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Danish Lutheran Church

Built in 1887 (Gothic Revival). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

From the record

“Danish Lutheran Church is located in Alta, Iowa, United States. The first meeting of the Danish Lutheran church society was held on February 22, 1880, with 42 people as charter members.”

Wikipedia article Danish Lutheran Church (Alta, Iowa), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 10 National Register listings published here for Buena Vista County · listed in 2011 · category: Building · built in 1887, Gothic Revival.

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. 113 W. 4th St., Alta, 51002
  • When was it listed? November 2011
  • Category. building
  • Township. Nokomis township
  • When was it built? 1887
  • Architectural style. Gothic Revival
  • National Register reference number. 11000814 - 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

7 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Danish Lutheran Church between 2009 and 2018, burning about 60 acres in total. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Debris and open burning2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
29 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources200-580TH ST., IA
5 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 May 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 April 2018Debris and open burning4.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined45 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Buena Vista County

Mines and quarries near this property

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Danish Lutheran Church: 5 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Aurelia PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wetherell-Borklund PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Buena Vista County

Storms near this property

30 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alta, the town this property stands in, in 30 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 14 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2021Tornado (EF1)Alta$100,000The tornado which spun up 7 miles south-southwest of Aurelia continued into Buena Vista County at 1707CST near the intersection of 510th Street and 10th Avenue. The tornado continued northeast and lifted one mile south of the Buena Vista County Conservation Park at 1712CST. Along the track, the tornado caused siding and roof damage to outbuildings near 20th Ave and 490th Street, and removed walls of a machine shed along 480th Street west of 30th Avenue. Numerous wooden power poles were snapped along 470th and 460th Streets. The tornado was rated EF1 in both Cherokee and Buena Vista Counties. The average path width was 75 yards in Buena Vista County and the maximum estimated wind speed was 110 mph. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
July 2010Flash FloodAlta$50,000Heavy rain caused flash flooding of streets, local small creeks, and basements. A few homes and businesses were flooded. Some exhibits at the county fairgrounds were damaged when a building there was flooded.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindAlta$50,000no account filed
June 1994HailAlta$50,000no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindAlta$40,000Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, specifically in the towns of Alta, Rembrandt, Sioux Rapids, and Marathon. The winds also heavily damaged a hog barn just east of Sioux Rapids.
September 2004Thunderstorm WindAlta$10,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage at a cemetery, and moved a 20 inch tombstone 36 feet.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindAlta-Winds were measured by a personal weather station.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindAlta-Several large tree limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds downed a wooden power pole, which caused failure of several adjacent poles.
July 2023HailAlta-Row crops were badly damaged by hail up to golf ball size. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
June 2021HailAlta-Hail was accompanied by wind gusts to around 50 mph.
June 2021HailAlta-Considerable dime- to nickel-sized hail fell during a five-minute period accompanied by 40 to 50 mph winds. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Alta-A brief tornado, one of two close together, caused no reported damage.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Alta-A brief tornado, one of two close together, caused no reported damage.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including up to 3 inch diameter branches blown down.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including 2 to 3 inch diameter branches blown down.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including at least one tree blown down.
August 2002Flash FloodAlta-Heavy rainfall of at least five and a half inches caused extensive flooding of roads, basements, and other low areas.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous trees blown down.
April 2026HailAlta-no account filed
June 2023HailAlta-no account filed
June 2020HailAlta-no account filed
September 2007Thunderstorm WindAlta-no account filed
March 2006HailAlta-no account filed
April 2004HailAlta-no account filed
May 2004HailAlta-no account filed
July 2003HailAlta-no account filed
June 2001HailAlta-no account filed
June 1998HailAlta-no account filed
May 1998HailAlta-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Buena Vista 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

5 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 PropertyDistance Listed
Storm Lake Public Library4.0 miles1983
Illinois Central Passenger Depot-Storm Lake5.6 miles1990
Lewis "Lew" J. Metcalf Residence5.6 miles2026
Harker House5.7 miles1990
Storm Lake High School5.9 miles2017

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 11000814 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Buena Vista CountyAll 10 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.