Stanford, Illinois
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1949 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Allin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61774. The Survey maps it on the Stanford quadrangle. 600 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 680 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresStanford grew from 596 to 600 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 596 | |
| 2020 | 600 | +4 (+1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 14 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.
- 1949 USGS Mc Lean quadrangle1:62500
- 1951 USGS McLean quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Stanford quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Lincoln quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Lincoln quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
In the county-history sources
6,387 words on this townshipThe Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois : Containing Two Hundred and Sixty-one Sketches of Old Settlers, a Complete Historical Sketch of the Black Hawk War and Descriptions of All Matters of Interest Relating to McLean County, published 1874 names this settlement in its chapter on Allin Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
On the twenty-ninth of December, 1842, Mr. Brooks married Miss Eliza Silvey Larison, and in April following began keeping house at Brooks' Grove. There Mr. Brooks had built a frame house, one of the first in the township. In November, 1870, the Brooks family moved to Stanford where they have resided ever since. His son-in-law, William J. Haines, lives on the old farm. Mr. Brooks has had ten children, of whom eight are living. Tbev are : Mali n da Catherine, wife of William Haines : Miles Brooks, one of the partners of the firm of Brooks & Son ; Mary, wife of George W. Kaufrnann, who resides half a mile northwest of Stanford ; Ahel Brooks is a teacher, and lives at home; Rachel B., Lucy Ann B., Millie Frances B., and Eliza Ellen B., the pet, live at home.
Passage source: The Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois : Containing Two Hundred and Sixty-one Sketches of Old Settlers, a Complete Historical Sketch of the Black Hawk War and Descriptions of All Matters of Interest Relating to McLean County, published 1874.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Fires near this place
1 since 2013Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Stanford in 2013, burning under an acre 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/undetermined | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 February 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | HOUGHAM |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
25 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Stanford in 25 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 11 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 3 flash flood, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | 1 hurt, $275,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down throughout the county. A semi was blown over 4 miles west of Gridley and the driver sustained minor injuries. Also, twelve cars of a freight train were blown over at this location. The double-stack container cars were empty. In McLean, another semi was blown over but the driver did not sustain any injuries. Between Stanford and Danvers, nearly 30 structures, many farm buildings, sustained minor to major wind damage. Damage was estimated around $275,000. |
| June 2021 | Flash Flood | Stanford | $11,800,000 | Numerous roads were closed due to flood waters, including Route 136 between Heyworth and McLean. Part of the I-55 shoulder collapsed near Kickapoo Creek southwest of Bloomington, prompting the closure of the interstate. A dive team from Hudson was deployed to rescue a stranded motorist on I-55 southwest of Shirley. Other vehicles were stranded by high water near mile marker 159 on I-55 near Bloomington, at exit 142 on I-74 near the Kickapoo Creek Bridge just west of Downs, and about 2 miles north of LeRoy. A homeowner was stranded by high water surrounding their property a mile north of Heyworth. Nearly 1, 600 homes and 75 businesses were damaged by the flooding, including more than 200 structures that had major damage or were destroyed. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | $21,000 | A swath of wind damage occurred across McLean county along a line from Stanford to Bloomington/Normal to 7 miles northwest of Anchor. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down and there was also some structural damage. About $10,000 damage was done to the gym, pool and greenhouse at the Olympia High School in Stanford. A couple machine sheds and a corn crib were damaged or destroyed 2 miles east of Lexington. Several barns or sheds sustained damage around Chenoa and Anchor. Isolated reports of severe hail were received; the largest hail stone reported was quarter size near McLean. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | The roof was damaged at Olympia High School. |
| October 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. |
| April 2020 | Flood | Stanford | - | Water from flooded creeks flowed across several roads in southwest McLean County during the morning of April 26th. Sugar Creek spilled out of its banks across County Road 150E between 250N and 300N west of McLean. Water from Kickapoo Creek flowed across County Road 1300E south of US 136 southwest of Heyworth and across Huff Road at the bridge in Downs. |
| November 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | A tree was blown down onto a road in Stanford. |
| May 2013 | Flash Flood | Stanford | - | Slow moving thunderstorms produced 3.00 to 4.00 inches of rain on already saturated ground, producing widespread flash flooding in northwest and northern Mc Lean County. Numerous rural roads were flooded, with the greatest impact from Carlock to Chenoa were many roads were impassable. |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Stanford | - | A narrow, but concentrated band of heavy rain in west central McLean County produced a few areas of flash flooding. Several rural roads were impassable and streets in the city of Normal were flooded. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Stanford | - | Several cars were damaged due to the large hail. In addition, siding was damaged and windows were broken. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | The roof was blown off a coffee shop and several power poles were blown down. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | A few trees were blown down. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | One home had a portion of its roof torn off. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Several tree limbs were blown down. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Stanford | - | A large swath of hail fell over McLean County from Stanford through Danvers to Carlock and Gridley. The largest hail fell in Stanford with a 4.5 inch hail report. In Danvers, 2.5 inch hail was reported as well as a broken windshield on a truck from the hail. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down several large tree branches onto a house causing minor damage. On Route 122 thirteen power poles were blown down. |
| March 2024 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| April 2023 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Stanford | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covell | 5.8 miles | 13 | |
| Danvers | 6.9 miles | 13 | |
| Woodruff | 7.2 miles | 13 | |
| Funks Grove | 7.4 miles | 13 | |
| Twin Grove | 8.4 miles | 13 | |
| Shirley | 8.4 miles | 13 | |
| McLean | 8.7 miles | 13 | |
| Bloomington Heights | 10.3 miles | 13 |
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 Stanford | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2621084 | 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 419034. 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.








