Harper, Illinois
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1942 and the latest in 1983. It stands in Forreston Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61030. The Survey maps it on the Shannon quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 14 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.
- 1942 USGS Forreston quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1945 USGS Forreston quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1963 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1983 USGS Shannon quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
8,941 words on this townshipThe History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878; Portrait and Biographical Album of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, published 1886 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Forreston Township covers the township.
Read the chapter on Forreston Township - 8,941 words.
Fires near this place
2 since 2020Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Harper in 2020, burning about 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 April 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 20-0000039 |
| 4 April 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 20-0000032 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Harper: 3 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bauch Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Artman Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| C.J. Kutz Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Swalve Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Limestone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
1 since 2023Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Harper in 1 storm report in 2023: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | Tornado (EF1) | Harper | - | This tornado began southeast of Lanark in Carroll County near Harvest Rd west of Shannon Rte. It tracked to the northeast crossing into rural Ogle County at N Brookville Rd north of W White Oak Rd. Shortly before dissipating, the storm crossed into Stephenson County at N Mt. Vernon Rd. It then lifted as it approached Florence Rd west of IL Rt. 26 S. Extensive damage was done to several farm buildings and a few trees were downed as well. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forreston | 3.8 miles | 14 | |
| Baileyville | 4.8 miles | 14 | |
| Haldane | 6.7 miles | 14 | |
| Brookville | 6.7 miles | 14 | |
| Maryland | 7.4 miles | 14 | |
| Adeline | 8.3 miles | 14 | |
| Eagle Point | 10.4 miles | 11 | |
| Polo | 11.3 miles | 11 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 409820. 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.







