Every year in August, Rockford, Illinois celebrates 8-1-5- Day. It is no coincidence that the local holiday falls on August 15 (8/15). This is on purpose, of course, and the residents are encouraged to shop local and enjoy all things Rockford.

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Whether you're a native of Illinois or have lived here long enough, you know more than just Rockford has the 815 area code. Thus, it's not a crime to shop local even if you're more than an hour from the forest city.

Do you know how far the 815/779 area code spans?

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Canva
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I was shocked to learn how far the 815 area code stretches across Illinois. I followed the map to see if anything stood out aside from the distance of the area code and a few places stood out. Two areas in Illinois are floating on their own individual "815" islands.

MapTiler, OpenStreetMap
MapTiler, OpenStreetMap
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That's Toluca, and I'm wondering why it's not part of the 309 area? Did the town make someone mad?

MapTiler, OpenStreetMap
MapTiler, OpenStreetMap
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What about Sheffield? Are these two spaces so special that the 815 area was like, "Nope, this is our territory!"

How far does the 815/779 area extend?

This is kind of crazy. I would bet Elon Musk's fortune that nobody would draw up the exact border of the 815/779 area code. There is no way.

Why do I make such assumptions? Sure, some of the markings would be easy considering it's most of Illinois' northern border and along the Mississippi River but it gets all wiggly and weird. And, did you know 815 extends all the way to the Indian border? I would have never guessed.

MapTiler, OpenStreetMap
MapTiler, OpenStreetMap
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