BlockBefore

Freeburg, Illinois

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Freeburg Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62243. The Survey maps it on the Freeburg quadrangle. 4,582 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Freeburg within St. Clair County

Population over time

2 figures

Freeburg grew from 4,354 to 4,582 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.

YearPeople Change
20104,354
20204,582+228 (+5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched 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.

In the county-history sources

773 words on this township

History of St. Clair County, Illinois. With Illustrations ... and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1881 names this settlement in its chapter on Freeburg Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

On Nov. llth, 1836, the town of Urbana, as it was first called, was platted by John T. Lemen. It comprised eight blocks, divided into 128 lots. Geographically, it was th* south-east quarter of the south-east quarter sectioa 19, T. 1 S., R. 7 W. A large public square was planned in the centre. Various additions have been made to the original town as follows : by Thomas Temple, 36 lots east of town, October 19th, 1853 ; by D. C. Wallace, 90 lots, Sept. 5th, 1853 ; by Reazin Thrifts, 8 lots, July 31st, 1857 ; by Philip Ranch, 14 lots north, Aug. 23d, 1854; by Geo. W. Smith, 3 blocks east, Sept. 1, 1853; by mill company, 12 blocks north of town, and others at a later date - in all fourteen different additions. The name was changed from Urbana to Freeburg in 1859, and Joseph Reichertmade the first addition of 42 lots Dec. 30th, 1859, to Freeburg. The post-office was located in 1851, with Geo. W. Smith as postmaster.

Passage source: History of St. Clair County, Illinois. With Illustrations ... and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1881.

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 Freeburg Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Fires near this place

1 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Freeburg in 2014, burning under an 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/undetermined1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 May 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesSTATE1

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in St. Clair County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Freeburg: 1 plant, 1 occurrence. 1 still produces. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Freeburg Sand Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence

Every working recorded in St. Clair County

Storms near this place

47 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Freeburg in 47 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 26 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flash 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1997Thunderstorm WindFreeburg$50,000Wind gusts estimated at 75 mph downed trees, power lines, and damaged roofs. The roof of one busines was completely blown off.
May 2008Flash FloodFreeburg$20,000Heavy rain caused flash flooding at several locations in the central part of St. Clair County. Roads were reported closed in Belleville, Freeburg, and Smithton. Some basements were reported flooded with up to two feet of water.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindFreeburg$5,000Amateur radio spotters reported a large tree limb fell on a power line and knocked out power to part of town for several hours.
April 1994Thunderstorm WindFreeburg$5,000Power lines and poles were blown down just east of Freeburg. The county sheriff also reported several large trees down in New Athens which damaged parked cars.
April 1996Tornado (F0)Freeburg$5,000no account filed
May 1995Thunderstorm WindFreeburg$800Golf ball-size hail was reported in Smithton along with minor roof damage and trees snapped off in Freeburg.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree which then blocked Wolf Road near Westview Road.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Thunderstorm winds caused damage to a metal roof at the intersection of Route 15 and Route 13 in Freeburg.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Another area of enhanced wind damage in St. Clair County extended from Freeburg to Marissa from this line of severe storms. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. In Freeburg, several homes sustained damage from fallen trees and a couple of power poles were snapped off. Also, a number of homes sustained shingle and siding damage.
December 2015Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Thunderstorm winds caused some moderate damage to fencing in town.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Thunderstorm winds blew down a 12 inch diameter tree limb which fell on top of a building at a car dealership.
January 2012HailFreeburg-Large hail caused minor damage to several cars in town.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Thunderstorm winds blew down several large tree limbs along Wolf Road just west of Freeburg.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees and power lines around town.
April 2007HailFreeburg-Nickel size hail was reported at the intersection of Routes 156 and 13.
February 2006HailFreeburg-A storm spotter reported 3/4 inch hail.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Several large tree limbs and power lines were blown down.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Thunderstorm wind gusts downed some large tree limbs and power lines in Freeburg, One home suffered minor damage.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Amateur radio spotters reported trees down, some of which fell on a couple of mobile homes.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-The Freeburg EMA reported wind gusts to 62 mph. Large tree limbs were broken off of trees.
April 2000HailFreeburg-Freeburg EMA reported nickel size hail.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Some large tree limbs were broken by thunderstorm wind gusts. One home suffered a hole in the roof after being hit by a large limb.
April 1998HailFreeburg-Spotters reported golfball size hail fell for several minutes.
May 1995HailFreeburg-Along with large hail, wind gusts to 60 miles an hour were reported.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-Along with large hail, wind gusts to 60 miles an hour were reported.
April 1994HailFreeburg-Several large trees were knocked down in Dupo and wind gusts as high as 70 mph were reported by ham radio spotters in Belleville. Quarter-size hail was also reported in Freeburg and dime-size hail was reported in Mascoutah.
March 2024Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
May 2023HailFreeburg-no account filed
May 2023HailFreeburg-no account filed
July 2013HailFreeburg-no account filed
May 2011HailFreeburg-no account filed
October 2010Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
May 2010HailFreeburg-no account filed
May 2010HailFreeburg-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
April 2007HailFreeburg-no account filed
April 2007HailFreeburg-no account filed
April 2007HailFreeburg-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
June 2004HailFreeburg-no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
April 1998HailFreeburg-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindFreeburg-no account filed
May 1998HailFreeburg-no account filed

Every storm recorded in St. Clair County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Wilderman3.5 miles13
Douglas3.7 miles13
Lementon3.7 miles14
Smithton4.4 miles13
Rentchler4.9 miles14
Fayetteville7.2 miles14
Roachtown7.2 miles18
New Athens7.2 miles14

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 FreeburgAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2070046The 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 426344. 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.