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Tallula, Illinois

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Tallula No. 11 precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 62688. The Survey maps it on the Tallula quadrangle. 434 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 621 feet above sea level.

Tallula within Menard County

Population over time

2 figures

Tallula fell from 488 to 434 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
2010488
2020434-54 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 13 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

6 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Tallula between 2010 and 2017, burning about 7 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 burning4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

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
14 April 2014Debris and open burningunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources14-000043
12 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesHURIE
21 March 2015Debris and open burning5.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources2015-000059
19 February 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources2017-000039
16 February 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources2017-000035
12 November 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources10363

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Menard 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 Tallula: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone. 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
Menard County PitStonePast Producer
Petersburg City PitStonePast Producer

Every working recorded in Menard County

Storms near this place

19 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tallula in 19 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 9 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 3 tornado, 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
June 2014Thunderstorm WindTallula$60,000Several tree branches and power lines were blown down.
June 2025Tornado (EF1)Tallula-Sentinel satellite data indicated a tornado began 2.6 miles northwest of Berlin in Sangamon County. The tornado tracked northeast through Sangamon County, damaging trees and grain bins, eventually crossing County Road 7 into Menard County. It produced tree damage at a residence just north of County Road 7, as well as a residence along Rock Creek Avenue, after which point it dissipated. It produced EF-1 damage in both Sangamon and Menard counties.
June 2025Tornado (EFU)Tallula-Video shared by a trained spotter showed a brief tornado began in eastern Cass County south of Newmansville. Sentinel satellite imagery showed the tornado tracking for approximately 1.8 miles through Cass County before crossing County Line Road north of Pschirrer Road and continuing into western Menard County. The tornado continued for 1.3 miles before dissipating north of Newmansville Avenue. No damage was reported in either county, so a damage intensity rating could not be assigned.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindTallula-Power lines were blown down.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindTallula-Numerous trees were blown down.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindTallula-Eleven power poles were blown down in Tallula.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindTallula-A few power lines were blown down in Tallula.
September 2010Flash FloodTallula-Heavy rainfall rates of 2.00 to 2.50 per hour for nearly 90 minutes resulted in flash flooding across southern Menard County. Most rural roads were impassable due to the heavy rain.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindTallula-Thunderstorm winds blew down 10 power poles 3 miles southwest of Tallula.
November 1998Thunderstorm WindTallula-In Tallula, a shed was destroyed. Several other sheds were either damaged or destroyed in the Petersburg area. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Also, one home sustained minor damage 3 miles north northeast of Petersburg. A wall on the attached garage was damaged. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
September 2015HailTallula-no account filed
May 2011HailTallula-no account filed
March 2006HailTallula-no account filed
April 2006Thunderstorm WindTallula-no account filed
April 2006HailTallula-no account filed
September 2005HailTallula-no account filed
August 2004HailTallula-no account filed
April 1999Tornado (F0)Tallula-no account filed
April 1997Thunderstorm WindTallula-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Menard 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
Hill Top4.2 miles13
Lake Petersburg4.8 miles14
Loyd4.9 miles14
New Salem (historical)5.5 miles14
Lewisburg5.8 miles14
Old Salem Chautauqua6.3 miles14
Hilltop6.5 miles13
Petersburg6.6 miles13

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 TallulaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2224269The 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 419528. 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.