Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
“Modale School and Masonic Hall is a historic building located in Modale, Iowa, United States. Built in 1880, the two-story frame vernacular form structure served as the community's school building.”
Wikipedia article Modale School and Masonic Hall, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 13 National Register listings published here for Harrison County · listed in 2014 · 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 12 fires within 5 miles of Modale School and Masonic Hall between 2006 and 2018, burning about 194 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/undetermined | 7 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 19 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 55 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 June 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 June 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 April 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | MISSOURI VALLEY FIRE DEPT. |
| 6 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 19 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 18 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 March 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Modale, the town this property stands in, in 30 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 17 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | $5,000 | Thunderstorm wind damaged some farm equipment. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Modale | - | Public report of hail measured up to 1 inch in diameter in Modale, IA. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | An enhanced area of straight-line wind damage with a maximum speed of 107 mph created widespread damage across nearly 13 square miles. This damage was located 4 miles west of Modale where center pivots were overturned. The damage extended eastward into the Loess Hills where numerous trees were snapped, uprooted and topped. Several power lines were downed in this area as well. Damage occurred to numerous grain bins in this area, but the most extensive and widespread damage was to trees throughout this area. |
| April 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Modale | - | This segment is a continuation of the EF-4 tornado that went through western Douglas and Washington Counties. Upon entering far southwestern Harrison County, the tornado moved across the Missouri River, crossing Highway 30 and the Union Pacific Rail line about one mile east of the Iowa-Nebraska state line. Several trees were snapped and broken, producing EF-0 damage. The tornado then moved across bottomland and agricultural areas, snapping or uprooting several trees and tipping center pivots, producing EF-0 to EF-1 damage. The tornado dissipated approximately 2 miles southwest of Modale, Iowa at 4:29 pm CDT. Peak estimated winds during this segment of the tornado track were estimated at 90 miles per hour. The peak width of the tornado during its track in Harrison County was estimated to be around 350 yards, with an average width of 100 yards. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | Some tree limbs and a power pole were downed in the Modale area by thunderstorms winds estimated at around 60 mph. The time was estimated by radar. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Modale | - | Nickel size hail fell for around 10 minutes. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at close to 60 mph downed a large tree branch in the area. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at close to 60 mph ripped the top part of a grain bin off near Modale spilling the corn stored inside. |
| August 2009 | Hail | Modale | - | A few hailstones a bit larger than golf ball-size fell in the Modale area. The larger hailstones were relatively few and far between. |
| April 2007 | Hail | Modale | - | The hail caused some minor vehicle damage in the area. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at least at 60 mph broke large tree branches and downed a few old trees in town. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | Large tree branches were reported down. |
| April 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph overturned a center pivot and bent a few signs south of Modale. |
| April 2005 | Hail | Modale | - | Nickel size hail was accompanied by very heavy rain and strong winds south of Modale. There was a public report of 4.2 inches of rain with this storm which left "considerable" amounts of standing water yet that next morning. |
| October 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Modale | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts of 55 to 60 mph accompanied hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter. The hail damaged soybean crops and killed 200 pheasants in a hunting preserve. |
| June 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Modale | - | Harrison county fire and rescue reported a brief tornado touchdown near Modale. The tornado was from the same supercell which produced the reported tornado near Tekamah, Nebraska earlier that hour. This tornado also touched down in open country and caused no apparent damage. |
| October 2000 | Hail | Modale | - | A hailstorm, with some stones approaching one inch in diameter, destroyed around 500 acres of soybean crops near Modale. |
| June 1999 | Flash Flood | Modale | - | Rainfall around 7 inches in Modale flooded county roads in the area. |
| July 1999 | Flash Flood | Modale | - | Two to 3.7 inches of rain in 40 minutes flooded county roads and town streets from Missouri Valley to northwest of Modale. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| October 2002 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Modale | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Hail | Modale | - | 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.
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 13001136 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Harrison County | All 13 listed properties in this county. |
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