Map of Colchester city, Illinois

Colchester is a city in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,108 at the 2020 census, down from 1,401 in 2010. The city is named after the town of Colchester, England.

Colchester city overview:
Name:	Colchester city
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	Illinois
County:	McDonough County
Elevation:	697 ft (212 m)
Total Area:	1.15 sq mi (2.98 km²)
Land Area:	1.15 sq mi (2.98 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	1,108
Population Density:	963.48/sq mi (371.88/km²)
ZIP code:	62326
Area code:	309
FIPS code:	1715378

Online Interactive Map

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Colchester online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Colchester location map. Where is Colchester city?

Colchester location on the U.S. Map. Where is Colchester city. — Colchester location on the U.S. Map.

Colchester location on the Illinois map. Where is Colchester city. — Location of Colchester in Illinois.

History

Coal was discovered near Colchester in the 1850s.

According to the North American Stratigraphic Code, rock units were given names that included the geographic name of a location where the rock unit was first described. If the rock unit consisted of a dominant rock type, the rock type was included in the name. In this case, when coal was first discovered and described in Colchester, Illinois, the rock unit was named “Colchester Coal”. When this particular coal unit was encountered in a different location, the coal was correctly identified as Colchester Coal.

The mines in Colchester attracted immigrants from Pennsylvania. At first these included the descendants of Irish Protestant refugees from the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Later they were joined by Irish Catholic refugees from the Great Famine.

During the 1920s, Colchester was the home of Henry “Kelly” Wagle, a bootlegger associated with Al Capone. Wagle was involved in the production of alcohol and its transportation between Chicago and Kansas City.

On September 11, 1921, members of the disgraced Chicago “Black Sox” baseball team played with the Colchester team in a game against nearby Macomb. Kelly Wagle paid to bring the players to Colchester.

Colchester Road Map

Colchester city Satellite Map

Geography

Colchester is located in western McDonough County at 40°25′31″N 90°47′32″W / 40.42528°N 90.79222°W / 40.42528; -90.79222 (40.425174, -90.792339). U.S. Route 136 passes through the center of town as Macomb Street and North Street, leading northeast 7 miles (11 km) to Macomb, the county seat, and west 19 miles (31 km) to Carthage. Illinois Route 110/336, a four-lane divided highway, bypasses Colchester to the south, joining US 136 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of the city.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Colchester has a total area of 1.15 square miles (2.98 km), all land.

Argyle Lake State Park is 2 miles (3 km) north of Colchester.