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Oquawka, Illinois

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Oquawka Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61469. The Survey maps it on the Oquawka quadrangle. 1,134 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 562 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Oquawka within Henderson County

On record in Oquawka

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Oquawka fell from 1,371 to 1,134 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
20101,371
20201,134-237 (-17%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 17 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.

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Oquawka: 1 past producer, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Granite, 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
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Monmouth Stone Company QuarryGranitePast Producer

Every working recorded in Henderson County

Storms near this place

36 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oquawka in 36 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 15 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 8 flood, 4 flash 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
April 1996Tornado (F0)Oquawka$4,000,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOquawka$15,000Winds estimated to be 65 mph blew down some power lines in Oquawka, IL at 8:50 pm June 8.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindOquawka$5,000Wind gusts knocked down power poles, leaving residents of Biggsville without opwer for about 24 hours.
April 2006HailOquawka$5,000Also reported by a spotter; nickel to quarter size hail covering the ground.
September 2020HailOquawka-A CoCoRaHS observer reported quarter size hail.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Trees and power lines were blown down.
March 2019FloodOquawka-Heavy rain and snow melt across the region caused the Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 18 near Gladestone to to rise above major flood stage of 14 feet on March 17th. The Mississippi River at Burlington Iowa rose above major flood stage on the same day and remained there through the end of the month. The river remained above the major flood stage through the end of the month. An initial crest of 16.31 feet occurred early in the morning on the 24th, into the early morning hours of the 26th.
May 2019FloodOquawka-The Mississippi River Gladstone Lock and Dam 18 rose above its major flood stage of 14 feet during the afternoon of May 19th and continued into June. The river crested in June, with the stage rising to 20.3 feet at the end of May 31st.
May 2019Flash FloodOquawka-Route 164 closed due to high water over the road between Gladstone and Oquawka.
May 2019FloodOquawka-The Mississippi River at Gladstone Lock and Dam 18 began the month above its major flood stage of 14 feet. The river stage at the beginning of the month was 17.44 feet. The river would rise to a crest of 1967 feet at 500 AM CST on May 3rd. This crest is preliminarily the 5th highest crest. The river fell below major flood stage around 10 AM on May 15th.
April 2019FloodOquawka-The Mississippi River at Burlington remained above its major flood stage of 18 feet for the month of April.
April 2019FloodOquawka-River levels continued to run high during the month of April. Heavy rain across the area caused the Mississippi River at Gladstone Lock and Dam 18 to rise above its major flood stage of 14 feet around midday on the 26th, and the rise continued through the end of the month.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindOquawka-A trained spotter reported widespread tree damage in town with several roads closed.
October 2016FloodOquawka-Heavy rainfall of 4 to over 10 inches over significant areas from 21 to 23 September in extreme North Central and Northeast Iowa moved downstream|causing the Mississippi River to rise above major flood stage levels.||The Mississippi River at Gladstone rose above its major flood stage level of 14.0 feet on October 1st, 2016 around 9 AM CST. It crested around 14.54 feet on October 3rd,|2016. It fell below major flood stage on October 5th around 2 AM CST.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Time estimated spotter report of tree limbs down, and some trees down over power lines.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindOquawka-The emergency manage reported trees and power lines down around Henderson county. The city of Oquawka particularly sustained significant damage.
June 2011Flash FloodOquawka-Heavy rains caused some flash flooding in Oquawka, IL during the early morning of June 15. Flood waters 3 inches deep were flowing over 3rd Street.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down some trees onto a roadway in Oquawka, IL at 530 pm June 23.
June 2010Flash FloodOquawka-Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding and closure of several county roads.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Wind gusts were estimated to be 55 to 60 mph in Oquawka, IL around 620 pm June 27.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down some 1 foot diameter trees in Oquawka, IL around 745 pm June 23.
May 2002Flash FloodOquawka-Henderson Creek rose out of it's banks and flooded nearby fields.
April 2001HailOquawka-A trained storm spotter reported penny sized hail.
April 2001FloodOquawka-1.8 inches of rainfall produced local urban flooding in a trailer park. Reported by a trained storm spotter.
October 2000Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Strong winds downed trees along Highway 164.
September 2000Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Numerous trees down.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindOquawka-Roof damage to a house and power lines downed.
March 2026HailOquawka-no account filed
May 2010HailOquawka-no account filed
April 2008FloodOquawka-no account filed
April 2006HailOquawka-no account filed
April 2003HailOquawka-no account filed
June 2002HailOquawka-no account filed
October 2000Thunderstorm WindOquawka-no account filed
April 1997Thunderstorm WindOquawka-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindOquawka-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Henderson 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
Rozetta4.5 miles17
Gladstone4.7 miles17
Milroy6.1 miles13
Reeds6.5 miles17
Biggsville6.9 miles17
Lone Tree7.6 miles18
Bald Bluff7.8 miles13
Olena10.1 miles17

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 OquawkaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1013481The 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 415152. 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.

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.