Tonica, Illinois
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Eden Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61370. The Survey maps it on the Tonica quadrangle. 749 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 659 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresTonica fell from 768 to 749 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 | 768 | |
| 2020 | 749 | -19 (-2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 12 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 Wenona quadrangle1:48000
- 1934 USGS Wenona quadrangle1:62500
- 1939 USGS Wenona quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Aurora quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Aurora quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Tonica quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Kewanee quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1998 USGS Tonica quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
1,666 words on this townshipHistory of LaSalle County, Illinois : Its Topography, Geology, Botany, Natural History, History of the Mound Builders, Indian Tribes, French Explorations, and a Sketch of the Pioneer Settlers of Each Town to 1840, with an Appendix, Giving the Present Status of the County, Its Population, Resources, Manufactures and Institutions, published 1877 names this settlement in its chapter on Eden Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Joseph T. Bullock came from Rehoboth, Mass.. in 1897, and settled on 8 36, T. 4, R.1; he marri Catharine Galloway, and with his brother, Leonard, engaged largely in farming and stock-raising ; since his brother's death he has continued the same on a large scale, He has two children; Ransom, married Ada Ellsworth, and lives nean Tonica; Susan, married Henry Foss, now in Colorado,
William Groom, and wife, Miss Burhans, from Albany County, N.Y., came with Alvord's company ih 1883; was a farmer, and Methodist preacher; he died in 1852. His children were: Delia, married aMr. Wells; Betsey, married John Harkins; Alida, married Anstin B. Carleton, of Vermillion ; Peter, married Miss Martin, now in Nebraska ; Abram, married L. T. Naramoor; Joseph, married Eunice Harrington, in California ; William, married Miss Thomas, in Tonica.
Tra S. Moshier, from Saratoga County, N.Y., came in 1834, and settled on 8. 12, T. 32. R.1; a farmer, Methodist preacher, and Jawyer. He died in 1874, Teaving nine children: Edgar W., at Sandwich ; Henry C., married Elizabeth Baker, and lives at Gilman ; George, married Delana Schermerhorn, and dives at Gilman; Charles W., married Celia Wilson, of Sandwich ; Maria A., married Thomas Foster; M. Charlotte, married Hugh Miller; Sheridan L. ; Margaret, married Onslow Barrass, of Tonica; Clara J., married A. G. Gray.
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 Eden Township - it names this place 3 more 3 times.
Fires near this place
14 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Tonica between 2008 and 2020, burning about 165 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 | 7 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2019-089 |
| 6 July 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 19-00080 |
| 2 June 2020 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2020-041 |
| 17 May 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2017-062 |
| 6 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 13-0000025 |
| 6 April 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 1 |
| 24 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018-058 |
| 2 April 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 402101 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Tonica: 4 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette Co Cement--Lowell Plant | Stone | Producer | ||
| Ristokrat Clay Pit No. 4 | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Bailey Falls Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| C. Locke Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Lock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Vermillion Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
14 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tonica in 14 storm reports between 1998 and 2020: 9 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 funnel cloud, 1 lightning. 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 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | $25,000 | A semi was overturned on Interstate 39. Widespread tree damage occurred in Tonica. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | $20,000 | Two barns were destroyed. |
| June 2011 | Lightning | Tonica | $10,000 | A one story home on Uncas Street was struck by lightning. The fire and damage was confined to the living room and front door area. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | $3,000 | Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down. |
| May 2020 | Funnel Cloud | Tonica | - | Two funnel clouds were reported in the Tonica and Leonore areas. |
| July 2020 | Funnel Cloud | Tonica | - | A funnel cloud was reported looking east from Interstate 39 at mile marker 47. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | - | A large tree limb was blown down partially blocking a road. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | - | A semi truck was overturned on Interstate 39 near Tonica. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | - | A tree was blown down. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | - | Four inch diameter tree limbs blown down on Meridian Road along the LaSalle/Putnam County line. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | - | A large barn built in 1946, was blown down. |
| March 2006 | Hail | Tonica | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tonica | - | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Hail | Tonica | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticona | 0.9 miles | 12 | |
| Lowell | 3.8 miles | 21 | |
| Bailey Falls (historical) | 4.4 miles | 21 | |
| Cedar Point | 4.5 miles | 19 | |
| Vermilionville | 4.8 miles | 27 | |
| Leonore | 4.9 miles | 11 | |
| Lostant | 5.1 miles | 12 | |
| Mount Palatine | 5.4 miles | 11 |
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 Tonica | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2523825 | 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 419778. 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.







