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Winchester, Illinois

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1924 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Winchester No. 3 precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 62694. The Survey maps it on the Winchester quadrangle. 1,574 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 545 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Winchester within Scott County

On record in Winchester

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

Winchester fell from 1,593 to 1,574 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
20101,593
20201,574-19 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 12 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.

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 Winchester: 5 past producers, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, 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.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
K.E. Vas Sand and Gravel Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Shafer Clay PitClayPast Producer
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Scott Highway DepartmentStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Scott County

Storms near this place

55 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Winchester in 55 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 30 thunderstorm wind, 16 hail, 6 flash flood, 3 tornado. The reports record 1 death and 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2004Tornado (F1)Winchester1 killed, 1 hurtThe tornado initially touched down 6 miles west southwest of Winchester then traveled to the northeast causing minor tree damage. Two miles southwest of Winchester it destroyed a mobile home causing 1 fatality. The two occupants of the mobile home were thrown from the home. The husband only sustained minor injuries. As the tornado went through Winchester it weakened in intensity causing minor to moderate damage to the roofs of several homes, destroyed some sheds and blew down numerous trees.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindWinchester$200,000Several trees and tree limbs were blown down in Winchester. In addition, 15 large power poles were snapped, resulting in a widespread power outage.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWinchester$40,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down about 3 miles southwest of Winchester.
September 2008Flash FloodWinchester$25,000Route 106 south of Winchester was closed due to high water. In addition, there were numerous reports of flooded basements in Winchester.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindWinchester$18,000Several tree limbs were blown down.
February 2011Thunderstorm WindWinchester$15,000A roof was blown off a utility shed and a 10-inch diameter tree was knocked down.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWinchester$12,000Several tree limbs and one power line were blown down.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindWinchester$2,000A large tree was blown down on the west side of Winchester.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindWinchester$1,500A large tree was blown across the Winchester/Glasgow Blacktop.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindWinchester$1,000A large tree limb was blown down onto Commercial Street in Winchester.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindWinchester$1,000As a severe thunderstorm moved southeast across Scott County it blew down numerous trees and power lines in Winchester, Glasgow, Alsey, and Manchester. No injuries were reported.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindWinchester$100A local newspaper reported tree limbs about six inches in diameter snapped off from high wind gusts.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Numerous small tree limbs between one and six inches in diameter were broken, and an area of corn was flattened.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindWinchester-A tree was blown down resulting in a power outage.
May 2024Flash FloodWinchester-Cherry Street and Cross Street were closed due to flooding.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindWinchester-A few trees and tree branches were blown down.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindWinchester-A large tree was blown down and destroyed a trampoline.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Numerous trees were blown down in Winchester, some of which were broken in half.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Several trees, tree branches, and power lines were blown down in Winchester.
May 2010Flash FloodWinchester-Slow moving thunderstorms produced 3.00 to 4.00 inches of rain in 2 hours across southern Scott County. Many rural roads were impassable, including Illinois Route 106 from Alsey to the Greene County line.
June 2008Flash FloodWinchester-High water was flowing over roads in numerous locations between Winchester and Jacksonville.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindWinchester-A cornfield was flattened and several tree limbs were blown down.|
July 2006Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Several trees were blown down.
October 2004Thunderstorm WindWinchester-A large tree was blown down on a power line.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Several trees and tree limbs were blown down.
May 2003Flash FloodWinchester-Very heavy rain fell over Scott county, causing several roads to be flooded. Illinois Route 106 in Winchester was briefly flooded.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Several large tree limbs were blown down near Illinois Route 106.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Thunderstorm winds blew down several power lines in town.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindWinchester-A tree was blown over.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Several trees and power lines were blown down.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Several power lines were blown down in Winchester, Alsey and Glasgow.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindWinchester-A two to two and a half mile wide swath of damage extended from 3.8 miles west of Winchester to 1 and a quarter miles north of Winchester to 5 miles northeast of Winchester then into Morgan County. Most of the damage was to trees, power lines, and power poles.
May 2000Tornado (F0)Winchester-A tornado which formed along the leading edge of a bow echo touched down in Pike County (WFO St. Louis CWA) 2.5 miles southeast of Detroit, then traveled to the east northeast, crossing the Illinois River south of Florence. It moved into Scott County (WFO Central Illinois CWA) 8 miles west southwest of Winchester, but little damage was found in the river bottoms area until the tornado moved up into the bluffs. About four miles west of Winchester, it flattened corn, uprooted several trees, snapped a couple of utility poles, damaged an outbuilding, and caused minor damage to two homes before lifting and dissipating. No injuries were reported.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Several trees were blown down in Winchester. One tree fell onto IL Route 106 east of town and another one fell onto Main street in downtown Winchester, briefly blocking it. No injuries were reported.
November 1998Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Numerous large tree limbs were blown down.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindWinchester-Winds estimated at 60 mph knocked several large ceramic flower pots over.
March 2024HailWinchester-no account filed
August 2024HailWinchester-no account filed
July 2023HailWinchester-no account filed
March 2016HailWinchester-no account filed
June 2011HailWinchester-no account filed
May 2011HailWinchester-no account filed
May 2011HailWinchester-no account filed
May 2009HailWinchester-no account filed
August 2009HailWinchester-no account filed
August 2009HailWinchester-no account filed
March 2006HailWinchester-no account filed
May 2004HailWinchester-no account filed
May 2003HailWinchester-no account filed
May 2002Flash FloodWinchester-no account filed
June 2001HailWinchester-no account filed
June 1998HailWinchester-no account filed
May 1998HailWinchester-no account filed
April 1996Tornado (F0)Winchester-no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindWinchester-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Scott 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
Riggston4.9 miles12
Alsey4.9 miles12
Bloomfield5.5 miles13
Glasgow5.6 miles12
Merritt6.2 miles12
Exeter6.6 miles12
Oxville7.6 miles13
Manchester8.9 miles12

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 WinchesterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q575394The 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 421313. 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.

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.