Willard, Missouri
21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1884 and the latest in 1982. It stands in Murray Township. It lies in ZIP code area 65781. The Survey maps it on the Willard quadrangle. 6,344 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,237 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresWillard grew from 5,288 to 6,344 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 5,288 | |
| 2020 | 6,344 | +1,056 (+20%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 21 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1884 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:125000
- 1886 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1948 USGS Willard quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1958 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Willard quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1982 USGS Springfield quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
46 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 46 fires within 5 miles of Willard between 1993 and 2020, burning about 439 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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 burning | 26 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 7 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 7 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 6 September 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 13 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 6 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 4 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 27 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.2 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | 230727-03905-09272020-1350 |
| 10 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 14 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Willard: 12 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Iron, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clutter Mine | Clay, Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Kelso Shaft | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Conco Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Graystone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Jennings Bank | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Noble Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Pollack Mine | Iron | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 63 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Willard in 63 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 30 thunderstorm wind, 28 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning. The reports record 4 deaths. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2002 | Lightning | Willard | 4 killed | no account filed |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $40,000 | A path of up to 70 mph straight line wind damage occurred along and south of Farm Road 68 that continued into the northern parts of Willard. Multiple trees and power lines were downed. This damage was located on the southern(right) flank of the tornadic circulation that produce an EF-1 QLCS tornado from two miles northwest of Willard, Missouri to two miles north of Willard. |
| October 2012 | Tornado (EF0) | Willard | $25,000 | A brief EF-0 tornado with winds estimated up to 80 mph touched down in a rural neighborhood on the southwest side of Willard off State Highway AB and Farm Road 94. Several trees and large limbs were blown down in all directions. Several houses had minor roof and siding damage. A large wooden deck was picked up and moved from its original place. |
| December 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $10,000 | A NWS storm survey revealed that straight line winds between 75 and 80 mph damaged multiple trees, ripped shingles off several homes, and damaged a pole barn on the southwest side of Willard. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $10,000 | Several large trees were blown down around Willard. Trees were down at Highway Ab and Highway 112 and at Highway 101 and Highway 106. Several fences were damaged by fallen trees. |
| November 1995 | Hail | Willard | $10,000 | Hail, up to the size of tennis balls, was reported across several locations around Springfield, along with the surrounding counties. In Willard, tennis ball-size hail broke automobile windows and damaged roofs. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $5,000 | Power lines were blown down at the intersection of Highway 79 and Highway 94. |
| October 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $3,000 | A large limb was reported down on a power line causing localized power outages. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $2,000 | A tree was downed and knocked over powerlines west of Willard. |
| December 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $2,000 | Several power lines were blown down. |
| December 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $1,000 | There was damage to a barn. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | $1,000 | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Willard | $500 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Hail | Willard | - | Quarter sized hail was reported. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Willard | - | Quarter sized hail was reported. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Willard | - | A social media picture showed hail to the size of quarters in Willard. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | A NWS Employee measured a 56 knot wind gust. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Several trees were reported down in town. |
| April 2022 | Hail | Willard | - | Half dollar sized hail was reported. |
| February 2019 | Hail | Willard | - | Multiple reports were received of dime size hail with one report of quarter size hail in Willard. |
| October 2019 | Heavy Rain | Willard | - | The CoCoRaHS station mo-gr-81 near Willard reported 3.30 inches of rainfall. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | A large 6-8 inch diameter tree branch was broken off a tree near the intersection of Knight Street and Howard Street in Willard. The report was received via social media. |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | The Emergency Manager reported that multiple trees and limbs were down around Willard. |
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Several large tree limbs were blown down on Highway AB and Southview Road in Willard. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Willard | - | Excessive rainfall caused flash flooding over a section of Farm Road 105 just south of the intersection with Farm Road 44. This report was reported by KSPR meteorologist. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Small tree limbs were blown down at Highway 123 and Farm Road 42 in northern Greene County. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | A tree was down at the intersection of Farmer and Cherry Street. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | A ham radio operator reported the wind gust though no damage was observed. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Several limbs were blown down from thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts downed a few limbs in Willard. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Debris was thrown into a window of a house. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Thunderstorms downed numerous trees along Highway O. |
| November 2004 | Flash Flood | Willard | - | Heavy rain caused a small creek to rapidly flood over a section of New Mellville Road in Willard. Numerous other locations across Greene County were also inundated with small stream flooding. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| April 2012 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| November 2010 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| March 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | no account filed |
| March 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | no account filed |
| March 2004 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| December 2002 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| December 2002 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hackney | 3.3 miles | 21 | |
| Cave Spring | 3.7 miles | 21 | |
| Ritter | 3.7 miles | 21 | |
| Pearl | 4.5 miles | 21 | |
| Elwood | 5.3 miles | 21 | |
| Bois D'Arc | 5.4 miles | 16 | |
| Glidewell | 5.4 miles | 20 | |
| Sacville | 6.1 miles | 17 |
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 Willard | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q953647 | The 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 735917. 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.







