BlockNewtown, Illinois
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1931 and the latest in 1987. It stands in Oakwood Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61858. The Survey maps it on the Collison quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 15 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.
- 1931 USGS Fithian quadrangle1:48000
- 1943 USGS Fithian quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Danville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Danville quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Danville quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Fithian quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1968 USGS Collison quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1984 USGS Danville quadrangle1:100000
- 1987 USGS Danville quadrangle1:100000
In the county-history sources
20,921 words on this townshipHistory of Vermilion County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, Gleaned from Early Authors, Old Maps and Manuscripts, Private and Official Correspondence, and Other Authentic, Though, for the Most Part, Out-of-the-way Sources, published 1879 names this settlement in its chapter on Oakwood Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
The early settlements in this township take the lead of anything in the county, both in regard to priority of settlement, and their importance in the subsequent growth of the country ; and although these pioneer efforts were of such importance in the development of the wealth of this country, the particulars have faded away until accuracy is almost impossible in many cases. The early settlement at the old Major Vance salt works, the first in the township, is fully discussed in another place. It is only necessary to refer to it here. As an example of the general misconception which has arisen in regard to this settlement, we would say that in Oakwood township we found very few persons who had ever heard of Mr. Treat or Blackman, and none had a just conception of the affair, or a positive knowledge of any of the details. Again we were informed that a settlement was made and a cabin built on the Middle Fork as early as 1818, when the evidence shows that the settlement at the salt works was not onty the first here, but the first anywhere within the limits of Vermilion county.
Passage source: History of Vermilion County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, Gleaned from Early Authors, Old Maps and Manuscripts, Private and Official Correspondence, and Other Authentic, Though, for the Most Part, Out-of-the-way Sources, published 1879.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Fires near this place
3 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Newtown between 2008 and 2014, burning about 6 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/undetermined | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 March 2014 | Smoking | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | JORDAN3 |
| 17 March 2014 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | HOLLOWRD92 |
| 12 March 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | KIME |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Newtown: 1 past producer, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Fire Clay (Refractory). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmattan Mine Shale Exposure | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Occurrence | ||
| Seymour Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenburn | 1.7 miles | 15 | |
| Belgium Row | 2.5 miles | 15 | |
| Brothers | 2.6 miles | 15 | |
| Oakwood | 3.6 miles | 16 | |
| Bucktown | 3.9 miles | 20 | |
| Bronson | 4.1 miles | 16 | |
| Hartshorn | 4.3 miles | 19 | |
| Missionfield | 4.4 miles | 16 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 414502. 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.