BlockRoby, Illinois
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1923 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Mount Auburn Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62545. The Survey maps it on the Edinburg quadrangle. It stands 587 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 12 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.
- 1923 USGS Taylorville quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1925 USGS Taylorville quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Decatur quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Decatur quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1982 USGS Edinburg quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
8,580 words on this townshipHistory of Christian County, Illinois, published 1880 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Mount Auburn Township covers the township.
Read the chapter on Mount Auburn Township - 8,580 words.
Fires near this place
1 since 2012Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Roby in 2012, burning about 200 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 July 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | BUCKHART |
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Roby: 1 plant, 1 past producer. 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burkhart Dredge & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Plant | ||
| F.F. Mengel Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Roby in 9 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 flood, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Roby | $8,000 | Multiple trees were blown down at the junction of county roads 2700 N and 800 E. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Roby | $2,000 | A 70-foot tall tree was uprooted. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Roby | - | A large tree limb was snapped. |
| June 2019 | Flash Flood | Roby | - | Heavy rainfall of 2.50 to 4.50 inches on a saturated ground resulted in flash flooding across a large portion of Christian County during the morning of June 22nd. Many rural roads were impassable, with water flowing over Illinois Route 16 near Rosamond, Illinois Route 104 near Kincaid, and U.S. Highway 51 north-northeast of Pana. Several cars were also reported to be submerged in water on Illinois Route 48 from 2 miles southwest of Willeys to 1 mile northeast of Stonington. The flooding continued until just before Noon. |
| May 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Roby | - | A landspout tornado touched down in an open field about 5.4 miles north-northwest of Edinburg at 4:30 PM CDT. The tornado dissipated 2 minutes later with no damage being reported. |
| June 2018 | Flood | Roby | - | Heavy rainfall rates of nearly 2.00 inches per hour for up to three hours during the early morning of June 11th resulted in flash flooding in central and southern Christian County. Observers reported total rainfall amounts 6.00 to 8.00 inches in the flooded areas, with highest totals from Palmer to Pana. Many rural roads were impassable and extensive street flooding was reported in Pana and parts of Taylorville. The flooding of roadways continued across central and southern Christian County through the late morning hours of June 11th, despite the rain ending shortly after daybreak. The flooding subsided by Noon CDT. |
| June 2018 | Flash Flood | Roby | - | Heavy rainfall rates of nearly 2.00 inches per hour for up to three hours during the early morning of June 11th resulted in flash flooding in central and southern Christian County. Observers reported total rainfall amounts 6.00 to 8.00 inches in the flooded areas, with highest totals from Palmer to Pana. Many rural roads were impassable and extensive street flooding was reported in Pana and parts of Taylorville. |
| May 2009 | Flash Flood | Roby | - | Heavy rain of up to 3.00 inches within two hours, on top of very saturated ground, produced widespread flash flooding of most roads in nearly all of Christian County. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Roby | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivia | 2.8 miles | 12 | |
| Campbellsburg (historical) | 4.0 miles | 12 | |
| Blueville | 5.3 miles | 12 | |
| Edinburg | 5.7 miles | 12 | |
| Grove City | 5.9 miles | 12 | |
| Mount Auburn | 7.5 miles | 10 | |
| Sharpsburg | 9.0 miles | 12 | |
| Bulpitt | 10.3 miles | 13 |
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 Roby | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7353554 | 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 416782. 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.