Edwards, Illinois
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1996. It stands in Kickapoo Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61528. It stands on Deer Lick Creek. The Survey maps it on the Peoria West quadrangle. It stands 525 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 19 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.
- 1905 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1927 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Peoria West quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1950 USGS Peoria West quadrangle1:24000
- 1958 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1996 USGS Peoria West quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
15,932 words on this townshipThe History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .., published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Kickapoo Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
March 5, 1867 ; George N., born September 15, 1859, died August 5, 1S61 ; Anna, born April 8, i86l, died in infancy; Adaline C, born February 23, 1863, married William Edwards, January 6, 1879; Euphemia B., bom November 27, 1865. Mrs. Jones' grandfather, when she saw him last in 1829, was Ii6 years of age, and her mother lived to be eighty-seven. Mr. Jones' mother lived to be eighty-nine. Protestant in religious sentiment. Mr. J. is a Republican of the liberal type. He owns 1S9 acres of land, valued at $40 an acre. He has held various local offices, such as town assessor, etc.
Passage source: The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .., published 1880.
VARDEX P.\TRICK, farmer. Sec. 19, P. O. Edwards Station. Mr. Varden and wife were bom in Ireland. He came to .America in 1S50. and engaged as a railroad laborer. March 25. 1852, he married Judith Carroll, and began life with less than fifty dollars. They first kept house in what had been a railroad boarding shanty, and Mrs. Varden said, "It seemed a palace, for it was our first home." For six years he worked on the railroad, or at whatever he could find to do, and in 1858 settled as above, having bought it in 1857. Their united industry and economy has secured them a good home, and all the comforts of life. They are members of the Catholic Church, and Democratic in political faith. Their land is valued at $50 an acre.
Passage source: The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .., published 1880.
is a son of Thomas and Elenor Edwanls, net Scott, and was born in Hampshire county. Va., Feb. l8, 1527, and came with his parents to Kosefield township in the Spring of 1S35. In 1857, when the Peoria, Oquawka and Burlington, now the C, B. & Q., Railroad, was completed, he removed from the farm to Edwards Station, where he opened a grocery and provision store, and was appointed station agent by the railroad company ; was also appointed the 6rst postmaster in the place. In the Spring of 1862, he removed his family back to the farm and enlisted in Co. K. 77th Illinois. He was elected second lieutenant, and subsequently promoted to first lieutenant, and served three years, fourteen months of which time was spent in the rebel prison at Camp Ford, Texas ; rations were sometimes nothing but a handful of corn a day to each prisoner. After returning home he engaged in farming until February, 1877, when he again removed to Edwards Station and opened a general store. He was appointed postmaster the same year, in which capacity he is still serving. December 18, 1851. he married Miss Mary J., daughter of Rev. Jacob Schamp, who was born May 4, 1825. They have had seven children - Florence Virginia, born Nov. 21, 1852. died Sept. 29, 1853; Thomas Justin, born Dec. 23, 1853; William Henry, born Oct. 6. 1S55; Mary Susan, bom Feb. 23, 1857; Isadorejane, born Aug. Q, 1859; Charles Hamilton, born Dec. 23. 1861; Edward David, born April 17, 1 366, died March 2, 1867. Mr. Edwards is Republican in political failh and practice. Mrs. Edwards is a member of the M. E. Church. Engeike F. coal operator, P.O. Peoria.
Passage source: The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .., published 1880.
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 Kickapoo Township - it names this place 11 more 11 times.
Fires near this place
7 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Edwards between 2009 and 2018, burning about 27 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 | 4 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 August 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018320 |
| 19 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018211 |
| 4 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018170 |
| 21 March 2009 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 9270 |
| 21 March 2009 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | WORTH |
| 21 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 269 |
| 20 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 261 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Edwards: 3 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Giles Property | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Joos Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kickapoo Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Peoria Blacktop Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Theodore Schaer Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
2 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Edwards in 2 storm reports between 2006 and 2023: 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olin | 1.4 miles | 16 | |
| Norwood | 3.7 miles | 19 | |
| Orange Prairie | 4.5 miles | 22 | |
| Maxwell | 4.6 miles | 19 | |
| Hanna City | 4.6 miles | 16 | |
| Pottstown | 4.8 miles | 19 | |
| Pioneer | 5.4 miles | 22 | |
| Bellevue | 5.4 miles | 19 |
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 Edwards | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5346077 | 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 407800. 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.










