 2011, tornado, though no fatalities occurred this time. Some of the houses being rebuilt from the previous outbreak were destroyed again.

Research Tips