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Williamsville, Illinois

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Williams Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62693. The Survey maps it on the Williamsville quadrangle. 1,425 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 597 feet above sea level.

Williamsville within Sangamon County

On record in Williamsville

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Williamsville fell from 1,476 to 1,425 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
20101,476
20201,425-51 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 17 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.

In the county-history sources

10,853 words on this township

History of Sangamon County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Townships ... Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens. History of Illinois, published 1881 names this settlement in its chapter on Williams Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Mrs. Rebecca Miller has a silver half-dollar given to her when a child by her mother, bearing date 1822, the year in which Mrs. Miller was born. In 1846, her husband desired to purchase a piece of land, and lacked one-half dollar of having the necessary amount to pay for it. The coveted half-dollar was given to him, and paid out on this purchase. In 1876, the identical half-dollar was given to him in change by a merchant in Williamsville, and by him returned to Mrs. Miller. Thus, after a lapse of thirty years, she received back the precious coin, paid out in Jackson City, Missouri.

Passage source: History of Sangamon County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Townships ... Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens. History of Illinois, published 1881.

A petition of the citizens was circulated, praying the post office department at Washington, to establish here a post office. Their petition was granted, and an office established in the spring of 1854, named Williamsville Post Office, with John George as postmastei*. Mr. George was subsequently succeeded by his son, Wesley George, who served until 1858, when Jacob Mc- Clure was appointed. From 1858 to the present time, the[.following named have had charge of the office: George Brown, Jacob McClure, Charles Elder, R. M. Lawrence, William Stewart, Sarah Stewart, and Jacob McClure, the second time, the incumbent.

Passage source: History of Sangamon County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Townships ... Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens. History of Illinois, published 1881.

No community can exist without the aid of the doctor, at least this is the general opinion. In 1850, Dr. Connery, of Ohio, moved to the township, and commenced here the practice of medicine. In 1855, he moved into the new village of Benton, now Williamsville, and continued to practice, being the first physician in the place. He was a clever man, a good physician and enjoyed the respect of the community in which he lived. He secured an excellent practice, but died in 1857. Since Dr. Connery's time there have been a number of physicians who have practiced their profession in the place, among whom were Drs. Henry VanMeter, J. M. West, Thomas M. Helm and J. Y. Winn. The present resident physicians of the place are: M. Mathus, J. Y. Winn, A. D. Tavlor and K. E. McClelland.

Passage source: History of Sangamon County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Townships ... Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens. History of Illinois, published 1881.

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 Williams Township - it names this place 22 more 22 times.

Fires near this place

15 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Williamsville between 2002 and 2014, burning about 94 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Debris and open burning4
Recreation and ceremony1

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
26 September 2013Debris and open burning2.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources13-0000327
17 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources10308
8 August 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources10259
8 July 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources10209
19 July 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources10228
6 April 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources14-0000112
14 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIllinois Division of Forestry Resources10107
1 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined75 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources1098

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Sangamon County

Storms near this place

24 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Williamsville in 24 storm reports between 1996 and 2022: 13 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood. The reports record 17 injuries. 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
August 2009Tornado (EF3)Williamsville17 hurt, $11,000,000The tornado touched down on the west side of Williamsville, just west of I-55, at 319 PM CST. It destroyed an antique mall, damaged the Casey's gas station building and collapsed the canopy over the gas pumps. One person was injured at the mall, while 2 motorcyclists were injured when they were thrown from their bikes. The tornado moved northeast through Williamsville and hit a church, throwing a 2-horse trailer onto the roof and collapsing the roof over half of the building. One person inside the church was injured. The tornado continued through the northern portion of town, causing damage to numerous trees and several homes. Two homes lost their roof and several others lost a portion of their roof. The tornado also caved in the southern end of a metal building, part of an agricultural business on the edge of town. A total of 12 additional people were injured by tornado debris in the town of Williamsville. The width of the tornado through town ranged from 100 to 150 yards. The maximum wind speed of 135 mph (EF2) in Williamsville was determined from the damage to the church. A total of 10 houses were destroyed and 35 houses damaged in Williamsville. A total of six businesses and non-residential properties were destroyed.||The tornado continued east-northeast and flattened cornfields, damaged farm outbuildings and machine sheds, and damaged homes, garages, and vehicles on Lester Rd. Two houses were completely destroyed, and four others had extensive damage, as the tornado widened to 600 yards at this point. A 19-month-old baby was injured as the family home was hit by the tornado. ||The maximum wind speed at this point was estimated at 140 mph (EF3). The tornado continued through fields, causing extensive crop damage, until crossing into Logan County around 326 PM CST. Path length through Sangamon County was 4.5 miles.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville$100,000The roof of a pole barn was lifted off by strong winds. The building had no doors and was open to the south. Based on radar data, a microburst with winds of between 50 and 60 mph likely caused the damage.
October 2012Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville$40,000Several trees were blown down or snapped off about 10 feet above the ground. Five homes sustained minor damage to their roof shingles and siding. A fence was blown down as well.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville$15,000Power poles were blown down on the east side of Williamsville.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville$12,000Nine trees were blown down just west of Williamsville.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville$12,000A tree fell onto a vacant house in Williamsville.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville-Five power poles were snapped.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville-Power lines were blown down onto IL-123.
June 2015Flash FloodWilliamsville-Rainfall amounts of 2.00 to 3.00, on top of waterlogged ground, were reported during the evening of June 28th. This resulted in the flooding of streets and viaducts in parts fo Springfield. Part of Illinois Route 124 from Williamsville to the Menard County line was also impassable.
September 2007Tornado (EF0)Williamsville-A tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindWilliamsville-Several trees were blown down eight miles west of Williamsville. One of the fallen trees landed on chimney and caused minor damage. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
August 2022HailWilliamsville-no account filed
March 2017HailWilliamsville-no account filed
June 2015HailWilliamsville-no account filed
June 2013HailWilliamsville-no account filed
June 2013HailWilliamsville-no account filed
May 2011HailWilliamsville-no account filed
April 2011HailWilliamsville-no account filed
May 2009HailWilliamsville-no account filed
May 2009HailWilliamsville-no account filed
May 2009HailWilliamsville-no account filed
May 2009HailWilliamsville-no account filed
July 2006HailWilliamsville-no account filed
August 1996HailWilliamsville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sangamon 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
Van Wood2.7 miles17
Ellis2.7 miles17
Knollwood3.0 miles17
Sherman5.1 miles17
Barclay5.7 miles20
Peabody6.0 miles17
Buffalo Hart6.0 miles11
Spaulding6.1 miles20

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 WilliamsvilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q548896The 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 421218. 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.