Stearns, Wisconsin
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1981. It stands in Monroe town. It lies in ZIP code area 53566. The Survey maps it on the Monticello quadrangle. It stands 1,099 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 15 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.
- 1920 USGS Monroe quadrangle1:62500
- 1922 USGS Monroe quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Monroe quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Monticello quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Monroe quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
9 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Stearns between 2009 and 2020, burning about 624 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 May 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 20028 |
| 21 May 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 90 |
| 15 May 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 98 |
| 7 April 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 72 |
| 21 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 75 |
| 2 April 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 56 |
| 19 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 3668 |
| 12 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | COLD SPRINGS FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Stearns: 6 unknowns, 4 producers, 3 past producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Calcium. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dieckman Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Rufer & Son Quarry | Calcium | Producer | ||
| Own Crews | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Own Crews | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Rackow Quarry | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Rood Quarry | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Schwarzenberger Quarry | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Buckskin Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Cheseboro Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Haldeman Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
6 since 2013Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Stearns in 6 storm reports between 2013 and 2025: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2017 | Tornado (EF1) | Stearns | $325,000 | Along the path of the tornado, a barn and pole shed were destroyed, 4 houses sustained damage, 4 power poles were snapped, numerous trees were either snapped or uprooted and a camper was rolled into a pond. The majority of the tornado path had EF-0 damage, but there were pockets of EF-1 damage. |
| June 2017 | Tornado (EF1) | Stearns | $145,000 | A short lived tornado removed a portion of the roof from two industrial buildings and broke multiple windows in each building. Elsewhere, a trailer was flipped and multiple trees were either snapped or uprooted. A dumpster was also lifted and blown across Highway 69. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stearns | $15,000 | Scattered reports of trees down in much of Green County, including the communities of Jordan Center, Monticello, Albany, Broadhead, and Juda. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stearns | $7,000 | Numerous trees and branches down. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stearns | $1,000 | Several large branches down. |
| May 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Stearns | - | Two people saw a very brief tornado in a field. No damage was observed. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schultz | 2.3 miles | 15 | |
| Monroe | 4.2 miles | 14 | |
| Monroe Estates | 5.4 miles | 14 | |
| Monticello | 6.2 miles | 15 | |
| Juda | 7.1 miles | 15 | |
| Mineral Point (historical) | 8.4 miles | 17 | |
| Twin Grove | 9.3 miles | 15 | |
| Albany | 9.7 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 Stearns | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7605517 | 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 1577836. 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.








