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Pittsfield, Illinois

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1926 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Pittsfield Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62363. It stands on Panther Creek. The Survey maps it on the Pittsfield quadrangle. 4,206 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 732 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Pittsfield within Pike County

On record in Pittsfield

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 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Pittsfield fell from 4,576 to 4,206 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
20104,576
20204,206-370 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 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.

In the county-history sources

258 words on this township

With The Colors in Pike County, Illinois, published 1920 names this settlement in its chapter on Pittsfield Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Pittsfield Township Unit No. 2, C. N. D., consisting of the rural sections of Pittsfield Township, was organized Oct. 5, 1918, at the home of Mrs. J. D. Hess, county chairman of the Woman's Committee, C. N. D. Said rural portion of Pittsfield Township was divided into seven districts, the boundary lines of which coincided with the boundaries of the sever ne raised by a bazar. The pledge cards were distributed, and most all were signed. All members of the unit assisted in Red Cross work, making this their main branch of endeavor. All drives asked were made, and almost all were successful in filling the quotas assigned to

Passage source: With The Colors in Pike County, Illinois, published 1920.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Pittsfield Township - it names this place 2 more 2 times.

Fires near this place

12 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Pittsfield between 2008 and 2014, burning about 44 acres in total. 1 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 burning6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Smoking1
Natural1

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
4 July 2013Debris and open burning4.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources130045
1 July 2013Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources130043
30 April 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesGROTE
16 April 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesRINE
31 March 2014Debris and open burning2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources140055
30 March 2014Debris and open burning21 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources140054
13 March 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesFOSTER
11 March 2014Debris and open burning3.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources140042

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pike 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 Pittsfield: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
C.W. Curtis Sand & Gravel Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Pike County

Storms near this place

46 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pittsfield in 46 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 27 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 2 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
April 2002HailPittsfield$25,000Baseball size hail was reported in Pittsfield. Numerous vehicles were damaged.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindPittsfield$300Numerous large trees were blown over damaging homes and parked vehicles in Barry. Winds as high as 70 mph were also reported in Pittsfield knocking down numerous trees across town. Reported by local newspapers.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm winds knocked a tree onto a home in Pittsfield. The tree was about 12 inches in diameter.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Widespread tree damage around RV Resort about 3 miles north of Pittsfield.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees around town. One tree fell onto a house and caused moderate damage.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Several large trees were blown down around town.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees around town, as well as numerous tree limbs and power lines.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm winds blew down several large tree limbs on the north side of town.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees across Pittsfield. Also, a large tree was blown down across Illinois Route 107 just north of Interstate 72.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees and power lines around town.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous tree limbs and flattened some corn in the area.
May 2008Tornado (EF0)Pittsfield-The tornado hit a rural area near Pittsfield and Detroit and only caused tree damage along its path.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across town. A couple of trees landed on cars, causing extensive damage. No injuries were reported.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm wind gusts downed some large tree limbs and power lines. Over 1100 customers lost power.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-Thunderstorm wind gusts downed trees and power lines across the south and east side of Pittsfield. Some homes and vehicles were damaged by downed trees and large limbs.
May 2004Tornado (F1)Pittsfield-A tornado uprooted and mangled trees near the Sunny Hill area.
May 2004HailPittsfield-Local law enforcement reported golfball size hail in Pittsfield.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-The Illinois State Police reported trees and power lines down in Pittsfield.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-The Sheriff department reported some large tree limbs and power lines down.
May 2000HailPittsfield-Amateur radio spotters reported 1 inch hail.
March 2025HailPittsfield-no account filed
March 2025HailPittsfield-no account filed
March 2025HailPittsfield-no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
June 2019HailPittsfield-no account filed
June 2019Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
July 2018HailPittsfield-no account filed
April 2012HailPittsfield-no account filed
May 2011HailPittsfield-no account filed
December 2010HailPittsfield-no account filed
March 2006HailPittsfield-no account filed
March 2006HailPittsfield-no account filed
March 2006HailPittsfield-no account filed
November 2005Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
November 2005HailPittsfield-no account filed
November 2005Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
April 2000Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
November 1998Thunderstorm WindPittsfield-no account filed
May 1996HailPittsfield-no account filed
April 1996HailPittsfield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pike 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
Sunny Hill2.1 miles13
Dutton (historical)4.6 miles12
Independence5.3 miles13
Time5.3 miles12
New Hartford6.0 miles11
Martinsburg6.6 miles13
Detroit6.9 miles12
Maysville6.9 miles12

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 PittsfieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q574886The 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 415748. 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.