Colchester, Illinois
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1913 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Colchester Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62326. It lies near Argyle Hollow (historical). The Survey maps it on the Colchester quadrangle. 1,108 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 689 feet above sea level.
On record in Colchester
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 2 records
Moses King Brick and Tile Workslisted 2001
Clarence Kleinkopf Round Barnlisted 1982
Population over time
2 figuresColchester fell from 1,401 to 1,108 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 | 1,401 | |
| 2020 | 1,108 | -293 (-21%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 14 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.
- 1913 USGS Colchester quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Colchester quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Macomb quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Macomb quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
2 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Colchester in 2008, burning about 25 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April 2008 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | SILBERER |
| 15 February 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | KIRBY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Colchester: 3 producers, 2 past producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester Plant No. 1 & Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Mc Clure Quarries | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Colchester Brick & Tile Co.Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Colchester Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Valentine Welch & Booz Pit | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
33 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colchester in 33 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 15 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. 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 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | $40,000 | Trees down |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | $25,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew a large tree down onto a house in Colchester, IL around 705 pm June 21. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | $20,000 | Power lines down |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | $500 | Several 8-inch diameter trees were blown down 2 miles south of Colchester. A large tree was blown down at Industry. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | $250 | Law enforcement reported a large tree limb down on Route 136. |
| July 2025 | Flash Flood | Colchester | - | Broadcast Media 3-4 inches of standing water in yards and side streets. Ditches have begun overflowing onto side streets. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | A tree was also reported down. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | A trained spotter reported that Colchester Illinois was without power. There was also pea sized hail. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| May 2015 | Hail | Colchester | - | Mostly dime sized hail fell with a few quarter sized hail stones. Time is estimated from radar. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | A trained spotter reported small tree limbs down. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | A trained spotter estimated 58 mph winds. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | A trained spotter reported 1 to 3 inch diameter tree limbs down. A nearby home weather station reported a peak wind gust of 56 mph. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph uprooted a 20 inch diameter, 18 foot tall tree in Colchester, IL around 215 am CDT June 27. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph snapped an 18 inch diameter tree off at the base in Colchester, IL around 220 am CDT June 27. Some power lines were also downed resulting in a power outage in Colchester. |
| July 2010 | Flash Flood | Colchester | - | Heavy rains of 1.50 inches in under an hour resulted in flash flooding of some streets in Colchester, IL during the late morning of July 19. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Colchester | - | Many county roads in northern McDonough County were covered by 4-6 inches of water. |
| March 2006 | Hail | Colchester | - | Dime to nickel sized hail |
| May 2006 | Heavy Rain | Colchester | - | 1.05 inches of rain in 45 minutes |
| June 2006 | Hail | Colchester | - | dime size hail |
| March 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | Winds were measured 6 miles north of Argyle Lake State Park. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Colchester | - | Heavy rain and hail from 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter fell over open farm land. No damage was reported. |
| April 1995 | Hail | Colchester | - | Thunderstorms produced large amounts of hail, and large sized hail during this event. Hail ranged in size from dime to golf ball. A combination of ice, wind, rain, and hail wreaked havoc across parts of northwest Illinois. Hardest hit from the storms appeared to be northeast Carroll County where winds nearing 50 mph combined with ice to cause a domino effect as six power poles toppled on Illinois 73 between Payne and Spring Valley roads. |
| April 1995 | Hail | Colchester | - | Thunderstorms produced large amounts of hail, and large sized hail during this event. Hail ranged in size from dime to golf ball. A combination of ice, wind, rain, and hail wreaked havoc across parts of northwest Illinois. Hardest hit from the storms appeared to be northeast Carroll County where winds nearing 50 mph combined with ice to cause a domino effect as six power poles toppled on Illinois 73 between Payne and Spring Valley roads. |
| March 2024 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| August 2022 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| April 2020 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| April 2013 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| April 2013 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Colchester | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Colchester | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ragtown (historical) | 1.8 miles | 14 | |
| Tennessee | 2.7 miles | 14 | |
| Fandon | 4.3 miles | 14 | |
| Georgetown | 4.6 miles | 20 | |
| Hills Grove (historical) | 4.9 miles | 14 | |
| Little Ireland (historical) | 5.9 miles | 20 | |
| Lamone Village | 6.4 miles | 20 | |
| East Village | 6.5 miles | 20 |
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 Colchester | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q575411 | 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 406339. 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.







