BlockFrom the record
19 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Montgomery County, Iowa
28 topographic sheets cover 17 settlements here, and 19 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 149 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 19 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 15 buildings, 3 districts and 1 structure.
- 1 of the 19 listings was added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 17 populated places in this county; 17 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
19Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
Wildfire, 2006 to 2020
20 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 20 of them, burning about 423 acres. None started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 120 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 January 2013 | Debris and open burning | 75 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 24 January 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 March 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 19 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 November 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 25 January 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1950 to 2026
60 of 278 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 278 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 1 injury and about $3,243,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 122 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 91 |
| Tornado | 30 |
| Flood | 17 |
| Flash Flood | 8 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1964 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 1 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Red Oak | $1,130,000 | Heavy rain for the second consecutive night caused flash flooding along Red Oak Creek in Red Oak as the creek backed up because of high flows on the East Nishnabotna River. Authorities attempted to evacuate nearly 1,600 people, beginning around 300 am local time, although not every attempt was successful. The water caused extensive damage to many basements in town, but no serious injuries were reported. In total an estimated 50 homes were damaged by flooding. |
| July 1990 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1987 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1983 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1974 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| March 2019 | Flood | Elliott | $237,000 | Heavy rain and rapid snow melt caused the East Nishnabotna River and Red Oak Creek to flood. Several roads were closed due to high water across Montgomery County. Multiple roadways near Stennett were overcome by water on the 14th. The west side of Coburg was under water. |
| May 2007 | Flood | Elliott | $150,000 | Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th, caused the East Nishnabotna River to flood across Montgomery county. The flooding closed Highway 34 near Red Oak for a while on Monday May 7th. The East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak crested around 26.4 feet about 9 am cdt on May 7th. Flood stage is 18 feet. The river at Red Oak first crossed flood stage around 6 am cdt May 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until late morning on the 8th.|Besides the flood waters closing Highway 34 near Red Oak, Highway 48 around Elliott was also closed due to flooding. In addition, farmland and many county roads in the area were flooded from around Elliott through Red Oak and toward Coburg. It was estimated that damage to county roads alone amounted to $150,000. |
| August 1999 | Flash Flood | Wales | $100,000 | Heavy rain caused flash flooding of many streets and county roads in Montgomery county. Among the damage reported was a retaining wall collapsing from high water just west of Wales. An unofficial 14.5 inches of rain was measured in 2 separate 5 gallon straight sided buckets by a farmer near Wales. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grant | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Red Oak | $50,000 | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Tornado (F1) | Red Oak | $45,000 | This tornado appeared to have been spawned by the same storm that produced the f0 tornado to its south. This storm damaged a pig farm where several metal buildings were destroyed. An RV was overturned and pushed into a small A frame house destroying it. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Stanton | $30,000 | Severe crop damaged was reported as golf ball-size hail pelted the area. Two funnel clouds were also sighted. |
| May 1987 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 1964 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1959 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1957 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 1957 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1953 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Tornado (F0) | Villisca | $10,000 | This tornado was apparently the decaying part of a cyclic tornado which produced the long-lived and eventually strong tornado which initially touched down 2 miles northeast of Clarinda, trees and small outbuildings sustained the majority of damage from this tornado. |
| September 2014 | Flood | Stennett | $5,000 | A slow moving thunderstorm complex lead to heavy rainfall on the 9th causing the East Nishnabotna River to rise above flood stage around the Red Oak area. The river rose above flood stage during the early morning on the 10th, crested during mid afternoon and fell below flood stage during the evening. The flooding was minor and confined to low-lying areas. |
| October 2014 | Flood | Climax | $5,000 | Heavy rainfall in late September led to river flooding into early October along the East Nishnabotna River. The river rose to flood stage in the early morning of the 2nd, crested later that morning, and fell below flood stage in the mid afternoon. The flooding was minor and confined to low-lying areas along the river. |
| October 2014 | Flood | Climax | $5,000 | Heavy rainfall in late September led to river flooding into early October along the Nishnabotna River. The river rose to flood stage in the late evening of the 1nd, crested in the afternoon of the 2nd, and fell below flood stage that afternoon. The flooding was minor and confined to low-lying areas along the river. |
| October 2014 | Flood | Stennett | $5,000 | Heavy rainfall in late September led to river flooding into early October along the East Nishnabotna River. The river rose to flood stage in the afternoon on the 1st, crested in the evening, and fell below flood stage just after midnight on the 2nd. The flooding was minor and confined to low-lying areas along the river. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Red Oak | $5,000 | A very unstable airmass was over the central plains during the late afternoon hours. Lifted indices were in the -10 to -12 °C. range with convective available potential energy values around 5000 J-Kg-1. During the day, a weak cold front sank slowly south across Iowa. By the late afternoon hours it had become stationary along the southern Iowa border, extending into southern Nebraska. A fairly strong southerly flow of moist air impinged on the front during the late afternoon and evening hours. This aided in the formation of a mesoscale convective complex. Iowa was on the far northeast edge of the complex and thus severe weather was somewhat limited. There were reports of hail and high winds over the southwest quarter of Iowa. Much of the severe weather was over the extreme southwest counties. Hail was under an inch in diameter, while wind gusts were generally around 60 MPH with the stronger storms. During the middle evening hours, gusty winds developed over the northwest and west central counties of the state. It is believed these winds were the result of a rear inflow jet on the back side of the mesoscale convective complex. Winds profiler data tended to support this idea and fit with literature written on the subject. The winds blew from the east to southeast at 40 to 50 MPH at Sioux City and Little Sioux for about 2 hours. Winds returned to normal by midnight. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Red Oak | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 1993 | Hail | Red Oak | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 1959 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $2,500 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Flood | Red Oak | $2,000 | Heavy rain during the morning of June 27th caused flooding of the East Nishnabotna River near Red Oak. The river near Red Oak crested at around 22 feet during the late evening of June 27th, flood stage is 18 feet. The river was above flood stage near Red Oak from the afternoon of the 27th until the morning of the 28th. Minor flooding of agricultural lowlands was noted. |
| May 2011 | Flash Flood | Stanton | $1,000 | Persistent heavy rain producing thunderstorms caused flash flooding along the Tarkio River near Stanton. The flooding crossed Nature Avenue just north of Highway 34. A cooperative observer in the area reported that a little over 3 inches of rain fell in a 4 hour period during this time. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Elliott | $1,000 | Heavy rain prior to and including June 22nd caused the East Nishnabotna River near Red Oak to briefly go above its 18 foot flood stage. The river crested a little over 19 feet early in the evening of June 22nd. Minor flooding of agricultural lowlands was noted. |
| March 2026 | Hail | Elliott | - | Public mPING report of hail measured at 1.00 inch in diameter. |
| March 2026 | Hail | Elliott | - | Public mPING report of hail measured at 1.25 inch in diameter. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Personal weather station measured wind gust of 64 mph. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | Personal weather station measured wind gust of 58 mph. The wind damage occurred on the north side of a small thunderstorm complex moving through the area, where evaporative cooling of anvil precipitation likely bolstered downdraft strength. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tenville | - | Public report of a measured wind gust of 61 mph. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | A 69 miles per hour wind gust was measured by a personal weather station. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Wales | - | This brief spin-up tornado damaged outbuildings at a farmstead and numerous trees in far northwestern Montgomery County. The peak winds in this tornado were estimated to be at 74 miles per hour. The peak track width and average track width for this tornado were both 60 yards. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elliott | - | Emergency Management reported that the entire town of Elliot had lost power. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elliott | - | A 58 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Villisca | - | A 67 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Elliott | - | This brief spin-up tornado touched down near the intersection of 120th Street and O Avenues where it destroyed an outbuilding. The tornado then traveled northeast where it rolled over a camper and tore the roof off of a garage outbuilding. Peak winds in this tornado were estimated to be at 74 miles per hour. The track width of this tornado was 30 yards. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Elliott | - | The office received a report from the Montgomery County EM of golf ball sized hail. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Grant | - | The office received a public report of quarter sized hail. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | A personal weather station recorded a wind gust of 70 mph. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF2) | Villisca | - | This is a continuation of the Adams County EF-3 tornado as it came out of Page County. This tornado crossed into southern Montgomery County just east of the Montgomery-Page Street and O Avenue intersection. As the tornado continued to the northeast, it tracked through several homesteads snapping tree trunks and destroying multiple farm outbuildings. As the tornado crossed 250th Street, a radio tower was destroyed resulting in EF-2 damage. Further to the northwest at a homestead at the intersection of 240th Street and T Avenue, a home took a direct hit with the majority of its roof blown off in addition to the loss of several exterior walls on the second floor. Trees on the property were uprooted and farm outbuilding were completely destroyed and swept away. This is the strongest damage from this tornado in Montgomery County, rated EF-2 with estimated wind speeds of 130 mph. The tornado then crossed US Highway 71 three-quarters of a mile south of US Highway 34, causing damage to trees and destroying an attached garage to a residence. The walls of the garage were bolted to the foundation and had been completely swept away. The remaining house had significant roof damage, but all the walls remained. Afterwards, the tornado crossed US Highway 34 on the south side of the Hacklebarney Woods County Park. Here trees were snapped, small outbuildings were destroyed and a camping trailer was rolled on its side. The tornado then continued northeast, causing damage to outbuildings and snapping tree trunks as it crossed Vine Avenue. The tornado then crossed into Adams County (see Des Moines National Weather Service StormData) approximately two-thirds of a mile north of 210th Street. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Red Oak | - | Half-dollar sized hail was reported via mPING. |
| May 2024 | Funnel Cloud | Hawthorne | - | The Montgomery County Emergency Manager reported a funnel cloud developing to the southwest of Red Oak. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Coburg | - | Emergency management drone imagery showed evidence of a short-lived tornado track through fields in this area, damaging trees along a fenceline and near a home. Peak estimated winds in this tornado were 75 miles per hour, with a maximum width measured at 40 yards. The average width of this tornado was estimated to be 40 yards as well. |
| May 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Red Oak Muni Arpt | - | A tornado developed near Evergreen Avenue and tracked over open fields toward the northeast. Emergency management drone imagery shows the exact track of the tornado through the field, including where it turned toward the east for a bit. The tornado crossed the Nishnabotna River while turning slightly to the northeast again, causing substantial tree damage near the river. It then badly damaged a building at the city water facility, knocking out all doors and a wall. It continued to cause tree damage, but weakened quickly as it moved northeast, dissipating just prior to reaching Broadway Street in Red Oak. Peak estimated winds in this tornado were 107 miles per hour, with a max path width measured at 70 yards. The average path width was estimated to be 50 yards. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Grant | - | Emergency management reported quarter sized hail. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Coburg | - | Emergency management reported quarter sized hail. |
| July 2024 | Funnel Cloud | Grant | - | Emergency management reported a funnel cloud. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wales | - | A 59 miles per hour wind gust was measured on a personal weather station. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Stanton | - | Public reported 1-inch hail. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Stanton | - | Public reported 1-inch hail via mPing. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Red Oak Muni Arpt | - | Red Oak AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Villisca | - | Public reported trees blown down at the golf course. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stennett | - | A personal weather station measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elliott | - | Emergency manager reported estimated wind gusts of 70 mph. |
Mines and quarries
12 recordedThe Survey's mineral resources record lists 12 workings inside this county. 2 still produce and 10 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 7 |
| Stone, Crushed/Broken | 5 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Grant Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Red Oak Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Stennett Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Coburg Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Elliott Pit and Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Milo Foy Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Red Oak Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Villisca Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Every populated place in the county
17Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
-
Biddick
Pilot Grove township · 50864 · Wallin quadrangle
9 sheets, 1954 to 1985
No longer a settlement
-
Clarinda Junction
East township · 50864 · Stanton quadrangle
8 sheets, 1955 to 1993
No longer a settlement
-
Frankfort
Frankfort township · 51566 · Red Oak North quadrangle
9 sheets, 1954 to 1985
No longer a settlement
-
Morton Mills
Douglas township · 50864 · On Sevenmile Creek · Morton Mills quadrangle
9 sheets, 1954 to 1993
-
Red Oak
Red Oak township · 51566 · On Red Oak Creek · Red Oak North quadrangle
9 sheets, 1954 to 1985
-
Sciola
Washington township · 50864 · On Longs Branch · Morton Mills quadrangle
9 sheets, 1954 to 1993
-
Tenville
Washington township · 50864 · On Fultons Creek · Morton Mills quadrangle
9 sheets, 1954 to 1993
The vanished settlements of Montgomery County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.
Provenance
- Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
- Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
- Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
- 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.