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Beason, Illinois

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1957 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Oran Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62512. The Survey maps it on the Waynesville West quadrangle. 147 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 640 feet above sea level.

Beason within Logan County

Population over time

2 figures

Beason fell from 189 to 147 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
2010189
2020147-42 (-22%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 12 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

6,234 words on this township

History of Logan County, Illinois : Its Past and Present .., published 1878 names this settlement in its chapter on Oran Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

EATON HENRY S. farmer, fruitgrower, saw-mill and stock-raiser; Sec. 4, Oran; P.O. Atlanta; rep; bom March 17, 1835, in Edmonson, Kentucky; moved to Green Co. 111. in 1852, and to Warren Co. the same year, during which time he was engaged at laboring work; in 1853 settled in Logan Co; was married Aug. 5, x86o, to Nancy S. Boardwell; she was bom May 10,* 1 841, in Logan Co. Their children are: Angeline, bom May 5, 1862, and died Feb. 20,. 1865; Emma, born May 15, 1864, and died Feb. 18, 1865; Francis M. bora Dec 30, 1865; James T. Jan. 15, 1868; Edward, April 2X, 1870; Delia, Jan. 7, 1872; Benjamin F. Dec. 20, 1873; Frederick, Dec. 19, 1875; owns farm of 270 acres, steam saw-mill and an orchard of 4,000 trees; has served nine years as school director

Passage source: History of Logan County, Illinois : Its Past and Present .., published 1878.

ESTES WILLAM H. farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 14; P.O. Beason; dem; Meth; bora July 29, 1834, in Nashville, Tenn; left there with his parents when two years of age, and lived in Posey Co. Ind. till 185 1, and then came to Logan Co.* Ill; has been a resident of this County ever since; owns farm of 160 acres, value $8,000; was married Sept. i, 1853, to Philadelphia^ daughter of the late James Barr, was bora, July 9, 1837, in Logan Co; have nine children living, named: Nancy Margaret, George W., Levisa, James, Olive Frances, Charles, Minnie, Hattie and Clara M. and two dead, John and Ellie

Passage source: History of Logan County, Illinois : Its Past and Present .., published 1878.

Kf liLEBREW URIAH C. farmer. Sec. 20; P.O. Beason; rep; bom Jefferson Co. Illinois, in 1845, and settled in Logan Co. in 1865; was married to Mary Bnrk in 1868, who was bom in.1852 in this county; have five children, named: Addie E., Frank H., Willie L., Maude and Maggie; owns farm of 140 acres, valued at $7,000

Passage source: History of Logan County, Illinois : Its Past and Present .., 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 Oran Township - it names this place 11 more 11 times.

Fires near this place

28 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 28 fires within 5 miles of Beason between 2006 and 2018, burning about 78 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined21
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking2
Natural1

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
30 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined12 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
29 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
21 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
2 September 2007Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
18 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
9 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
8 July 2006Equipment and vehicle use1.5 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
7 June 2007Smokingunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Logan County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Beason: 2 producers, 2 past producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead, Zinc. 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
Eagle-Picher MineLead, ZincPast Producer
Keck PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Kenney Pit 9Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Twomey PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Logan County

Storms near this place

21 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Beason in 21 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 4 hail, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2010Tornado (EF0)Beason$80,000A tornado touched down 3.2 miles west-southwest of Beason in eastern Logan County, then tracked southeastward to the Logan-DeWitt County line. Several trees and tree branches were blown down along the path of the tornado. A shed was blown over and the roof was torn off a barn. In addition, corn crops were flattened in a few locations. The tornado continued southeastward into DeWitt County.
March 2009Thunderstorm WindBeason$60,000Several barns and outbuildings were damaged.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindBeason$20,000Strong winds damaged the roof and trusses of a machine shed.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindBeason$2,000A tree was blown down near Beason.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindBeason-Siding damage occurred to an outbuilding and a garage.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindBeason-A power pole was snapped onto Route 10 near Beason, resulting in a temporary road closure.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBeason-Numerous large tree branches were blown down.
June 2023Tornado (EF1)Beason-A tornado touched down just north of the intersection of County Road 2250 East and County Road 2000 North in far eastern Logan County at 12:35 PM CDT. The tornado tracked eastward causing minor damage to a home along County Road 2000 North before crossing into DeWitt County at 12:37 PM CDT.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBeason-Several large tree branches were blown down along IL-10 west of Midland City.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBeason-Several large tree branches were blown down.
August 2022Tornado (EF1)Beason-A tornado touched down on the far west side of Beason at 5:12 AM CDT. It damaged a grain elevator, some large bins, and equipment on the west end of Clinton Street...then tracked southeastward, damaging numerous trees and powerlines on the west end of County Road 1549 North and near the intersection of County Road 2143 East and County Road 1540 North. A few homes along the track had minor roof damage and missing shingles, while one suffered a broken window. The tornado continued southeastward through corn fields before lifting about 1.75 miles southeast of Beason at 5:15 AM CDT.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindBeason-A large tree branch was broken off.
June 2013Flash FloodBeason-Scattered thunderstorms, with heavy rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches in one hour, produced flash flooding in extreme southeast Logan County during the early afternoon. Many rural roads around the village of Latham, including Illinois Route 121, were closed. The flooding subsided by early evening.
June 2008Flash FloodBeason-Heavy rain produced flooding and closed Illinois Route 10 from about Beason to the Logan/DeWitt County line.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Beason-A tornado touched down east of Beason in Logan County. As it traveled to the east it blew down several trees before crossing into DeWitt County. No injuries were reported.
May 2000Tornado (F0)Beason-A tornado touched down 3 miles north of Beason in a field and traveled to the east before lifting and dissipating 4 miles northeast of Beason. No damage was reported.
March 2016HailBeason-no account filed
May 2010HailBeason-no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindBeason-no account filed
September 2006HailBeason-no account filed
March 2005HailBeason-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Logan 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
Skelton3.2 miles14
Bakerville5.6 miles12
Chestnut6.2 miles12
Lawndale7.0 miles14
Chestervale7.7 miles14
Atlanta8.3 miles13
Lincoln9.1 miles14
Mount Pulaski10.3 miles14

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 BeasonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3472034The 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 404039. 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.