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Smithshire, Illinois

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Ellison Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61478. The Survey maps it on the Kirkwood West quadrangle. It stands 735 feet above sea level.

Smithshire within Warren County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 17 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

1,713 words on this township

Portrait and Biographical Album of Warren County, Illinois : Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of All the Governors of Illinois, and of the Presidents of the United States ; Also Containing a History of the County, from Its Earliest Settlement Up to the Present Time, published 1886 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Ellison Township covers the township.

Read the chapter on Ellison Township - 1,713 words.

Fires near this place

3 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Smithshire in 2014, burning about 19 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 burning3

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
13 May 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources201439
11 April 2014Debris and open burning2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources201428
11 April 2014Debris and open burning16 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources2014-242

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Warren County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Smithshire: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Dollar QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Media QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Warren County

Storms near this place

14 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Smithshire in 14 storm reports between 1997 and 2021: 7 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 3 hail, 1 flash 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2000Thunderstorm WindSmithshire$20,000A possible gustnado produced a damage path around 50 yards wide and a quarter mile long. Wind tore most of the roof off the township garage. 5 grain bins, 2 homes , and several trees and fences were damaged.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindSmithshire$10,000Winds estimated to be 80 mph blew down several trees and power lines in Smithshire, IL.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindSmithshire$10,000Tree down on car. Numerous power lines down.
July 2015Tornado (EF1)Smithshire$2,000Tornado strength rating of EF-1. Maximum estimated wind of 90 MPH. Tornado path length of 1.41 miles. Tornado path maximum width of 50 yards. Tornado start time roughly 649 PM CDT. Tornado path start location roughly 2.4 MILES north of Smithshire IL. Tornado end time of roughly 651 PM CDT. Tornado path end location of 1.9 miles South of Kirkwood IL. Trees and outbuildings damaged and a semi blown over on Highway 34.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindSmithshire-A large evergreen tree snapped halfway up the tree.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindSmithshire-Local law enforcement reported several tree branches were down.
March 2016HailSmithshire-Report received from social media. The size was estimated from a picture.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindSmithshire-The Emergency Manager estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph.
May 2011HailSmithshire-Quarter sized hail fell about 5 miles south southwest of Kirkwood, IL at 239 pm CDT May 28. It almost completely covered the ground.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindSmithshire-Winds estimated at 55 to 60 mph.
June 2002Flash FloodSmithshire-Residence surrounded by high water. Smithshire blacktop county road under water.
June 1998Tornado (F0)Smithshire-Brief tornado touchdown resulted in no apparent damage.
May 1997Tornado (F0)Smithshire-Brief tornado touchdown with no damage.
May 2013HailSmithshire-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Warren 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
Ellison (historical)1.6 miles17
New Lancaster (historical)3.7 miles18
Ponemah4.4 miles18
Kirkwood5.3 miles18
Larchland7.0 miles18
Roseville7.4 miles17
Ormonde9.8 miles18
Monmouth10.8 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 SmithshireAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7545586The 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 418654. 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.