BlockBallou, Illinois
21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1999. It stands in Wesley Township. It lies in ZIP code area 60481. The Survey maps it on the Symerton quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 21 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.
- 1892 USGS Wilmington quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1918 USGS Wilmington quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Symerton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Wilmington quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Aurora quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Aurora quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Ottawa quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Ottawa quadrangle1:100000
- 1993 USGS Symerton quadrangle1:24000
- 1999 USGS Symerton quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
12 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Ballou between 2005 and 2020, burning about 18 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | GORMAN FIRE |
| 6 April 2008 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | OLD CHICAGO FARM FIR |
| 6 April 2005 | Smoking | under an acre | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | SOUTH ARSENAL FIRE |
| 27 April 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | QUIGLEY ROAD |
| 2 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | WAPONSEE |
| 10 April 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.3 acres | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | SYMERTON |
| 26 March 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.2 acres | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | JORDAN CREEK |
| 25 March 2005 | Smoking | under an acre | Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie | JERRY FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Ballou: 3 past producers, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles & Son Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Limestone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Wesley Township Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
1 since 2012Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ballou in 1 storm report in 2012: 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 2012 | Flash Flood | Ballou | - | Waters from Forked Creek came up quickly on Kahler Road stranding a motorist who tried to drive through the flood waters. The motorist had to be rescued by boat. The road was closed by the city thereafter. Rainfall totaling 3.57 inches fell previous day in Wilmington. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ritchie Station | 1.5 miles | 21 | |
| Ritchie | 1.6 miles | 21 | |
| Resthaven | 2.1 miles | 23 | |
| Lakewood Shores | 2.3 miles | 23 | |
| Custer Park | 2.7 miles | 13 | |
| Winchester Estates | 2.7 miles | 23 | |
| Wilmington | 3.2 miles | 23 | |
| Riverwood Estates | 3.3 miles | 23 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 422429. 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.