Richmond, Illinois
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1926 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Richmond Township. It lies in ZIP code area 60071. It lies near Hill Fifteen. The Survey maps it on the Richmond quadrangle. 2,089 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 820 feet above sea level.
On record in Richmond
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
Lucein Boneparte Covell Houselisted 1989
Memorial Halllisted 1993
Population over time
2 figuresRichmond grew from 1,874 to 2,089 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,874 | |
| 2020 | 2,089 | +215 (+11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 17 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.
- 1926 USGS Mc Henry quadrangle1:62500
- 1926 USGS McHenry quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1944 USGS McHenry quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1963 USGS Richmond quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Richmond quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
15,835 words on this townshipHistory of McHenry County, Illinois : Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns : Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Also a Condensed History of Illinois .., published 1885 names this settlement in its chapter on Richmond Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Richmond is a thrifty and prosperous community. The land is well adapted to farming and grazing and the improvements are generally first-class. The surface is nearly level, though sufficiently undulating to furnish good drainage. The JNippei-sink Creek and its north and south branches are the only streams in the township. The North Branch enters the township at Genoa Mills. The South Branch comes in at the southwest corner of the township. The forks unite near Solon, and the creek makes its exit near the center of the eastern township line. Solon is situated on the main stream, and the village of Richmond on the North Branch. The Twin Lakes on the north side of the township have a small outlet flowing into the Nippersink.
Passage source: History of McHenry County, Illinois : Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns : Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Also a Condensed History of Illinois .., published 1885.
The first death in Richmond Township was that of Francis Purdy. He died in August, 1839, and was buried on the 21st of the month in the Richmond cemetery. One week later Miss Hannah Thomas, daughter of Briggs and Amy Thomas, was buried in the same cemetery.
Passage source: History of McHenry County, Illinois : Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns : Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Also a Condensed History of Illinois .., published 1885.
The first school in the township was taught by the daughter of Elder Pease, of Crystal Lake, in the Montelona school-house. This school-house was built in 1841, on the corner of Wm. A. McConnell's farm, west of Richmond. In 1842 a school of forty pupils was taught at Solon by Charles Knapp.
Passage source: History of McHenry County, Illinois : Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns : Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens, Also a Condensed History of Illinois .., published 1885.
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 Richmond Township - it names this place 44 more 44 times.
Fires near this place
19 since 2013Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Richmond between 2013 and 2020, burning about 76 acres in total. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 13-345 |
| 15 July 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 13-294 |
| 1 June 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 62 |
| 4 May 2014 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 14-231 |
| 19 May 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 44 |
| 13 May 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 13-197 |
| 7 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 14-176 |
| 5 April 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 13-129 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Richmond: 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S and W Dairy Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
16 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Richmond in 16 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 9 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 lightning, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2011 | Lightning | Richmond | $10,000 | Lightning struck a village pump house on Valley Drive melting wiring and destroying the water pump. |
| July 2011 | Lightning | Richmond | $10,000 | A lightning strike ignited a fire in the steeple of a former church on Hill Road. There was slight damage to the roof and some water damage. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | $1,000 | Tree limbs and power lines were blown down. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | Photos were received showing several large tree limbs down across Richmond, some that appear to be as large as 12 inches in diameter. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | A large tree was uprooted near the intersection of Route 173 and Clark Road. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | A tree over one foot in diameter was snapped near Route 12 and Route 173. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Richmond | - | Hail 2.5 to 2.75 inches in diameter was reported in Richmond. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | Two 10 inch diameter trees were blown down blocking Broadway Road, about one half mile east of Keystone Road. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | A tree was blown down. |
| May 2011 | Flood | Richmond | - | Heavy rain caused 8 to 12 inches of standing water over Route 12 near Route 173. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | Several trees were uprooted in Richmond. Route 12 was blocked by a fallen tree just east of Route 31. |
| September 2021 | Hail | Richmond | - | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Hail | Richmond | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Richmond | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Richmond | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belden | 2.2 miles | 17 | |
| Solon Mills | 2.9 miles | 17 | |
| Spring Grove | 4.3 miles | 20 | |
| Barnard Mill (historical) | 5.0 miles | 17 | |
| Armsby (historical) | 5.6 miles | 17 | |
| Ringwood | 5.8 miles | 17 | |
| Wonder Center | 6.3 miles | 17 | |
| Wonder Lake | 6.6 miles | 17 |
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 Richmond | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1916748 | The 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 416616. 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.









