BlockBefore

Albany, Illinois

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Albany Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61230. It stands on Spring Creek. The Survey maps it on the Clinton quadrangle. 864 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Albany within Whiteside County

Population over time

2 figures

Albany fell from 891 to 864 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010891
2020864-27 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 19 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.

In the county-history sources

7,927 words on this township

History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time;, published 1877 names this settlement in its chapter on Albany Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The assessment of Albany Precinct for the year 1839, the Precinct then including the present townships of Albany, Garden Plain and Newton, made by Lewis Spurlock, Assessor, the original of which is on file in the County Clerk's ofiice, shows fifty-one persons assessed. The property assessed was only personal, and consisted in the aggregate of 38 horses, valued at $2,025; 157 cows and oxen, valued at $2,995; 390 hogs, valued at $1,201 ; 8 sheep, valued at $!«; valuation of wagons, $928; of household goods, $1,695; of mechanical tools, $265, and of clocks and watches, $259. Total assessed valuation of all personal. property, $9,384.

Passage source: History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time;, published 1877.

Albany township contains about 2,000 acres of improved lands, and about 4,000 of unimproved. From the Assessor's book for 1877 the number of horses in the township is put down at 213; number of cattle, 488; of mules and asses, 3; of sheep, 75; of hogs, 1937; carriages and wagons, 92; sewing and knitting machines, 90; piano fortes, 11; melodeons and organs, 29. Total value of lands, lots and personal property $155,321 ; value of railroad property, $9,529. Total assessed value of all property in 1877, $164,850.

Passage source: History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time;, published 1877.

State of Ohio. Mr. Mitchell made claim to what is now known as Upper xilbany, and Corbin to Lower Albany. During that year the former built ft small cabin on a mound still to be seen in the present lumber yard of Hon. B. H. Nevitt, and the latter put up a tent around a tree at the edge of the bluflf near the corner of Main and Maple Streets. The tree, being a large one, afforded considerable protection to his improvised dwelling, and gave rise to the report, which is still in circulation, that he lived in a tree. It appears that neither of these gentlemen had any idea of becoming permanent settlers, and only made their claims for speculative purposes, for no sooner did other parties come in with the hona fide intention of making their homes in the town then they willingly sold their interest in the lands, and hied to other parts. There was a great deal of that kind of business done in Illinois and other Western States and Territories at that day, many parties following it as their only occupation. Their method would be to find out first by exploration some locality which offered natural advantages either for the location of a village or city like that at Albany, or by reason of the fertility of the soil a home for the farmer and producer, and then cause these advantages to be spread abroad as far as possible. They were usually shrewd men, and could spot an advantageous position as soon as their eyes fell upon it. Although simply speculators, considerable credit is due them for opening up to settlement many a splendid commercial position at an early date which otherwise might not have been noticed, or if noticed, not until at a much later period and when other and inferior localities had been selected and were well in their growth.

Passage source: History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time;, published 1877.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Albany Township - it names this place 37 more 37 times.

Fires near this place

23 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 23 fires within 5 miles of Albany between 2005 and 2020, burning about 69 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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/undetermined17
Debris and open burning2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
15 September 2017Smokingunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
8 August 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
5 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 June 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesREAR OF 2103 7TH AVE, CAMANCHE, IA
17 May 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
12 May 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
5 April 2014Debris and open burning3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Whiteside County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Albany: 5 past producers, 4 producers, 1 plant, 1 occurrence. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Lead, Limestone, Dimension, 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
Clinton DiggingsLeadOccurrenceGalena
Clinton QuarriesLimestone, Dimension, Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Huizenga QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Mcmahon Quarry and Plant No. 8Stone, Crushed/BrokenPlant
Second Avenue QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Acme AggregatesSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Albany-Cordova Plant #1 DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Determan Sand and Gravel DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Whiteside County

Storms near this place

22 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Albany in 22 storm reports between 1998 and 2026: 12 thunderstorm wind, 5 flood, 4 hail, 1 tornado. 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
April 2011FloodAlbany$250,000no account filed
May 2009FloodAlbany$166,670Heavy rains during the last week of April resulted in the Rock River at Joslin and Moline going above their respective moderate flood stage levels during the first few days of May.||The Rock River at Joslin surpassed its moderate flood stage level of 14 feet on May 1 around 6 pm. It crested around 14.5 feet around 12 am May 3. It fell back below its moderate flood stage level around 6 pm on May 4.||The Rock River at Moline surpassed its moderate flood stage level of 13 feet on May 2 around 3 pm. It crested around 13.14 feet around 3 pm May 3. It fell back below its moderate flood stage level around 9 am on May 4.
May 2010FloodAlbany$150,000Heavy rains during the second week of May resulted in moderate flooding on the Rock River.||At Joslin, the river level surpassed the moderate flood stage level of 14 feet on May 15 around 10 am. It crested around 14.5 feet around 1 pm May 16. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 1 pm May 17.||At Moline, the river level surpassed the moderate flood stage level of 13 feet on May 15 around 7 am. It crested around 13.3 feet around 7 am May 16. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 1 am May 18.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindAlbany$20,000Large limbs and power lines down. A business had several broken windows and a tree fell on a house causing moderate damage.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindAlbany$5,000Tree limbs down on power lines.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindAlbany$4,000Trees down. Time is estimated based on radar.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindAlbany$4,000Power was out across Western Whiteside County after strong thunderstorm winds downed trees and damaged a power transformer.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindAlbany$2,000The highway department reported branches and limbs down on Kennedy Road.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindAlbany$2,000Trees down on Ebson Rd north of the turnoff for Garden Plain Rd. Time is estimated based on radar.
November 2020Tornado (EF1)Albany-This was rated an EF1 tornado, with max winds at 90 mph, a path length of 0.3 miles, and a path width of 100 yards. A roof was blown off of a barn and into an adjacent field.
June 2019FloodAlbany-The Mississippi River at Camanche Iowa began the month above its major flood stage of 20.5 feet and crested at 21.23 feet on June 1st. The river fell back below major flood stage on June 2nd around 3 AM.
May 2019FloodAlbany-The Mississippi River at Camanche (CMMI4) rose above its major flood stage of 20.5 feet during the morning of May 30th and continued into June. The river crested in June, with the stage rising to 21.1 feet at the end of May 31st.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindAlbany-A trained spotter reported tree limbs down that were approximately 3 inches in diameter. Heavy rain was falling at the time of the report.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindAlbany-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some branches about 5 miles south of Albany, IL around 504 am CDT July 24. A road was partially blocked by the branches.
April 2010HailAlbany-Non-severe hail (<1.0) fell in Albany, IL around 630 pm April 4.
April 2010HailAlbany-Non-severe hail (<1.0) fell for 5 minutes near Albany, IL between 525 and 530 pm April 4.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindAlbany-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph were observed 2 miles south of Albany, IL at 752 pm June 18.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindAlbany-Winds estimated to be 65 mph blew down a tree in Albany, IL.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindAlbany-Numerous trees and power lines were downed from Albany to Coleta.
March 2026HailAlbany-no account filed
May 2013HailAlbany-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindAlbany-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Whiteside 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
East Clinton4.4 miles19
Garden Plain4.8 miles19
Little Oklahoma5.9 miles19
Fulton6.2 miles19
Newton Corners6.6 miles14
Mineral Springs (historical)8.0 miles14
Oliver8.0 miles18
Union Grove10.7 miles18

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 AlbanyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2001662The 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 403376. 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.