Gillespie, Illinois
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1982. It stands in Gillespie Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62033. The Survey maps it on the Gillespie North quadrangle. 3,168 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 663 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresGillespie fell from 3,319 to 3,168 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 | 3,319 | |
| 2020 | 3,168 | -151 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 11 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.
- 1912 USGS Gillespie quadrangle1:62500
- 1915 USGS Gillespie quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Decatur quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Decatur quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1974 USGS Gillespie North quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS Litchfield quadrangle1:100000
In the county-history sources
1,626 words on this townshipHistory of Macoupin County, Illinois : Biographical and Pictorial, published 1911 names this settlement in its chapter on Gillespie Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Gillespie News. This paper was established November 22, 1905, by the Gillespie News Publishing Company, the members of which are S. P. Preston and Clinton Bliss, of the Hillsboro News. The first few issues of the paper were of a five column quarto, all home print. That was the size of the paper until 1908, when it was enlarged to a six column quarto, all home print. In 1911 a linotype was installed. The plant has a splendid two-story brick building, recently erected and the outfit consists of modern machinery, new body and display type and everything that goes to make the up-to-date newspaper and job printing establishment. The patronage is very gratifying. S. P. Preston is the resident managing editor.
Passage source: History of Macoupin County, Illinois : Biographical and Pictorial, published 1911.
The town of Gillespie is located on section 24. The original proprietor was Philander C. Huggins and it was surveyed by J. B. Meads in the spring of 1853. In 1855 an addition known as Huggins' first addition was made on the north side and in the following year, 1856, S. H. Burton made an addition on the south side.
Passage source: History of Macoupin County, Illinois : Biographical and Pictorial, published 1911.
There are a Christian and Baptist organization in Gillespie, both long established, but now weak in numbers. Services are held at the Baptist church every other Sunday by J. M. Gwinn, -of Staunton. The Christians have no regular minister.
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 Gillespie Township - it names this place 10 more 10 times.
Fires near this place
28 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 28 fires within 5 miles of Gillespie between 2008 and 2014, burning about 156 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 | 27 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 May 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | LAKE |
| 4 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | EAGARVILLE |
| 23 April 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | SEIS TRUST |
| 22 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | RT 4 |
| 22 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | LAKE |
| 2 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | ROR |
| 19 April 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 14-000056 |
| 9 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | TOWNSHIP |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Gillespie: 1 occurrence, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillespie Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
27 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gillespie in 27 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 14 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2002 | Hail | Gillespie | $2,000,000 | no account filed |
| March 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs around town. One very large limb briefly blocked a road in town. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees and tree limbs around town. Also, a few shingles were blown off the roof of a house. |
| May 2013 | Tornado (EF2) | Gillespie | - | The tornado began on the west side of Gillespie, causing minor damage to an apartment complex on the southwest side of the intersection of Broadway Street and LJ Avenue. It blew out several windows on one of the apartment buildings. It then caused major damage to the north end of a brick gymnasium at Gillespie High School. The damage to the gymnasium was rated EF2. Then it proceeded to travel northeast, blowing the roof off of a house just northeast of the high school. Also, a large pine tree was snapped off at the base next to the house. The tornado continued to the northeast. There was extensive damage to trees and roofs along a west southwest to east northeast path through the town. The tornado destroyed a garage at the corner of Henry Street and Fulton Street. The tornado lifted and dissipated just north of the intersection of Harding Avenue and Illinois Route 16. The tornado path length was 1.5 miles with max path width of 150 yards. The damage was rated EF2 with max wind speeds of 115 MPH. |
| May 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | Gillespie | - | The damage west of and in the city limits of Gillespie, Illinois was caused by downburst winds and one small tornado. The survey of the damage indicated an intermittent tornado track from 1.5 miles west of Gillespie to the west side of Gillespie at the High School. Several homes and outbuidings were damaged along with a power pole. The tornado was 30 to 40 yards wide and traveled adjacent to Illinois Route 16 towards Gillespie. A building on the high school campus lost its roof and the damage was rated EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Then the tornado lifted and dissipated. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | Directly south of the tornado track downburst winds caused widespread damage, that continued through the center of Gillespie. Numerous buildings had roof damage and many trees were blown over or snapped off. Wind speed was estimated to have been between 60 and 80 mph within the downburst swath. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | In Gillespie, a large tree fell onto a house causing moderate damage. Also, numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down between Gillespie and Mount Olive. |
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Gillespie | - | A weak tornado formed in a field west of Gillespie. There was no damage. |
| April 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Gillespie | - | The line of thunderstorms that produced small tornadoes near Piasa produced a third tornado around 535 pm CDT. This tornado destroyed a mobile home two miles north of Gillespie on Highway 4 at Quarry Road. This tornado was rated F0 with a path length of one-tenth of a mile and a width of 20 yards. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts toppled the concession stand and crow's nest at the Gillespie High School football field. Some trees and large tree limbs also took out power lines resulting in half the town losing power for several hours. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | The County Sheriff Department reported power poles and lines down. |
| August 2000 | Hail | Gillespie | - | Storm spotters reported 3/4 inch hail. |
| July 2000 | Hail | Gillespie | - | Amateur radio spotters reported golfball size hail. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| November 2013 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Gillespie | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gillespie | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Gillespie | 0.9 miles | 11 | |
| Mount Clare | 2.2 miles | 11 | |
| Henderson | 2.2 miles | 11 | |
| Eagerville | 2.3 miles | 11 | |
| Benld | 2.7 miles | 11 | |
| Sawyerville | 3.6 miles | 11 | |
| Baylestown | 4.1 miles | 12 | |
| Lake Ka-Ho | 4.4 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 Gillespie | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q575677 | 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 409018. 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.





