BlockBefore

Leaf River, Illinois

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1922 and the latest in 1983. It stands in Leaf River Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61047. It stands on Mud Creek. The Survey maps it on the German Valley quadrangle. 432 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 725 feet above sea level.

Leaf River within Ogle County

Population over time

2 figures

Leaf River fell from 443 to 432 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
2010443
2020432-11 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 14 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.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Leaf River township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From The 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 - Leaf River Township

Swartout Miraxda

SWARTOUT MIRAXDA R. Tenant Farmer ; Sec. 8 ; P. 0. Rockvale ; Mr. S. was born March 18, 1813, in Dutchess Co., N. Y.; was married June 2, 1843 to Lydia M., daughter of John Lewis, of Saratoga Co., N. Y.; Mrs. S. was born April 21, 1827; in January, 1854, Mr. S. came to Ole Co., and lived here until 1858, when he moved to Minnesota and resided there until October, 1874, when he returned to Ogle County and settled in Rockvale, where he now resides ; on the 6th of October, 1862, he enlisted in the 1st Regiment of Minnesota Mounted Rangers, which was formed for service on the 'frontier against the Sioux Indians, who perpetrated the well-remembered Minnesota Massacre ; Mr.

Read the rest of this passage

In the county-history sources

15,394 words on this township

The 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 names this settlement in its chapter on Leaf River Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Township, Ogle Co. ; she was born Oct. 11,1834; they have five children - Arabella, born Aug. 21, 1855; Charles S., Dec. 11, 1857 ; Sarah M., May 20, 1860 ; Mary E., May 2, 1863 ; George E., June 27, 1868 ; lost one child- Martha E., born Sept. 16, 1866, died Aug. 22, 1867 ; Mr. K. is a Democrat, and was Road Commissioner for one year ; is School Director and has held that position for the last twenty years, in Maryland and Leaf River Townships ; Mrs. Kirshner is a member of the Evangelical Church.

Passage source: The 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.

KRETSIITGER I.EWIS, Farmer ; Sec. 18 ; P. 0. Wales ; owns 311 acres, probable value $15,550 ; Mr. Kretsinger was born April 1, 1822, in Shenandoah Co., Va., and came to Ogle Co., in the Autumn of 1844, and settled in Pine Creek Township, where he lived three years ; he was married June 4, 1846, to Caroline, daughter of Jacob Zigler, of Leaf River Township ; she was born Oct. 16. 1823, in Washington Co., Md., they have eight children, whose names are Samuel C, Josiah T., Margaret C, Lewis F., Ernest 0., Milton E., Jennie C., and David E. ; they lost two children - Mary L., and Elmer L. ; Mr. K. is a carpenter by trade ; he served his apprenticeship in Maryland, and followed the business for about 12 years; he was one of the contractors who built the first flour-mill in ! Pine Creek Township, in 1846-7 and | owned by HofiFman & Hitt ; he is a Re- j publican, and was Road Commissioner three years, Supervisor three years, Road Master three years. School Director six years and is now School Trustee, having been elected in the i Spring of 1877, to serve three years ; i he was also a Director of the Leaf River ; & Rockvale Insurance Co., and a | member of the Executive Committee; he is a member of the Church of the United Brethren, and is also a Class Leader and Trustee of that Church ; Mrs. Kretsinger is a member of the M. E. Church.

Passage source: The 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.

Harriet S., daughter of Henry Schrader, of Leaf River Township. Mrs. Light was born Sept. 20, 1846. They have three children - Cora A., John H., and Joseph F. Mr. L. is a Republican, and a member of the Church of United Brethren, of which denomination Mrs. L. is also a member.

Passage source: The 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.

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 Leaf River Township - it names this place 18 more 18 times.

Fires near this place

4 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Leaf River between 2003 and 2019, burning about 10 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/undetermined4

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
19 July 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
30 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesMOON
18 March 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources1900028
13 March 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesHORST

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Ogle County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Leaf River: 10 past producers. 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
A. Hoover QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
A. Right QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Freeze Property QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
J. Horst QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Stukenberg Property QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Ogle County

Storms near this place

10 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Leaf River in 10 storm reports between 1993 and 2021: 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 funnel cloud. 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
May 1993Thunderstorm WindLeaf River$5,000A small tornado touched down briefly damaging a mobile home, sheds and a swimming pool. Trees were damaged and an empty semi-trailer was blown over. The tornado lifted before Leaf River but trees and power lines were damaged in town by strong thunderstorm winds.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindLeaf River-Multiple trees were blown down including some large tree limbs.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindLeaf River-A tree was blown down blocking a road.
September 2018Funnel CloudLeaf River-A brief funnel cloud was observed extending at least halfway to the ground.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindLeaf River-Trees that were approximately 12 inches in diameter were blown down.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLeaf River-Large tree limbs were blown down.
April 2006HailLeaf River-no account filed
May 2006HailLeaf River-no account filed
July 2003HailLeaf River-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindLeaf River-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Ogle 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
Lightsville1.5 miles14
Myrtle3.8 miles14
Egan4.3 miles14
Adeline4.8 miles14
Mount Morris5.4 miles14
Byron Hills Estates7.2 miles14
Byron7.8 miles14
Oregon8.5 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 Leaf RiverAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2181623The 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 411889. 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.