BlockSpeer, Illinois
21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Valley Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61479. The Survey maps it on the Edelstein quadrangle. It stands 741 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 21 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.
- 1893 USGS Dunlap quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Dunlap quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1932 USGS Dunlap quadrangle1:62500
- 1933 USGS Dunlap quadrangle1:62500
- 1937 USGS Dunlap quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Edelstein quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1998 USGS Edelstein quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
13,994 words on this townshipStark County and Its Pioneers, published 1876; Documents and Biography Pertaining to the Settlement and Progress of Stark County, Illinois : Containing an Authentic Summary of Records, Documents, Historical Works and Newspapers Relating to Indian History, Original Settlement, Organization and Politics ..., published 1887 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Valley Township covers the township.
Read the chapter on Valley Township - 13,994 words.
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 Speer: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Rock Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Princeville Stone Co. Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
4 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Speer in 4 storm reports between 2014 and 2024: 2 flood, 1 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Speer | - | A few silos and grain bins were damaged. |
| July 2014 | Flood | Speer | - | Persistent thunderstorms produced several periods of heavy rainfall. Total accumulations of up to 4.00 of rain were common in most of Stark County. Rainfall rates in Toulon were nearly 4.00 per hour between 2000 and 2015 LST. Many rural roads were closed across Stark County, as were parts of Illinois Routes 17, 40 and 93. Additional rainfall late in the evening of June 30th caused roads to remain closed through the early morning hours of July 1st. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Speer | - | Persistent thunderstorms produced several periods of heavy rainfall. Total accumulations of up to 4.00 of rain were common in most of Stark County. Rainfall rates in Toulon were nearly 4.00 per hour between 2000 and 2015 LST. Many rural roads were closed across Stark County, as were parts of Illinois Routes 17, 40 and 93. |
| June 2014 | Flood | Speer | - | Persistent thunderstorms produced several periods of heavy rainfall. Total accumulations of up to 4.00 of rain were common in most of Stark County. Rainfall rates in Toulon were nearly 4.00 per hour between 2000 and 2015 LST. Many rural roads were closed across Stark County, as were parts of Illinois Routes 17, 40 and 93. Additional rainfall late in the evening of June 30th caused roads to remain closed through the early morning hours of July 1st. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stark | 5.0 miles | 21 | |
| Duncan | 7.4 miles | 14 | |
| Wyoming | 8.2 miles | 10 | |
| Slackwater (historical) | 9.0 miles | 14 | |
| Castleton | 9.4 miles | 12 | |
| Waldron (historical) | 11.4 miles | 10 | |
| Modena | 11.8 miles | 10 | |
| Bradford | 13.0 miles | 12 |
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 Speer | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7575737 | 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 423196. 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.
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.