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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.

Gillespie within Macoupin County

Population over time

2 figures

Gillespie 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.

YearPeople Change
20103,319
20203,168-151 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 11 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

1,626 words on this township

History 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 2008

Regional 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/undetermined27
Debris and open burning1

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
5 May 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesLAKE
4 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesEAGARVILLE
23 April 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesSEIS TRUST
22 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesRT 4
22 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesLAKE
2 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesROR
19 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources14-000056
9 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesTOWNSHIP

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Macoupin 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 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Gillespie QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence

Every working recorded in Macoupin County

Storms near this place

27 since 1998

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2002HailGillespie$2,000,000no account filed
March 2022Thunderstorm WindGillespie$5,000Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs around town. One very large limb briefly blocked a road in town.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindGillespie-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 2013Tornado (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 2009Tornado (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 2009Thunderstorm WindGillespie-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 2008Thunderstorm WindGillespie-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 2007Tornado (EF0)Gillespie-A weak tornado formed in a field west of Gillespie. There was no damage.
April 2006Tornado (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 2005Thunderstorm WindGillespie-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 2002Thunderstorm WindGillespie-The County Sheriff Department reported power poles and lines down.
August 2000HailGillespie-Storm spotters reported 3/4 inch hail.
July 2000HailGillespie-Amateur radio spotters reported golfball size hail.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindGillespie-no account filed
June 2020HailGillespie-no account filed
May 2014HailGillespie-no account filed
November 2013HailGillespie-no account filed
May 2012HailGillespie-no account filed
June 2008HailGillespie-no account filed
May 2008HailGillespie-no account filed
July 2006HailGillespie-no account filed
May 2004Thunderstorm WindGillespie-no account filed
April 2002HailGillespie-no account filed
April 2002HailGillespie-no account filed
April 2002HailGillespie-no account filed
June 1998HailGillespie-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindGillespie-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Macoupin 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
East Gillespie0.9 miles11
Mount Clare2.2 miles11
Henderson2.2 miles11
Eagerville2.3 miles11
Benld2.7 miles11
Sawyerville3.6 miles11
Baylestown4.1 miles12
Lake Ka-Ho4.4 miles12

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 GillespieAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q575677The 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.