BlockBefore

Menard, Illinois

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1987. It stands in Chester precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 62233. It stands on Old River. The Survey maps it on the Chester quadrangle. It stands 495 feet above sea level.

Menard within Randolph County

On record in Menard

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register within a mile 2 records

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 23 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.

Fires near this place

16 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Menard between 2013 and 2017, burning about 24 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
Debris and open burning13
Equipment and vehicle use2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
28 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources70-2013
28 September 2013Debris and open burning5.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources71-2013
1 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources840917
8 June 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources51-0614
25 May 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources46-0514
16 May 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources42-0514
6 April 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources33-0414
22 April 2014Debris and open burning2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources37-0414

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Randolph County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Menard: 2 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 producer, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. 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
Southern Illinois Sand DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Wlatersburg Shale ExposureClayProspect
Chester QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Menard State Penitentiary QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Randolph County

Storms near this place

15 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Menard in 15 storm reports between 2010 and 2024: 12 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2022Thunderstorm WindMenard$200,000Widespread wind damage across Chester. Numerous trees, tree limbs, power poles and power lines were blown down around town. Also, a couple of houses sustained damage from fallen trees. Several businesses were damaged as well.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindMenard$25,000The Randolph County emergency manager reported snapped power poles and downed power lines east of Chester.
August 2024Tornado (EF0)Menard$2,000A brief landspout tornado developed along the outflow boundary of a cluster of thunderstorms just north of Chester, IL. The landspout formed just east of Bodes Ln and tracked eastward, impacting several trees and two outbuildings before dissipating in an adjacent field.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down several large tree limbs around town.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down several medium sized trees on the north side of town.
April 2017Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs around town.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees and power lines around town.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs around town.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees, numerous tree limbs and power lines from Chester to Steeleville.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees onto Illinois Route 3 north of Chester.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down several large tree limbs on the north side of Chester.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindMenard-Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees blocking a rural road just east of town.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindMenard-no account filed
July 2012HailMenard-no account filed
April 2010HailMenard-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Randolph 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
Chester1.0 miles23
Campton2.4 miles23
Kaskaskia4.0 miles24
Fort Gage4.9 miles24
Old Kaskaskia5.1 miles24
Diamond Cross5.1 miles23
New Palestine6.0 miles23
Randolph6.2 miles19

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 MenardAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6816467The 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 422972. 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.