Thomson, Illinois

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1985. It stands in York Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61285. The Survey maps it on the Thomson quadrangle.

Thomson within Carroll County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 18 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.

1891 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:62500
1894 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
1899 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:125000
1899 USGS Cordova quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
1952 USGS Clinton quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
1958 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1961 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
1962 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
1984 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
1985 USGS Thomson quadrangle1:24000

In the county-history sources

13,429 words on this township

The History of Carroll County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County-its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory ... War Record ... Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men ... History of the Northwest ... Illinois ... Miscellaneous Matters, Etc, published 1878 names this settlement in its chapter on York Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The Village of Thomson is an outgrowth of the Western Union Railroad. It is situated on sections 24 and 25, York Townshi]), in the centre of a very beautiful valley, hemmed in by the Mississijipi River on the west, and a higli range of bluffs on the east. At this point, the valley is very nearly four miles in width between the bluffs and the river, and Thomson is about midway between them. North and south the level prairie, dotted all over with well-cullivaled farms, handsome houses and large barns, stretches away as far as the eye can reach.

Passage source: The History of Carroll County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County-its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory ... War Record ... Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men ... History of the Northwest ... Illinois ... Miscellaneous Matters, Etc, published 1878.

The first house erected on the ground now occupied by Thomson was built by Norman Judson. It was of the kind known as a "grout house," antl is still standing and occupied by Dr. Saunders. At the lime Mr. Jud.son was building this house, there was an unmarried man here, and who remained for some time, but his name had escaped the memory of those from whom these data were gathered. That gentleman is now a resident of Morrison. Herman Worthington bougtht out Judson's interest; Worthington sold to n .Mr. Hoover, and Hoover sold o the railroad comp iny. 'I'iiis tract of land is ilescribeil as the west half of th'^ southeast (juarter of section 24.

Educational. - In 1865, the first school was taught in Thomson. A Miss Brown, daughter of Noah Brown, was the teacher. When the building of a school house was undertaken, there were only five legal voters in the district, three of whom were school directors. The building was commenced in 1865. The house then fashioned answered the demands of the district until 187 1, when an addition was made for graded school purposes. The school is now composed of three departments, accommodating 150 scholars, who are under charge of Professor McKay, as principal.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on York Township - it names this place 37 more 37 times.

Fires near this place

6 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Thomson between 1992 and 2014, burning about 295 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
Recreation and ceremony	3
Debris and open burning	2
Smoking	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
17 April 1996	Debris and open burning	15 acres	Savanna District, Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge	SIMPSONTWO
31 March 2014	Recreation and ceremony	265 acres	Savanna District, Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge	THOMSON RNA
31 March 1992	Smoking	10 acres	Savanna District, Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge	GOOSEPOINT
10 November 2010	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Savanna District, Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge	WARREN
8 October 2013	Recreation and ceremony	2.0 acres	Savanna District, Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge	SOUTH THOMSON FIRE
23 October 1999	Recreation and ceremony	2.6 acres	Savanna District, Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge	BOWHUNTER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Carroll County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Thomson: 4 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Doyle Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Graharing Quarryrein,Schultz,Dahl	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Rein,Schultz & Dahl Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Thomson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Thomson-Groharing Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Carroll County

Storms near this place

22 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Thomson in 22 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 11 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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
June 2014	Tornado (EF1)	Thomson	$50,000	A downburst spawned a brief tornado near Thomson. A old outbuilding was destroyed and extensive damage occurred to large, healthy trees (mostly snapped and some uprooted). Collateral damage to homes and vehicles also occurred from falling trees. Radar indicated gate-to-gate cyclonic shear. The damage path was approximately 3/8 mile wide. The tornado damage was rated EF1 and peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	$25,000	Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew trees and power lines down in Thomson, IL around 100 pm CST June 18. Some power outages were also observed. A large tree fell onto a camping trailer at Thomson Causeway.
June 2003	Hail	Thomson	$20,000	no account filed
August 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	$7,000	Tree down on a camper.
April 2026	Hail	Thomson	-	Photos showing hail ranging from 3 to 3.25 inches in diameter were sent. Time was estimated from radar data.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	Dispatch reported multiple power poles and wires down, leading to portions of Route 84 being closed. Along the same route, reports of several farm irrigators being knocked over, as well as trees. Time estimated by radar.
July 2022	Funnel Cloud	Thomson	-	A trained spotter reported a brief funnel cloud about a quarter of the way down to the ground.
April 2015	Tornado (EF1)	Thomson	-	A NWS Storm Survey found that a tornado touched down 5 miles northeast of Fulton Illinois and lifted 8 miles east of Thomson Illinois. The tornado was on the ground for 7.22 miles in Carroll County caused damage primarily to trees and farm outbuildings.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	A trained spotter reported dozens of trees down, power poles snapped off, semi-truck flipped and a motor home tipped.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	The emergency manager reported a barn blown down along with outbuildings and a garage damaged. Corn fields were also flattened.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	Pine trees approximately 12 inches in diameter snapped off near the base on Main Street and West street. This tree fell on power lines causing power outages in the town of Thomson.
October 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	Law enforcement reported a tree down just south of Thomson.
April 2008	Hail	Thomson	-	Penny size hail was reported near Thomson.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	Winds estimated to be 60 mph blew down several three inch diameter tree branches about 2.5 miles north northwest of Thomson, IL at 10:13 am June 8.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew down a large tree on Thomson Road just east of Thomson, IL around 6:20 pm June 12.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	Winds estimated to be 70 mph blew down several trees onto Route 84 just south of Thomson.
April 2026	Hail	Thomson	-	no account filed
March 2006	Hail	Thomson	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Thomson	-	no account filed
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Thomson	-	no account filed
June 1998	Hail	Thomson	-	no account filed
May 1997	Hail	Thomson	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Carroll 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Ebner	1.9 miles	18
Argo Fay	5.3 miles	21
Ideal	6.0 miles	11
Ayers	6.6 miles	21
Hickory Grove	7.2 miles	21
Burke	7.2 miles	21
Wacker	7.4 miles	21
Daggett (historical)	8.4 miles	14

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 419679. 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.