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Colon, Michigan

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Colon Township. It lies in ZIP code area 49040. It stands on Swan Creek. The Survey maps it on the Colon quadrangle. 1,199 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 863 feet above sea level.

Colon within St. Joseph County

On record in Colon

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

Colon grew from 1,173 to 1,199 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
20101,173
20201,199+26 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 10 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

7 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Colon between 2018 and 2020, burning about 9 acres in total. 2 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
Equipment and vehicle use4
Natural2
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
9 September 2019Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCOLON FIRE/RESCUE 259 - 2019
23 May 2019Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCOLON FIRE/RESCUE 136 - 2019
11 May 2018Natural1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCOLON FIRE/RESCUE 0000126 - 2018
29 April 2018Natural1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCOLON FIRE/RESCUE 0000114 - 2018
15 April 2019Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCOLON FIRE/RESCUE 098 - 2019
27 March 2019Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesBRONSON FD 0000096 - 2019
13 March 2020Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCOLON FIRE/RESCUE 052 - 2020

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in St. Joseph County

Storms near this place

20 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colon in 20 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 13 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. 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 2004Thunderstorm WindColon1 killed, $10,000A 71 year old male was killed when a large tree fell on his vehicle and crushed it as he was driving north of Colon. The driver was killed instantly.
August 2011LightningColon1 hurtA fire official reported that a 17 year old female was struck by lightning at a campground while taking a shower. No specific details were given as to the extent of injuries, which are assumed minor.
November 1998Thunderstorm WindColon$150,000SEVERAL HOMES WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED BY FALLEN TREES.
October 2001Tornado (F1)Colon$100,000Tornado skipped along a 5 mile path. F1 damage included a well constructed barn destroyed with debris thrown about one half mile.
July 2023Tornado (EF1)Colon$25,000A tornado quickly developed almost directly over a storage facility on the east side of Colon in St. Joseph county. Garage doors were blown in and then a significant loss of roof decking and metal covering occurred. This wood and metal debris was lofted, twisted, and deposited both to the east and north up to 200 yards away in nearby fields. The tornado crossed into Branch county with sporadic tree damage noted on Ambs Road, South Culver Road, and Jackson Road, where large branches were down, trees uprooted, or trees were snapped several feet off the ground. The tornado topped a number of trees within a tree grove east of Jackson Road, but south of Wattles |Road before dissipating. The tornado was on the ground for 0.9 miles in St Joseph county and 2.0 miles in Branch county for a total of 2.9 miles in length.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindColon$15,000Two foot diameter healthy tree snapped in half, and thrown into a house causing roof and gutter damage.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindColon$5,000Spotter estimated 70 mph wind gusts. Trees are down and crops have been blown over.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindColon$3,500Several trees uprooted or snapped measuring 1 to 3 feet in diameter. One tree fell onto a house. Part of a metal roof was damaged. Numerous limbs downed measuring 1 to 2 ft diameter in the town.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindColon-Trained spotters reported several healthy large trees uprooted or snapped, ranging from one to two feet in diameter.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindColon-The public reported two large trees were tipped over by strong winds.
February 2017Thunderstorm WindColon-Local fire departments reported two healthy one to two foot diameter trees were damaged at Manor Rd and Palmer Street. One tree was snapped about half way up, with the other broke at the base. A tree branch landed on a vehicle. Power lines were also down in the area from tree limbs.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindColon-Trees and power lines downed.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindColon-A trained spotter estimated wind gusts to 60 mph. Two to four inch diameter tree branches were down on local roads.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindColon-Local fire officials reported multiple trees and power lines down along Custer and Decker Roads.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindColon-Trained spotter reported a wind gust to 60 MPH near Colon.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindColon-Trees and power lines downed. Minor damage to a grain bin.
June 2008HailColon-no account filed
June 2005HailColon-no account filed
July 2005HailColon-no account filed
June 1998HailColon-no account filed

Every storm recorded in St. Joseph 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
Fairfax2.2 miles10
Leonidas4.7 miles14
Findley5.1 miles10
Factoryville6.6 miles14
Nottawa7.1 miles11
Wasepi7.3 miles11
Mendon7.4 miles14
Burr Oak7.7 miles10

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 ColonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2641272The 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 1624462. 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.