Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
“The Modern News Building is a historic commercial building at 216 North Main Street in downtown Harrisburg, Arkansas. It is a single-story rectangular brick building, with a flat roof and simple styling.”
Wikipedia article Modern News Building, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 23 National Register listings published here for Poinsett County · listed in 1976 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Modern News Building between 1999 and 2020, burning about 313 acres in total. None started naturally. 4 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 | 8 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 August 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 August 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 26 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 13 June 2006 | Debris and open burning | 14 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 April 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 March 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 March 2006 | Debris and open burning | 11 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 March 2006 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 17 workings within 5 miles of Modern News Building: 11 unknowns, 5 producers, 1 past producer. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartholamu Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Bartholamu Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Holly Springs Pit and Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Laff Wesss | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Long John D & Son Gravel Co Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Harrisburg, the town this property stands in, in 41 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 18 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 7 flash flood, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2003 | Tornado (F1) | Harrisburg | $50,000 | The tornado touched down in Harrisburg and traveled east. The Harrisburg High School was damaged while commencement exercises were going on. Several houses in Harrisburg were damaged. A large barn was displaced off its foundation. Many trees were knocked down. |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $15,000 | The roof of the Harrisburg Central School was damaged. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Harrisburg | $15,000 | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $10,000 | Some trees were uprooted and power lines were knocked down. |
| December 2002 | Flash Flood | Harrisburg | $10,000 | Two homes were flooded near Harrisburg. |
| April 1997 | Flash Flood | Harrisburg | $6,000 | Nearly 6 inches of rain fell over northeast Arkansas. This produced flash flooding across Craighead, Poinsett and Mississippi counties. In Craighead counties, sixteen homes were damaged. In Poinsett county, sixteen homes were damaged in Harrisburg and forty-two homes were damaged in Truman. In Mississippi county, several homes were flooded in Blytheville and Gosnell. |
| March 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $5,000 | A few trees were blown down. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $5,000 | Some trees were blown down causing a power outage. |
| October 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $5,000 | Several trees were blown down. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $5,000 | A few trees were knocked down. |
| February 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $5,000 | A few trees were knocked down. |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $4,000 | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $2,000 | A few power lines were blown down. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Harrisburg | $1,500 | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $1,000 | Straight line winds knocked down trees on Highway 163 and power lines on Rayburn Road. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $1,000 | An aluminum shed was blown over. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $1,000 | Several large tree limbs were knocked down. |
| February 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 2002 | Hail | Harrisburg | $750 | no account filed |
| January 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | $500 | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Hail | Harrisburg | $100 | Several large tree limbs were knocked down. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Harrisburg | $50 | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Hail | Harrisburg | $50 | no account filed |
| February 1997 | Hail | Harrisburg | $20 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Harrisburg | $10 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Harrisburg | $10 | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Flash Flood | Harrisburg | - | Flash Flooding throughout Harrisburg resulted in multiple road closures. |
| August 2017 | Flash Flood | Harrisburg | - | Heavy rain resulted in flash flooding in Harrisburg with several streets flooded including Highway 14 east of town and Griffin Street. |
| March 2015 | Hail | Harrisburg | - | Nickel size hail near Harrisburg. |
| January 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | - | Straight line winds downed power lines and power poles blocking Highway 14 west of Harrisburg. Power lines were also knocked down a couple miles northwest of Greenfield. Some roofs were also damaged. |
| August 2009 | Flash Flood | Harrisburg | - | Heavy rain produced flash flooding around Harrisburg. Minor street flooding occurred as a result. |
| July 2009 | Flash Flood | Harrisburg | - | Heavy rain produced flash flooding north of Harrisburg. Highway 1, Highway 69, and Highway 163 were closed as a result. |
| March 2008 | Flash Flood | Harrisburg | - | Heavy rain produced flash flooding on Highway 1 South, south of Harrisburg. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | - | Some trees were knocked down. |
| March 2025 | Hail | Harrisburg | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Hail | Harrisburg | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Harrisburg | - | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Hail | Harrisburg | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Harrisburg | - | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Harrisburg | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Poinsett County Courthouse | 0.4 miles | 1989 |
 | Harrisburg Commercial Historic District | 0.5 miles | 2009 |
 | Bacon Hotel | 5.8 miles | 1995 |
| Hubbard Rice Dryer | 7.5 miles | 2004 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 76000447 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Poinsett County | All 23 listed properties in this county. |
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