Ashkum, Illinois
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Ashkum Township. It lies in ZIP code area 60911. The Survey maps it on the Clifton quadrangle. 750 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 669 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresAshkum fell from 761 to 750 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 | 761 | |
| 2020 | 750 | -11 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 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.
- 1944 USGS Gilman quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1946 USGS Gilman quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Danville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Danville quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Danville quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Watseka quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Clifton quadrangle1:24000
- 1990 USGS Watseka quadrangle1:100000
Storms near this place
24 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ashkum in 24 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 5 hail, 1 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | $5,000 | A tree was reported down and a grain bin was blown over when a line of strong thunderstorms hit the town of Ashkum. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | A photo showed a large rotted tree snapped a few feet above its base which partially landed on the roof of a house and an adjacent garage. |
| December 2025 | Tornado (EF0) | Ashkum | - | A tornado with estimated peak winds of 80 mph touched down just southeast of the intersection of N 400 East Road and E 2900 North Road, west of Clifton. Three utility poles were snapped as the tornado moved northeast across E 2900 North Road. Roofing material was peeled off of a house and trees were damaged at the intersection of N 500 East Road and E 2900 North Road. As the tornado crossed N 600 East Road and E 2950 North Road, two farm outbuildings had portions of their roofs ripped off at the same property. Additional tree damage was noted. The tornado lifted before reaching N 700 East Road. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | Several tree limbs were blown down along Route 45. |
| October 2021 | Tornado (EFU) | Ashkum | - | Trained spotters reported a brief tornado touched down in a corn field northwest of Ashkum. No known damage was caused by the tornado. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | Two semi trucks were blown over along Interstate 57. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | A portion of a roof was removed from a farm shed and trees were blown down. |
| August 2016 | Flood | Ashkum | - | Minor flooding was reported with roads with 2 to 3 inches of rain falling. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Ashkum | - | Two feet of flowing water was reported across 600 East Road just west of Ashkum. |
| December 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | A farmer reported buildings and vehicles moved on his property by strong winds near Ashkum. |
| April 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Ashkum | - | A brief tornado was reported near US 45 and Danforth Road. No damage was reported. |
| April 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Ashkum | - | A weak tornado originated in Ford County 9 NNE of Piper City and moved into Iroquois County 9 W of Ashkum or 10.5 NNE of Piper City. This tornado moved through open farm land. There was no damage. This data is for the portion of the tornado path in Iroquois County. |
| October 2001 | Hail | Ashkum | - | Golf ball size hail covered Interstate 57 at mile marker 287 forcing numerous cars to the side of the road. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | Thunderstorm winds were estimated to be 60 to 65 mph in Iroquois County. Limbs were blown down in Papineau. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | Thundestorms produced wind gusts to 65 mph. |
| March 2019 | Hail | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ashkum | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Ashkum | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 3.9 miles | 12 | |
| Danforth | 4.3 miles | 12 | |
| L'Erable | 5.9 miles | 12 | |
| Leonard | 7.9 miles | 12 | |
| Gilman | 8.1 miles | 12 | |
| Crescent City | 9.2 miles | 12 | |
| La Hogue | 10.7 miles | 14 | |
| Freedville | 11.3 miles | 11 |
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 Ashkum | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2175038 | 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 403669. 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.
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.







