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.
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.
- 1934 USGS Oquawka quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1934 USGS Oquawka quadrangle1:48000
- 1940 USGS Oquawka quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Kirkwood West quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Galesburg quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Galesburg quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
1,713 words on this townshipPortrait 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 2014Regional 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 burning | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 201439 |
| 11 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 201428 |
| 11 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 16 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2014-242 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
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 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Media Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
14 since 1997Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smithshire | $20,000 | A 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 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smithshire | $10,000 | Winds estimated to be 80 mph blew down several trees and power lines in Smithshire, IL. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smithshire | $10,000 | Tree down on car. Numerous power lines down. |
| July 2015 | Tornado (EF1) | Smithshire | $2,000 | Tornado 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 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smithshire | - | A large evergreen tree snapped halfway up the tree. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smithshire | - | Local law enforcement reported several tree branches were down. |
| March 2016 | Hail | Smithshire | - | Report received from social media. The size was estimated from a picture. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smithshire | - | The Emergency Manager estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Smithshire | - | 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 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smithshire | - | Winds estimated at 55 to 60 mph. |
| June 2002 | Flash Flood | Smithshire | - | Residence surrounded by high water. Smithshire blacktop county road under water. |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Smithshire | - | Brief tornado touchdown resulted in no apparent damage. |
| May 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Smithshire | - | Brief tornado touchdown with no damage. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Smithshire | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellison (historical) | 1.6 miles | 17 | |
| New Lancaster (historical) | 3.7 miles | 18 | |
| Ponemah | 4.4 miles | 18 | |
| Kirkwood | 5.3 miles | 18 | |
| Larchland | 7.0 miles | 18 | |
| Roseville | 7.4 miles | 17 | |
| Ormonde | 9.8 miles | 18 | |
| Monmouth | 10.8 miles | 18 |
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 Smithshire | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7545586 | 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 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.









