Colona, Illinois
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1937 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Colona Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61241. It stands on Turner Creek. The Survey maps it on the Green Rock quadrangle. 5,045 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 679 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresColona fell from 5,099 to 5,045 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 | 5,099 | |
| 2020 | 5,045 | -54 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 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.
- 1937 USGS Orion quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Green Rock quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Aledo quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Aledo quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Green Rock quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
4,324 words on this townshipHistory of Henry County, Illinois : It's Taxpayers and Voters; Containing Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State; Map of the County; a Business Directory...etc, published 1877 names this settlement in its chapter on Colona Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
BRANDENBURGH GEO. Retired Farmer, Sec. I, P.O. Green River; born in Frederick Co. Md. July 28, 1799: came to Henry Co. in 1835; Dem; Univ; owns 30 acres, val. $2,000; was Judge of Elections twenty years, School Director eight years; married Elizabeth Thompson, of Ohio, in 1815, for first wife; two children; married Mrs. Phebe Wells, of Cleveland, 111. in 1843 for second wife.
Passage source: History of Henry County, Illinois : It's Taxpayers and Voters; Containing Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State; Map of the County; a Business Directory...etc, published 1877.
CHAMBERS LAFAYETTE, Carpenter, Sec. n; P.O. Colons; born in Madison Co.. Ohio, in 1835; came 10 Henry Co. in 1869; Rep; U. Pres; owns house and two lots; was private in Co. A, 4th Iowa Cavalry three years; honorably discharged; married Miss Sarah C. Hearn, of Warren Co., Ohio, in 1866; two children, Evalina May, and Lawrence Sylvester.
Passage source: History of Henry County, Illinois : It's Taxpayers and Voters; Containing Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State; Map of the County; a Business Directory...etc, published 1877.
COLVIN LUTHER K. Farmer, Sec. 28; 'P.O. Briar Bluff; born in Kentucky in 1821; came to Henry Co. in 1856; Rep; owns 80 acres land, value $3,200; was Justice of the Peace eight years, Assessor three years, Highway Commissioner twelve years; married Miss Amanda J. Sharp, of Adams Co., 111., in 1849; five children, three boys and two girls.
Passage source: History of Henry County, Illinois : It's Taxpayers and Voters; Containing Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State; Map of the County; a Business Directory...etc, published 1877.
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 Colona Township - it names this place 54 more 54 times.
Fires near this place
1 since 2018Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Colona in 2018, burning about 1 acre 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 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 18-108 MM 1 I-88 |
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 Colona: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Quarry Plant #31 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Mc Dowell Sand & Excavating | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Oberlander Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
25 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colona in 25 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 2 heavy rain, 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 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | $50,000 | Trees down in town & on BNSF tracks |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | $5,000 | Numerous trees down at the confluence of the Green and Rock Rivers near the Hennepin Canal. Some of the trees were observed to be unhealthy. Time estimated based on radar. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | $2,000 | From the junction of U.S. 6 & I-80 to the junction of U.S. 6 & 720E, several 3-4 inch diameter limbs and one 5-6 inch diameter tree were down. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | Large tree branch was blown down. |
| February 2024 | Hail | Colona | - | Photo received through social media. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | Trained spotter estimated a 60 mph wind gust from the thunderstorm. |
| November 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | Law Enforcement reported power lines down in Colona. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | A trained spotter reported a couple of tree branches down that were 3 to 4 inches in diameter. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | A trained spotter reported numerous tree branches were blown down around town. |
| May 2014 | Hail | Colona | - | Quarter sized hail fell 1 mile south of Colona, IL at 445 pm CDT May 11. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Colona | - | Law enforcement reported intersections flooded. |
| April 2011 | Hail | Colona | - | Quarter sized hail fell in Colona, IL at 905 pm CDT April 3. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph were observed in Colona, IL at 905 pm CDT April 3. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph were observed in Colona, IL at 416 pm CDT July 23. |
| March 2006 | Heavy Rain | Colona | - | 1 to 2 feet of standing water in a mobile home park. According to the spotter, this area is well known for having poor drainage during heavy rainfall. Time estimated based on radar. |
| April 2006 | Heavy Rain | Colona | - | Ditches starting to fill up from the heavy rain. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | Jct U.S. 6 & IL 84; also nickel sized hail. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Colona | - | Jct U.S. 6 & IL 84; also strong winds estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colona | - | A squall line roared across the community producing substantial wind damage from strong straight line winds 70 to 90 mph. The damage path width was about 3/4 mile wide, however, no injuries were reported. |
| February 2024 | Hail | Colona | - | no account filed |
| April 2008 | Flood | Colona | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Colona | - | no account filed |
| May 1997 | Hail | Colona | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Colona | - | no account filed |
| February 1996 | Hail | Colona | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Rock | 0.8 miles | 12 | |
| Dayton | 1.7 miles | 12 | |
| Briar Bluff | 1.8 miles | 12 | |
| Green River | 1.9 miles | 12 | |
| Level Acres | 1.9 miles | 12 | |
| Cleveland | 2.5 miles | 23 | |
| Timber Ridge | 4.5 miles | 14 | |
| Warner | 5.2 miles | 14 |
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 Colona | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q575427 | 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 406393. 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.







