BlockBefore

Sesser, Illinois

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1926 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Goode Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62884. It lies near Moores Hill. The Survey maps it on the Sesser quadrangle. 1,888 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 479 feet above sea level.

Sesser within Franklin County

On record in Sesser

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Sesser fell from 1,931 to 1,888 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
20101,931
20201,888-43 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 11 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

19 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Sesser between 2007 and 2012, burning about 80 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/undetermined19

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
12 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesNONE
12 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesSESSER3
23 June 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesTLAUTH
21 June 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
14 June 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
6 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesILL
4 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesMILLER
23 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesBENDER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this place

53 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sesser in 53 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 25 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 3 funnel cloud, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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
June 2011Thunderstorm WindSesser1 hurt, $250,000A microburst with peak winds around 90 mph caused major damage in Sesser. At least 100 homes were damaged in the small community, mostly by falling trees. The storm snapped or uprooted hundreds of trees, including about 100 in Sesser. At least eight utility poles were broken by fallen trees. A building under construction in Sesser was levelled. Some homes and businesses in and near Sesser lost shingles. Due to power outages and debris on roads, a curfew was issued for Sesser. All of the damage was in the northern part of town. An 18-foot camper at Wayne Fitzgerrell campground on Rend Lake was overturned, injuring one person. In Sesser, a man removing a tree from a roof was injured during the cleanup (indirect injury). The path length of the microburst was about five miles. The path width was a couple of miles.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindSesser$250,000A thunderstorm macroburst with peak winds from 80 to 90 MPH damaged numerous buildings. A few storage buildings and several weak structures such as barns were destroyed. The damage path length was about 3 miles, and the width was up to 880 yards. A lumberyard on Highway 148 was extensively damaged. Several large trees were uprooted. Two metal warehouses were damaged, a carport was destroyed, and a storage shed roof was damaged. A double wide mobile home was unroofed, and another mobile home had one side blown off.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindSesser$100,000Widespread damage occurred to trees and power lines. Utility poles were snapped along Illinois 154. Twelve utility poles were floating in Rend Lake next to the Route 154 causeway.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSesser$75,000According to several public reports on social media including pictures, widespread wind damage occurred with several trees and power lines downed in Sesser as a thunderstorm moved southeastward through the town. One tree fell onto a car.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindSesser$70,000Widespread wind damage occurred across the county. Multiple power poles were down. A downed power pole on State Highway 154 at Rend Lake trapped a person in a vehicle. Numerous trees and power lines were down, causing power outages. Trees up to two feet in diameter were down in Benton.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindSesser$60,000A damaging microburst with peak winds to 85 mph struck northern Franklin County, including the Rend Lake area. The microburst path length was about 12 miles, and the width was up to 1.5 miles. The microburst caused extensive wind damage across mainly the northern parts of Sesser. Many dozens of trees and tree limbs were blown down, causing roof damage to at least a couple of houses. Power outages occurred as power transformers were blown. Large branches were blown down in Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park on Rend Lake. A tree was blown down across Illinois Route 37 near the Jefferson County line. Large branches were broken, and a roof was torn off a mobile home near Ewing.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindSesser$50,000Trees and power lines were down at both Sesser and Ewing.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSesser$40,000A metal roof was removed and structural damage occurred on Lucretia St in Sesser. Tree and power line damage occurred in multiple spots in Sesser. Storms from the previous evening may have made trees and power lines more susceptible to damage from this storm.
December 2015Thunderstorm WindSesser$30,000A single-wide mobile home was blown over and destroyed west of Valier. A metal-framed barn collapsed in the Sesser area.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindSesser$30,000A travel trailer was thrown 60 yards.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindSesser$30,000A severe thunderstorm struck the Rend Lake area, a major recreational area. A boat capsized on the lake. Damage occurred along a four-mile wide path in the vicinity of Illinois 154. Light poles were down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindSesser$20,000In Sesser, numerous trees were blown down, with some lying across a few vehicles and homes. Along the west side of Rend Lake at south Sandusky Beach, numerous small trees and limbs were down. A four-inch diameter branch ripped through the roof of a camper.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindSesser$15,000Tree damage was reported across the area.
April 2017Thunderstorm WindSesser$10,000An overturned semi and trailer was reported along Highway 154.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindSesser$10,000A mobile home on Illinois Route 148 lost parts of its roof.
May 2009Flash FloodSesser$10,000Widespread flooding was reported over many county roads. Extensive street flooding occurred in West Frankfort. In Christopher, a home was surrounded by floodwater, and a nearby outbuilding was flooded.
February 2001Thunderstorm WindSesser$10,000About 15 power poles were knocked down along Route 154. The poles, which were 18 to 24 inches in diameter, were snapped off at 10 feet above ground level.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindSesser$8,000Numerous tree limbs were down. Gutters were blown off a house. Power outages occurred across the county.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindSesser$3,000Tree branches several inches thick were snapped off on Highway 154 between Sesser and Rend Lake.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindSesser$3,000The corner of a 3-car garage was ripped off.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindSesser$2,000The top of a barn was blown off.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSesser$1,000The thunderstorm wind speed was estimated by a trained spotter as the storm tracked eastward across northern Franklin County.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindSesser$1,000A few power lines were blown down.
March 2025HailSesser-Hail ranging in size from nickels to ping pong balls fell around Sesser.
July 2024Funnel CloudSesser-A funnel cloud was reported nearly to the ground around Hwy 148 and Crocker Rd.
May 2023HailSesser-Quarter-size hail was reported in Sesser.
March 2021FloodSesser-A secondary road was flooded near Sesser.
March 2020HailSesser-A swath of quarter-size hail occurred from Sesser across southern Rend Lake.
May 2020FloodSesser-Torrential rainfall caused minor flooding.
June 2015Funnel CloudSesser-A trained spotter reported the funnel cloud was moving west. The spotter was following the circulation along a westward-moving rain band associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill.
March 2015Heavy RainSesser-Several county roads in rural farm country were covered by water. No official road closures were reported. At Mulkeytown, the storm-total rainfall was 4.49 inches. Of that total, 4.29 inches fell on the 13th and 0.20 inches fell early on the 14th.
July 2013HailSesser-Also, some tree limbs were down within the city limits.
June 2011HailSesser-Copious amounts of quarter-size hail covered the ground.
January 2008HailSesser-Nickel size hail was reported at Sesser and along Interstate 57 at the Benton exit.
February 2007Heavy RainSesser-Standing water was on roadways.
October 2007HailSesser-Quarter to golf-ball size hail fell along a swath from Sesser to Rend Lake to Whittington. The large hail was produced by a supercell thunderstorm.
April 2006HailSesser-Golf ball size hail fell on the west side of Sesser and just south of Rend Lake College.
May 2006HailSesser-Golf ball size hail was reported a mile north of Sesser. Dime size hail fell in Sesser.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindSesser-In Sesser, hundreds of trees and limbs were blown down, a few of which landed on houses and power lines. A large uprooted tree destroyed a house in Sesser, caving in part of the roof and an outside wall. A nearby house received minor damage from branches of the same tree. Several roofs were damaged and numerous tree limbs were blown down on the north side of Sesser, in an area about a half mile long and three blocks wide. An unofficial measured gust of 75 MPH was reported at a fire station.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindSesser-Power lines were blown down in several communities west of Interstate 57, including Sesser, Christopher, Mulkeytown, and West Frankfort. Some tree limbs were blown down in Sesser.
June 1998Funnel CloudSesser-The funnel cloud was observed by emergency services personnel.
October 2019HailSesser-no account filed
June 2018HailSesser-no account filed
April 2014HailSesser-no account filed
May 2014HailSesser-no account filed
March 2012HailSesser-no account filed
February 2008Thunderstorm WindSesser-no account filed
April 2007HailSesser-no account filed
April 2006HailSesser-no account filed
November 2006HailSesser-no account filed
May 2004HailSesser-no account filed
February 1999HailSesser-no account filed
May 1996Flash FloodSesser-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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
Meyer3.0 miles11
Valier Patch4.5 miles11
Valier5.3 miles11
Rend City5.7 miles11
Coello6.8 miles18
Hickory Corners7.2 miles18
Benton Park7.5 miles11
Buckner7.7 miles18

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 SesserAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q578656The 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 418223. 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.

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.