Bowes, Illinois
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1925 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Plato Township. It lies in ZIP code area 60124. It stands on Bowes Creek. The Survey maps it on the Pingree Grove quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 17 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.
- 1925 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1940 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:62500
- 1962 USGS Pingree Grove quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Pingree Grove quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
109 words on this townshipHistory of Kane County, Ill., published 1908 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Plato Township covers the township.
Read the chapter on Plato Township - 109 words.
Fires near this place
7 since 2013Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Bowes between 2013 and 2014, burning about 78 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Natural | 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 September 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2013-852 |
| 1 June 2014 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 15 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2014-0548 |
| 7 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2014-345 |
| 7 April 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2014-340 |
| 6 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2013-301 |
| 5 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2014-328 |
| 10 November 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2013-1070 |
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 Bowes: 2 past producers, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin City Pit | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Fox River Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Van Acker Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Plant |
Storms near this place
1 since 2023Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bowes in 1 storm report in 2023: 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Bowes | - | As the Elgin EF-1 tornado was ongoing, a second tornado touched down near the intersection of McDonald and Crawford roads on the far north side of Campton Hills and continued east-northeast through the southwestern portion of Elgin. Damage along the path of this EF-0 tornado consisted almost entirely of snapped tree limbs with one home in the Bowes Creek Country Club experiencing damage to an exterior wall and roof. The tornado appeared to lift near the intersection of Hopps Road and Lisa Lane. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowes Bend | 1.3 miles | 17 | |
| Chippewa | 1.6 miles | 17 | |
| Plato Corners | 1.6 miles | 13 | |
| Hidden Lakes | 1.7 miles | 17 | |
| Silent Meadow | 1.8 miles | 17 | |
| Tamara Heights | 2.2 miles | 17 | |
| Plato Center | 2.4 miles | 17 | |
| Udina | 2.6 miles | 17 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 404737. 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.









