Apple River, Illinois
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1902 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Apple River Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61001. The Survey maps it on the Apple River quadrangle. 347 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,010 feet above sea level.
On record in Apple River
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Millville Town Sitelisted 2003
Population over time
2 figuresApple River fell from 366 to 347 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 366 | |
| 2020 | 347 | -19 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 12 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.
- 1902 USGS Mineral Point quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Apple River quadrangle1:24000
- 1962 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Dubuque North quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
8,352 words on this townshipThe History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Constitution of the United States, published 1878 names this settlement in its chapter on Apple River Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
The oldest living resident of Apple River Township is Mr. William Colvin, whose intimate connection with the early history of the County has alreadybeen mentioned. Mr. Colvin came to Galena June 18, 1824, on the keel boat "Col. Bumford." After mining near there until 1828, he settled on the farm where he now lives, four miles west of the village of Apple River. At that time Lot L. Dimick, Wm. Hudson and Adam Vroman had already settled in the township as farmers. In 1829, Samuel Warner came from Ontario County, New York, and settled near Mr. Colvin where he has resided up to the present time.
Passage source: The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Constitution of the United States, published 1878.
For five years after the township organization, Apple River was incorporated in the Township of Thompson. The name of the township and village were derived from a river of that name by which the land is watered.
Passage source: The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Constitution of the United States, published 1878.
The first house on the site of Apple River was built of logs about 1832, by Daniel Robbins - the first settler at that place. He sold out to Francis Redfern, who came West about 1850, from Ohio. A large family of rough characters, named Daves, settled on a branch of the Apple River about the year 1835, which received, on account of their residence there, the name of " Hell Branch." In 1837 they had a dispute with a man named Alexander McKillips regarding his claim, which resulted in the Daves brothers waylaying McKillips, at night - tieing him to a stump and whipping him until almost dead. Such acts were among the lawlessness of frontier life. It may be added that a just retribution overtook these brothers, several of whom were hung, one killed by a falling mineral tub, and another chopped to pieces with an ax.
Passage source: The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Constitution of the United States, published 1878.
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 Apple River Township - it names this place 54 more 54 times.
Fires near this place
3 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Apple River between 2009 and 2019, burning about 2 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/undetermined | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | CNR |
| 24 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2019010 |
| 22 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | NIEMANN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Apple River: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oppie Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Russell Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Sweet Home Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
10 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Apple River in 10 storm reports between 1997 and 2019: 7 thunderstorm wind, 3 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Apple River | $100,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down several large trees and a metal flag pole in Apple River, IL at 620 am CDT July 11. Almost every property in the 400 person town suffered some damage. Information from this report was also attained from a news paper article. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Apple River | - | A tree was blown down at the corner of Apple River Canyon Road and East Stagecoach road. Report relayed by 911 call center. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Apple River | - | Local law enforcement reported trees were down along with some power lines near Stagecoach Trail west of Apple River. A tree was also down across the railroad tracks along Stagecoach Trail. Winds were estimated to be up to near 70 MPH. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Apple River | - | Golf ball-sized hail fell in Apple River, IL around 552 pm July 24. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Apple River | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew down several 10 to 12 inch diameter tree limbs in Apple River, IL around 152 pm August 9. |
| August 2006 | Hail | Apple River | - | The fire department reported penny to nickel size hail that lasted for 1 minute with non-severe wind gusts. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Apple River | - | Power lines knocked down. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Apple River | - | Several large trees, at least 2 feet in diameter, blown down in Apple River Canyon State Park. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Apple River | - | Numerous trees down with diameters up to 12 inches. |
| May 2000 | Hail | Apple River | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet Home (historical) | 3.9 miles | 14 | |
| Millville | 4.6 miles | 14 | |
| Warren | 5.8 miles | 14 | |
| Apple Canyon Lake | 6.6 miles | 15 | |
| Scales Mound | 8.4 miles | 16 | |
| Nora | 8.8 miles | 14 | |
| Schapville | 9.4 miles | 15 | |
| Pitcherville (historical) | 11.0 miles | 14 |
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 Apple River | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q621346 | The 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 403578. 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.






