Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. 11 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1929.
From the record
“First Congregational Church is a historic church building at 165 East Mill Street in Porterville, California. The church was built in 1908 by Porterville's Congregationalists.”
Wikipedia article First Congregational Church (Porterville, California), CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 35 National Register listings published here for Tulare County · listed in 1999 · category: Building.
National Register reference number.98001553- the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Fires near this property
745 since 1992
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The
federal wildfire occurrence database
lists 745 fires within 5 miles of First Congregational Church
between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,125 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 344 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
Arson/incendiarism
344
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
201
Equipment and vehicle use
93
Misuse of fire by a minor
58
Smoking
23
Debris and open burning
14
Power generation/transmission/distribution
5
Recreation and ceremony
4
Railroad operations and maintenance
1
Firearms and explosives use
1
Natural
1
The most recent of
them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service
that recorded it.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
25 workings within 5 miles of First Congregational Church: 15 past producers, 4 producers, 3 occurrences, 2 prospects.
4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Magnesite, Chromium, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
Porterville, the town this property stands in, in 27 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 5 hail, 5 heavy rain, 5 wildfire, 4 thunderstorm wind.
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.
The Michael Fire had an unknown ignition near Chimney Peak in southeast Tulare County. It consumed 388 acres at a cost of $460K. No fatalities occurred nor were structures lost.
Eyewitness reports and subsequent interviews confirm a small F0 Tornado struck the Porterville Airport at noon. Two general aviation aircraft were destroyed, minor roof damage occurred to the airport administration buildings, fences were downed, and some minor farm structures were destroyed one-half mile east of the airport. One aircraft was tied down but was lifted from its tiedown chains. The tornado was seen one mile southwest of the field and moved northeast through the center of the airport. Heavy rain occurred on the airfield following the event.
The Albanita/Hooker Fire in the Sequoia National Forest was lightning ignited on September 3rd and then allowed to burn for resource management benefits. It consumed 4,483 acres by the end of October at an estimated cost of $150K. No injuries or fatalities were reported nor were any structures lost.
Thunderstorm wind (estimated at more than 37Kts) brought down powerlines and damaged the roof of an elementary school in Porterville late in the afternoon.
One of many thunderstorms on this day throughout the Central and South San Joaquin Valley resulted in an estimated rainfall rate of 2"/hour near Porterville in the SE San Joaquin Valley. Spotters and police reported street flooding from the downpour with two homes damaged due to the excessive water.
The Albanita/Hooker Fire was ignited September 3rd by lightning and allowed to burn as resource management burn until closed on the 8th of November. Its total cost was $150K and it consumed 4483 acres in the Sequoia National Forest.
The Albanita/Hooker Fire in Sequoia National Forest was lightning ignited on the 3rd. It burned 175 acres by the 30th as it was allowed to burn for resource benefits. No injuries were reported nor was any structure lost.
Hail damage to young vines, stone fruit, and deciduous crops. From the Tulare County Ag Commissioner some damage was reported in the vicinity of Porterville.
Spotter observed funnel to the WNW of Porterville High School. Classic 'V' shape about 1/3 of the way toward the ground. No damage occurred in the area.
United States Geological Survey topographic
sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then
testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
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.
Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
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.
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