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Oskaloosa, Illinois

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Oskaloosa Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62899. The Survey maps it on the Oskaloosa quadrangle. It stands 522 feet above sea level.

Oskaloosa within Clay County

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 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

3 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Oskaloosa in 2010, burning about 5 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
Arson/incendiarism1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
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
10 December 2010Debris and open burning4.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesPIERSON
4 November 2010Arson/incendiarismunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesDENNIS
20 November 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesBAILEY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Clay County

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 Oskaloosa: 1 occurrence, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: 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
Iola QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence

Every working recorded in Clay County

Storms near this place

9 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oskaloosa in 9 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 4 flash flood, 2 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. 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 2024Tornado (EF2)Oskaloosa$10,000,000This tornado originally touched down in Marion County in the National Weather Service Saint Louis County Warning Area (CWA), then crossed into southwestern Clay County just north of the intersection of Beard Road and Songer Township Lane at 7:35 PM CDT. It knocked down several trees and power lines before tracking northeastward and doing its greatest damage at a farm on the north end of Penguin Drive where several large metal buildings were demolished. The tornado then lifted just east of Xenia-Iola Road between Songer Township Lane and Hickory Hill Lane at 7:43 PM CDT.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa$2,000A tree was blown down about 1 mile northwest of Oskaloosa near the Clay and Marion County line.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-A large farm outbuilding had part of its roofing stripped off and its walls collapsed.
June 2019Flash FloodOskaloosa-Several thunderstorms with heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding across southwest Clay County during the evening of June 5th. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches in one hour on saturated ground led to the flash flooding. Parts of U.S. Highway 50, as well as roads near the town of Xenia were impassable.
June 2015Flash FloodOskaloosa-A thunderstorm produced heavy rain amounts of 1.50 in 30 minutes across central Clay County. This combined with already saturated ground to produce rapid flash flooding of several roadways. Sheriff's Department officials reported more than six inches of flowing water across parts of U.S. Highway 45 south of Louisville.
August 2014Flash FloodOskaloosa-A slow moving thunderstorm in southwest Clay County produced 4.00 to 6.00 of rain in a two period during the late evening of August 20th. Multiple streets in Flora and Xenia were flooded. Nearly all rural roads in southwest Clay County were impassable. Parts of Old Highway 50, west of Flora, were closed for a period of time around Midnight local time.
July 2011Flash FloodOskaloosa-Heavy rain of 3.00 to 4.00 inches in a two hour period during the late afternoon produced flash flooding in southwest Clay County. Many rural roads were inundated with water flowing over them, and U.S. Highway 50 was impassable in spots.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Oskaloosa-A tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
April 2006HailOskaloosa-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Clay 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
Bethel (historical)4.4 miles10
Cruse4.5 miles9
Iola5.3 miles9
Riffle5.5 miles9
Louisville7.8 miles9
Xenia8.6 miles10
Kenner9.0 miles10
Greendale9.3 miles10

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 OskaloosaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7106888The 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 415195. 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.