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Gerster, Missouri

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Dallas Township. It lies in ZIP code area 64776. The Survey maps it on the Weaubleau quadrangle. 21 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 801 feet above sea level.

Gerster within St. Clair County

Population over time

2 figures

Gerster fell from 25 to 21 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
201025
202021-4 (-16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 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.

Fires near this place

44 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 44 fires within 5 miles of Gerster between 1992 and 2018, burning about 2,170 acres in total. None started naturally. 7 were 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 burning23
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Arson/incendiarism7
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
3 September 1999Debris and open burning3.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
22 September 1999Debris and open burning40 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
2 May 1992Debris and open burning1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
13 May 2018Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation177539-09339-05132018-1041
9 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined14 acresMissouri Department of Conservation177536-09339-04092018-1641
4 April 1992Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
11 April 1993Debris and open burning25 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
10 April 2018Debris and open burning13 acresMissouri Department of Conservation177537-09339-04102018-1442

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in St. Clair County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Gerster: 4 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Barium-Barite. 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
Crystal MineBarium-BaritePast ProducerHydrothermal Vein
Baumgardner QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Geo. Baker QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Nelson Brothers QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - Ls.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in St. Clair County

Storms near this place

12 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gerster in 12 storm reports between 2001 and 2024: 4 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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
January 2013Tornado (EF1)Gerster$200,000A NWS survey indicated that an EF-1 tornado touched down in St. Clair County about two miles northwest of Gerster and continued on the ground for about eight and a half miles into western Hickory County. The tornado lifted about a mile north of Quincy. The width was estimated at about 400 yards with an estimated maximum wind speed of 90 to 100 mph. This tornado destroyed at least four barns and outbuildings. The tornado tore half the roof off another barn. Several homes received minor roof damage and numerous trees were uprooted or snapped.
January 2013Thunderstorm WindGerster$5,000Numerous trees were reported down along Highway T, and a house had minor roof damage. Trees were blocking the side roads.
May 2024HailGerster-Report of ping pong ball size hail.
May 2024HailGerster-Report of quarter size hail.
February 2023Thunderstorm WindGerster-Several power pole and lines were reported down causing power outages.
May 2013Tornado (EF0)Gerster-An EF-0 tornado produced up to 80 mph winds and uprooted trees along a half mile long path.
June 2008Flash FloodGerster-Numerous secondary roads across the county were flooded from excessive rainfall.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindGerster-Thunderstorm wind gusts downed several trees.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindGerster-Severe thunderstorm wind gusts downed several trees across TT Highway.
March 2007HailGerster-no account filed
May 2003Tornado (F0)Gerster-no account filed
May 2001HailGerster-no account filed

Every storm recorded in St. Clair 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
Terry2.8 miles17
Topper3.7 miles17
Tracy4.6 miles17
Collins5.0 miles17
Vista5.3 miles17
Corbin (historical)7.8 miles20
Raney8.1 miles17
Harper8.1 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 GersterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q954814The 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 756094. 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.