Brighton, Illinois
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1925 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Brighton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62012. The Survey maps it on the Brighton quadrangle. 2,221 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 663 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresBrighton fell from 2,254 to 2,221 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 | 2,254 | |
| 2020 | 2,221 | -33 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 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.
- 1925 USGS Brighton quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1928 USGS Brighton quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Quincy quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1983 USGS Brighton quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Jerseyville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
1,316 words on this townshipHistory of Macoupin County, Illinois : Biographical and Pictorial, published 1911 names this settlement in its chapter on Brighton Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Brighton township is bounded on the north by Shipman, on the east by Bunker Hill, on the south by Madison county and on the west by Jersey county. The land is drained by the tributaries of Wood river, while it is traversed by two railroads - the Chicago & Alton and the Rock Island division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad.
Passage source: History of Macoupin County, Illinois : Biographical and Pictorial, published 1911.
The first Sunday school was organized about 1832 and was held in a log schoolhouse located about a mile from the present town of Brighton. The two denominations represented here at that time were the Baptist and Methodist. Some of the early settlers would ride to Alton, a distance of eleven miles, in wagons drawn by ox teams, to attend religious services. Until about 1835 preaching was held here in private homes. About that time the Baptists built a house of worship and the first minister was Rev. Amos Dodge.
Passage source: History of Macoupin County, Illinois : Biographical and Pictorial, published 1911.
The town of Brighton is located mostly on the northwest quarter of section 19. Herman Griggs was the founder of the town, which was laid out in 1836 by Luke Knowlton. A short time previously a company had purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land of Mr. Brown on the same section. They proceeded at once to survey and lay off a town, which was named Bristol. The two plats were only twenty or thirty rods apart. Nathan Scarritt was manager of the latter company. Quite a competing spirit arose between the parties in town proprietorship. In 1837 there was a financial panic, which severely visited the two towns of Bristol and Brighton. Mr. Scarritt had erected what became known as the Hill House, on Main street, occupying it with a stock of merchandise. The company becoming discouraged sold the entire tract of two hundred and eighty acres to Daniel Nelson for $r,ooo, and the latter sold one half of it to J. W. Gilson. Foj a time improvements were very slow and for several months the only building that was erected was the Methodist church in 1837.
Passage source: History of Macoupin County, Illinois : Biographical and Pictorial, published 1911.
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 Brighton Township - it names this place 6 more 6 times.
Fires near this place
25 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 25 fires within 5 miles of Brighton between 2007 and 2011, burning about 106 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 | 20 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 90902 |
| 27 July 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 90722 |
| 29 June 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 90627 |
| 21 June 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 90620 |
| 4 May 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 90503 |
| 12 May 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 90506 |
| 6 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 90311 |
| 1 April 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | CRAQFTON |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
45 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brighton in 45 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 24 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 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 2000 | Hail | Brighton | $160,000 | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | $3,500 | Wind gusts as high as 75 mph knocked down numerous trees, power poles, and power lines. One tree fell and completely demolish a bandstand in Brighton. A tractor-semitrailer was blown off the road along Interstate 55 near Mount Olive as well. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Brighton at North Main Street and Oak Street. |
| March 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Brighton | - | After crossing into Macoupin County it damaged a small outbuilding throwing the debris west into a field that was just over the county line in Jersey County. As it continued to the northeast it crossed Illinois Route 111 uprooting a large tree. Before lifting and dissipating 3.8 miles north northeast of Brighton, it snapped off several power poles along Bachman Road. In Macoupin County the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 2.36 miles and a max path width of 200 yards. Overall, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 2.75 miles and a max path width of 200 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees about 3 miles southeast of Miles Station. One large tree fell onto a pole barn causing moderate damage. The tree also knocked a gas meter off of the house. |
| August 2019 | Flash Flood | Brighton | - | Up to four inches of rain fell in a 4 hour time period causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded in the southwestern portions of Macoupin County. One motorist had to be rescued from 4 feet of water at the Railroad overpass along Illinois Route 16 at Shipman. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs around town. |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees and power lines, as well as numerous tree limbs between Brighton and Medora. |
| July 2016 | Flash Flood | Brighton | - | Up to 4 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time causing flash flooding. Several roads across southwestern Macoupin County were flooded, including Piasa Road just northeast of Brighton. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Brighton | - | A swath of large hail fell across Macoupin County from the Brighton area to Dorchester then into Gillespie. Most of the hail was between an inch and two inches with three inch diameter hail reported in Gillespie. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down power lines in Brighton. In Shipman, the winds caused siding and window damage from wind driven one inch diameter hail. In the Benld and Staunton areas, several trees were blown down. |
| April 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Thunderstorm winds uprooted a six foot tall spruce tree and knocked a few shingles off of a nearby house. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees in town. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Several large tree limbs were blown down. |
| August 2008 | Flash Flood | Brighton | - | Very heavy rain fell in a short amount of time on already saturated soils causing flash flooding. Illinois Route 111 was closed about 4 miles south of Piasa due to flooding. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Brighton | - | Local law enforcement reported hail up to golf ball size in Brighton. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Several trees and power lines were blown down. |
| November 2005 | Hail | Brighton | - | Amateur radio spotters reported 3/4 inch hail south of Brighton. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Brighton | - | Storm spotters reported 3/4 inch hail. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Law enforcement reported a large tree down in Brighton. |
| April 2003 | Hail | Brighton | - | The County Sheriff reported nickel size hail. |
| April 2003 | Hail | Brighton | - | Amateur radio spotters reported half dollar size hail. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Brighton | - | Amateur radio spotters reported nickel size hail. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Brighton | - | Storm spotters reported 3/4 inch hail. |
| May 2000 | Hail | Brighton | - | Storm spotters reported 1 inch hail. |
| June 2000 | Hail | Brighton | - | Storm spotters reported nickel size hail. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Amateur radio spotters reported a large tree down along Highway 67. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Brighton | - | Amateur radio spotters reported 3/4 inch hail. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Brighton | - | Amateur radio spotters reported 3/4 inch hail. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Brighton | - | Ham radio spotters reported threee-quarters inch diameter hail in the Brighton area. Several minutes later, the Illinois State Police and the county sheriff reported golf ball-size hail in and around Carlinville, lasting for about ten minutes. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | Wind gusts to 60 mph broke off numerous tree limbs. |
| April 2013 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| April 2013 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Flood | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brighton | - | no account filed |
| April 1993 | Hail | Brighton | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles Station | 2.7 miles | 12 | |
| Piasa | 5.3 miles | 12 | |
| Woodburn | 6.8 miles | 12 | |
| Shipman | 7.4 miles | 12 | |
| Medora | 9.3 miles | 12 | |
| Centerville | 9.6 miles | 12 | |
| Bunker Hill | 10.0 miles | 12 | |
| Summerville | 10.3 miles | 12 |
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 Brighton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q915797 | 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 404869. 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.
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.





