Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium

Built in 1918. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

From the record

“The Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium, also known as City Auditorium and the Community Center, is a historic building located in Hawarden, Iowa, United States. The structure is an example of Progressivism, popular throughout the United States from the 1890s through the 1920s.”
Wikipedia article Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 4 National Register listings published here for Sioux County · listed in 2009 · category: Building · built in 1918, by William L. Steele.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 715 Central Ave., Hawarden, 51023
When was it listed? March 2009
Category. building
Township. Logan township
When was it built? 1918
Architect. William L. Steele
National Register reference number. 09000107 - 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

9 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium between 2012 and 2018, burning about 158 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None was 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	3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3
Smoking	1
Equipment and vehicle use	1
Natural	1

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
19 May 2014	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.5 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	ALPENA
30 April 2018	Natural	90 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
26 April 2015	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
22 April 2014	Debris and open burning	60 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
19 April 2014	Smoking	under an acre	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
31 March 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	GRASS FIRE
26 March 2014	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
14 March 2015	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	GRASS FIRE

Every fire recorded in Sioux County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium: 10 past producers, 4 producers. 4 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.

Site	Commodity	Status
Chatsworth Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Harkness	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Hawarden	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Hawarden Pit & Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Johnson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
L G Everist	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
L G Everist	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Sioux-Armstrong Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Sioux-Shoemaker Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Sioux County

Storms near this property

60 of 68 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hawarden, the town this property stands in, in 68 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 28 thunderstorm wind, 25 hail, 10 flood, 3 flash flood. 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
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	$500,000	no account filed
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	$200,000	no account filed
March 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	$100,000	Thunderstorm winds destroyed a snack shack. The winds also caused roof and siding damage to several homes and businesses, with some of the damage due to tree debris becoming embedded in buildings. The winds blew out windows in several buildings, and caused widespread tree damage.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds rolled a semi truck and crumpled a storage tank.
October 1998	Lightning	Hawarden	$30,000	no account filed
September 2019	Flood	Hawarden	$10,000	After excessive two-day rainfall during September 10-12 (7.81 inches at Dell Rapids, generally 3 to 4 inches around Sioux Falls, 4.72 inches at Canton), the Big Sioux River above Hawarden (gage site HWDI4) reached the third highest stage on record of 12.33 feet above flood stage on September 15. Significant amounts of the agricultural flood plain were inundated, and numerous roads were closed including South Dakota Highway 46, Iowa Highway 10 and South Dakota county road 13.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	$10,000	Thunderstorms winds caused tree damage and minor damage to buildings.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds of unknown speed blew down several trees and numerous large branches. One large tree fell on a car.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	$1,000	Several three inch branches were broken off trees. Property damage costs are rough estimates.
June 2025	Hail	Hawarden	-	Hail was accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Trees were knocked down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Several large trees were downed by thunderstorm winds in Hawarden.
July 2023	Hail	Hawarden	-	Hail was mainly pea-sized, with several stones as large as nickels.
July 2023	Hail	Hawarden	-	Hail up to quarter size fell in the southwest portions of Hawarden.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts downed several trees and blew shingles off of a roof.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	The roof to the bus barn at West Sioux High School was removed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2021	Hail	Hawarden	-	Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
August 2021	Hail	Hawarden	-	Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Large tree branch down.
July 2019	Hail	Hawarden	-	Mostly pea size hail with a few to quarter size.
July 2018	Flood	Hawarden	-	Crop and pasture land near the Big Sioux River was severely impacted as river levels climbed to 3.7 feet above flood stage above Hawarden (gage site HWDI4) on July 7.
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Trees and power lines down all across town.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees.
May 2014	Hail	Hawarden	-	Large hail was accompanied by damaging winds.
May 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage. The winds were accompanied by large hail.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down.
May 2012	Hail	Hawarden	-	Large hail was accompanied by estimated 45 mph wind gusts.
May 2011	Flood	Hawarden	-	Heavy rain caused the lower Big Sioux River to rise again above flood stage, after spring snowmelt flooding subsided. Minor to briefly moderate flooding was reported with some lowlands and a few roads flooded. The river crested at 2.2 feet above flood stage at Hawarden on May 28th.
June 2011	Flood	Hawarden	-	Minor to moderate flooding continued on the lower Big Sioux River in June, with some lowlands including some farmland and a few roads flooded. The river fell below flood stage for a few days in the middle of June, rose again due to heavy rains, and began to fall again before the end of the month. The river crested at 3.6 feet above flood stage at Hawarden on June 24th.
May 2011	Tornado (EF0)	Hawarden	-	A brief tornado was observed to pick up dust, but caused no reported damage.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	A gustnado was observed by emergency management.
April 2010	Flood	Hawarden	-	Continued flooding of the Big Sioux River from March abated and ended in early April, with minor flooding affecting mainly fields adjacent to the river. Starting the month at near a foot above flood stage at Hawarden, the river fell below flood stage on April 4th.
June 2010	Flash Flood	Hawarden	-	Heavy rain caused flash flooding of several roads in the town of Hawarden.
June 2009	Hail	Hawarden	-	Large hail caused an unknown amount of crop damage.
February 2009	Flood	Hawarden	-	Minor flooding along the Big Sioux River resulted from the melting of snow.
June 2008	Flood	Hawarden	-	Heavy rain caused moderate to major flooding along the Big Sioux River. Extensive flooding of farmland and flooding of some county roads was reported. The amount of damage to crops and to farmland from erosion was not known. The river crested at Hawarden at 20.6 feet, or 5.6 feet above flood stage.
July 2008	Hail	Hawarden	-	Large hail fell at Oak Grove State Park.
April 2007	Flood	Hawarden	-	Heavy rain at the end of march led to minor to locally moderate flooding along the Big Sioux River. Lowlands including some farmland near the river were flooded.
March 2007	Flash Flood	Hawarden	-	Heavy rainfall estimated at around 3 inches caused flooding of roads and basements.
June 2005	Hail	Hawarden	-	Large hail caused an unknown amount of damage to windows, vehicles, and crops.
June 2005	Hail	Hawarden	-	Large hail, driven by 45 mph winds, caused an unknown amount of damage to vehicles, windows, and crops.
June 2005	Flash Flood	Hawarden	-	Heavy rain caused flooding of several roads and other low lying areas in town.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down.
April 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	A farm was damaged by thunderstorm winds. The amount of damage was not known.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage. The amount of damage was not known.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, with numerous small branches blown down.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	Thunderstorm winds blew several trees down.
July 1995	Hail	Hawarden	-	Hail of unknown size caused crop damage north of Hawarden. The damage was aggravated by strong winds occurring with the hail.
June 2024	Hail	Hawarden	-	no account filed
July 2021	Hail	Hawarden	-	no account filed
July 2017	Hail	Hawarden	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Hawarden	-	no account filed
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	no account filed
May 2008	Hail	Hawarden	-	no account filed
June 2007	Hail	Hawarden	-	no account filed
April 2006	Flood	Hawarden	-	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	no account filed
May 2006	Flood	Hawarden	-	no account filed
June 2006	Hail	Hawarden	-	no account filed
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Hawarden	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sioux County

Map coverage status

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.

Listed places nearby

1 within 8 miles

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
	Charles M. and Emma M. Fischer Fleshman House	0.3 miles	1993

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 09000107 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Sioux County	All 4 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

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.