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Machesney Park, Illinois

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1993. It stands in Harlem Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61115. It stands on Willow Creek. The Survey maps it on the Rockford North quadrangle. 22,950 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 741 feet above sea level.

Machesney Park within Winnebago County

Population over time

2 figures

Machesney Park fell from 23,499 to 22,950 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
201023,499
202022,950-549 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 20 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

1,362 words on this township

The History of Winnebago County, Illinois : Its Past and Present, Containing ... 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 1877 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Harlem Township covers the township.

Read the chapter on Harlem Township - 1,362 words.

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 Machesney Park between 2003 and 2004, burning about 4 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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/undetermined3
Arson/incendiarism1

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
26 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
18 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
16 February 2003Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresIllinois State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
16 February 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIllinois State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Winnebago County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 16 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Machesney Park: 11 past producers, 4 producers, 1 plant. 5 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Anderson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Grover PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Larson Brothers Pit No. 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
North Shore S & G PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Porter PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Racetrack PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Cooling QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Genestra QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
H. Webster QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Johns QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Winnebago County

Storms near this place

16 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Machesney Park in 16 storm reports between 2012 and 2025: 7 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 1 heavy rain, 1 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 2017Thunderstorm WindMachesney Park$5,000Numerous tree limbs and a one foot diameter tree were blown down. A cemented flag pole was bent by the wind. Part of a roof was blown off a house.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindMachesney Park$5,000A 20 to 30 foot long, six inch diameter tree limb fell through the roof of a house on Mildred Road.
May 2024FloodMachesney Park-Saturn Street was flooded and front yards were flooded with several inches of water.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindMachesney Park-Power lines were blown down in Loves Park and Machesney Park.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindMachesney Park-Large branches were downed in Machesney Park.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindMachesney Park-Several trees, tree limbs, and power lines were reported down in Machesney Park.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindMachesney Park-A photo shared on social media showed a tree that was blown down, partially on a house.
July 2017Heavy RainMachesney Park-Heavy rain of 1.50 inches was reported.
May 2017HailMachesney Park-There were multiple reports of quarter to golf ball size hail in Machesney Park. Damage to cars was reported.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindMachesney Park-Tree limbs six inches in diameter were blown down.
July 2015HailMachesney Park-There were multiple reports of penny to quarter size hail through Machesney Park.
July 2025HailMachesney Park-no account filed
June 2023HailMachesney Park-no account filed
April 2020HailMachesney Park-no account filed
April 2020HailMachesney Park-no account filed
July 2019HailMachesney Park-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Winnebago 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
North Park0.8 miles20
Harlem1.2 miles20
Forest Hills Village1.6 miles20
Sturbridge Village1.9 miles20
Latham Park1.9 miles20
Genet2.0 miles20
Loves Park2.1 miles20
Jonesville2.6 miles20

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 Machesney ParkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1013494The 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 422261. 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.