BlockBefore

Rock Grove, Illinois

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1939 and the latest in 1981. It stands in Rock Grove Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61070. The Survey maps it on the Dakota quadrangle. It stands 945 feet above sea level.

Rock Grove within Stephenson County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

14,943 words on this township

The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : Containing ... Biographical Sketches ... War Record ... Statistics ... Portraits of Early Settlers ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, &c. .., published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Rock Grove Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The farms, which are usually large, are under a high state of cultivation, and cultivators harvest generous returns for the care and labor bestowed to develop and enrich them. Corn, wheat, oats, rye, and the fruits peculiar to this section, are grown in abundance, while hogs, sheep and cattle are raised in large numbers. The schools and ch arches afford means of temporal and spiritual education, and its only village of " Rock Grove " is inferior to none in the county as a place of retreat from the cares of business, or residence where happiness and comfort must be prime factors in man's daily life.

Passage source: The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : Containing ... Biographical Sketches ... War Record ... Statistics ... Portraits of Early Settlers ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, &c. .., published 1880.

As near as can be ascertained, no permanent settlement was made in the township earlier than 1835, though prospectors and transients came previous, but tarried only long enough to rest and recuperate, when they, as a rule, pushed on to more distant points.

Passage source: The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : Containing ... Biographical Sketches ... War Record ... Statistics ... Portraits of Early Settlers ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, &c. .., published 1880.

About the summer of 1835, Albert Albertson, accompanied by Jonathan Corey, made their way into the county from the East, and, having pursued their journey as far as the Grove, pitched their tent and decided to remain. Each entered claims in Section 36, and made some improvements during the summer, which were used by Eli Frankeberger upon the latter's reaching their site. He came with his family from Champaign Co., Ohio, and settled in the present town of Rock Grove during December of the same year. Hardly had he located before his wife was confined of a daughter, who was christened "Louisa Frankeberger," and is remembered as the first birth in the township.

Passage source: The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : Containing ... Biographical Sketches ... War Record ... Statistics ... Portraits of Early Settlers ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, &c. .., published 1880.

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 Rock Grove Township - it names this place 49 more 49 times.

Fires near this place

1 since 2019

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Rock Grove in 2019, burning about 5 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
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
26 March 2019Debris and open burning5.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources19026

Every fire recorded in Stephenson County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Rock Grove: 10 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General. 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
Dornink QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
D. Zettle PropertyStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Faulkner Rock QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Miles QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Rees QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Schlueter QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Stephenson County

Storms near this place

8 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rock Grove in 8 storm reports between 2007 and 2026: 3 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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 2026HailRock Grove-Report received from Mping.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindRock Grove-Report of a shed blown down by thunderstorm winds.
April 2020HailRock Grove-Emergency management relayed public reports of 1 to 3 inch diameter hail.
October 2018Flash FloodRock Grove-Numerous gravel roads were washed out in Stephenson County. Parts of Highway 20 were under water near Lena.
July 2010Tornado (EF0)Rock Grove-A trained spotter observed a brief tornado touchdown in the vicinity of Orangeville, IL moving northward toward Juda, WI at 403 pm CDT July 12.
July 2010Funnel CloudRock Grove-A funnel cloud was observed about 2 miles north of Rock Grove, IL at 405 pm CDT July 12.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindRock Grove-Winds estimated to be 65 mph blew down some tree limbs in Rock Grove, IL.
May 2022HailRock Grove-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Stephenson 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
Afolkey3.9 miles13
Rock City4.1 miles15
Epplyanna4.4 miles15
Dakota5.2 miles13
Davis5.9 miles15
Orangeville7.0 miles13
Buckhorn Corners7.2 miles13
Winneshiek8.2 miles15

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 Rock GroveAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q14688061The 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 416814. 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.