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Oconee, Illinois

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1947 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Oconee Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62553. The Survey maps it on the Oconee quadrangle. 141 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 667 feet above sea level.

Oconee within Shelby County

Population over time

2 figures

Oconee fell from 180 to 141 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
2010180
2020141-39 (-22%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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

1 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Oconee in 2014, burning about 5 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 burning1

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
17 March 2014Debris and open burning5.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources0014-30

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shelby County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Oconee: 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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
Pana Shale ExposureClayProspect

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

20 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oconee in 20 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 5 hail, 4 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2000Tornado (F1)Oconee1 hurt, $75,000The tornado first briefly touched down in the Oconee area where it blew down several large trees and tree limbs. The tornado then appeared to lift and move east-northeast across southern Shelby county, occasionally touching the ground in a number of places. The most significant touchdowns were found in two areas. The first was about 4 miles south of Tower Hill, where the track extended from 4.5 miles south-southwest of Tower Hill to 4 miles south-southeast of Tower Hill. Damage to trees, a grain bin, a garage and a grain auger were found in the area. The second significant touchdown started 4 miles south-southeast of Shelbyville. Even in this area, visual sightings by residents indicated that the tornado was not on the ground all the time. Damage in this area was the most substantial, with damage to several garages, as well as outbuildings destroyed and numerous trees uprooted. One women sustained minor cuts from flying glass.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindOconee$40,000A couple of outbuildings were damaged, with sheet metal roofing blown nearly a mile away.
February 2014Tornado (EF0)Oconee$20,000This tornado crossed from Montgomery County in the National Weather Service St. Louis County Warning Area (CWA) into Shelby County about 2.6 miles northwest of Oconee at 4:14 PM CST. Mainly tree damage occurred along the path of the tornado before it crossed into Christian County 4.4 miles north-northeast of Oconee at 4:19 PM CST.
January 2006Tornado (F1)Oconee$15,000A tornado briefly touched down, destroyed a 40' by 60' pole barn and blew down a few large tree limbs. Debris from the tornado broke a window in a house on the property.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindOconee$5,000A small shed was destroyed in Oconee.
February 2014Flash FloodOconee-Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across southern Shelby County. Most rural roads were impassable. Illinois Route 128 south of Shelbyville to Cowden and U.S. Highway 51 from south of Oconee to the Fayette County line was closed.
June 2011Flash FloodOconee-Thunderstorms produced nearly 3.50 of rain in about 90 minutes during the early morning hours of June 18th. Total rainfall amounts ranged from 4.00 to 6.00 across extreme southern Shelby county. The impacted rural roads were impassable due to the flooding.
June 2011Flash FloodOconee-Early morning thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall produced flash flooding in extreme southern Shelby County for the second time in less than 24 hours. Reports indicated that 2.00 to 3.00 of rain occurred in areas with very saturated ground and where flash flooding has just receded. Illinois Route 128 south of Shelbyville was closed all morning, and most rural roads in the southern part of the county were impassable.
April 2006Tornado (F1)Oconee-The tornado continued into Christian County.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindOconee-Widespread wind damage to trees, signs, machine sheds and outbuildings. No injuries were reported.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindOconee-Several trees were blown down.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindOconee-Two barns were blown down as well as numerous trees and power lines. A grain bin was blown over and a garage was destroyed. No injuries were reported.
July 2003Flash FloodOconee-Very heavy rain fell in a short amount of time. Numerous roads were briefly flooded due to the heavy rain including US Route 51 south of Oconee.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindOconee-A line of severe thunderstorms moved east across Shelby County. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. A mobile home 3 miles south of Oconee was moved two feet off its foundation but remained upright. The winds also destroyed a utility shed at this location. No injuries were reported.
June 1997HailOconee-Hail up to 1 inch in diameter fell for several minutes in an area a half mile wide by 2 miles long, damaging the local corn crop and trees in the area. It caused no apparent damage to homes or businesses. No property or crop damage estimate was available.
May 1995Tornado (F1)Oconee-A tornado briefly touched down 2 SE of Oconee destroying two mobile homes, as well as, several outbuildings. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
September 2025HailOconee-no account filed
March 2024HailOconee-no account filed
May 2012HailOconee-no account filed
May 2011HailOconee-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Shelby 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
Hanson4.7 miles12
Herrick7.9 miles13
Westminster (historical)8.1 miles13
Williamsburg (historical)9.0 miles13
Williamsburg Hill9.2 miles13
Tower Hill10.5 miles13
Lakewood11.4 miles13
Dollville12.1 miles13

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 OconeeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2236925The 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 414952. 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.