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Little Chicago, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Webster Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55057. It stands on Knowles Creek. The Survey maps it on the Little Chicago quadrangle.

Little Chicago within Rice County

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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.

In the county-history sources

7,969 words on this township

History of Rice County, published 1882 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Webster Township covers the township.

Read the chapter on Webster Township - 7,969 words.

Fires near this place

5 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Little Chicago between 2003 and 2012, burning about 7 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
Equipment and vehicle use2
Recreation and ceremony2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
7 December 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Valley National Wildlife RefugeBLOOMINGOTN FERRY 1
6 December 2012Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresMinnesota Valley National Wildlife RefugeSORENSON LANDING 2
6 October 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 October 2012Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMinnesota Valley National Wildlife RefugeCO RD 18
12 October 2012Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresMinnesota Valley National Wildlife RefugeCO RD 101

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Rice County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Little Chicago: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: 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
Camp PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Concrete Materials Pit No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Elwood PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Rice County

Storms near this place

10 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Little Chicago in 10 storm reports between 1997 and 2023: 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2021Tornado (EF1)Little Chicago-A storm chaser took video of a tornado moving in an open field and then along a line of trees. Some of the trees were uprooted and lofted a couple hundred feet in the air. A NWS damage survey also noted uprooted trees.
June 2021HailLittle Chicago-Willingers golf course reported golf ball size hail near North Chicago.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindLittle Chicago-A semi-trailer flipped over on I-35 north of Highway 19. There was a wind gust of 58 mph near Elko New Market near the time of the incident.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindLittle Chicago-There were numerous reports of large tree branches blown down north and east of Circle Lake in eastern Rice County.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindLittle Chicago-A 3 foot diameter tree was uprooted near Circle Lake.
April 2004Thunderstorm WindLittle Chicago-A 58 MPH wind gust was measured by a MNDOT weather sensor. A hay barn was downed nearby.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindLittle Chicago-Reported by MNDOT road weather report system.
July 2023HailLittle Chicago-no account filed
June 2016HailLittle Chicago-no account filed
August 1997HailLittle Chicago-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Rice 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
Hazelwood3.6 miles11
Millersburg3.6 miles10
Trondjem3.8 miles10
Webster3.8 miles11
Lonsdale5.6 miles10
Dundas7.2 miles11
Comus7.3 miles10
Veseli7.7 miles11

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 654800. 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.