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Photograph of Greater Second Street Historic District
Photograph by Jim Roberts, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Greater Second Street Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

From the record

“The Greater Second Street Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.”

Wikipedia article Greater Second Street Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 32 National Register listings published here for Wapello County · listed in 2016 · category: District.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Fires near this property

24 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Greater Second Street Historic District between 2002 and 2018, burning about 113 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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/undetermined14
Debris and open burning7
Smoking1
Arson/incendiarism1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
13 September 2002Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
4 August 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 August 2002Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
11 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
4 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
31 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
2 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
11 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Wapello County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 12 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 12 workings within 5 miles of Greater Second Street Historic District: 10 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Limestone, Dimension. 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
Bear Creek QuarriesLimestone, DimensionPast Producer
Can-Tex Industries Ottumwa PitClayProducer
Harrows Branch QuarriesLimestone, DimensionPast Producer
Old City QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Ottumwa Brick and Tile Co.ClayPast Producer
Wagner QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Materials Service PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Ottumwa PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rowell Farm PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Ulmer PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Wapello County

Storms near this property

60 of 165 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ottumwa, the town this property stands in, in 165 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 81 thunderstorm wind, 44 hail, 16 flash flood, 16 heavy rain. The reports record 10 injuries. 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
April 2014Thunderstorm WindOttumwa10 hurt, $100,000Thunderstorm wind damage was reported in the 1000 block of west Mary St. in Ottumwa. Two foot diameter trees blown over, flag poles were bent in half and a grain bin roof was removed and blown 200 yards.
March 2019Flash FloodOttumwa$300,000Flash flooding occurred on the north side of Ottumwa due to an ice jam on the Des Moines River. Water rapidly rose several feet flooding a campground and a few local residences. Some cars and campers were flooded.
June 2011Flash FloodOttumwa$300,000Harrows Creek was out of its bank and flowing across West Second Street. Cars were stranded on North Jefferson Street. A portion of the 1600 block of East Main Street was washed out by flood waters. Law enforcement closed the roads.
June 2000Flash FloodOttumwa$300,000no account filed
May 2013Flash FloodOttumwa$250,000Trained spotter reported flash flooding along 140th Ave on the north side of Ottumwa. Water moving down the road 1 to 2 feet deep.
April 2013Flash FloodOttumwa$200,000Ottumwa Police reported several roads and intersections in the city as impassible to cars.
May 2013Flash FloodOttumwa$200,000Spotter reports that flash flooding with water 2 to 5 feet deep swept down the street carrying logs and debris with it. At the bottom of the street there was a car in the water with a depth of 5 feet.
June 2010Flash FloodOttumwa$100,000Eight to 10 inches of water on several roadways.
August 2010Flash FloodOttumwa$100,000A trained spotter in Ottumwa reported water flowing through the streets deep enough to stall multiple vehicles. He also estimated 2 inches of rain in the last hour.
June 2008Flash FloodOttumwa$100,000Water from 6 inches to 3 feet deep was flooding about half of the south side of Ottumwa.
June 2008Flash FloodOttumwa$100,000Flash flooding was reported by the Ottumwa police and city management. Numerous cars stalled.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$50,000Trained spotter reported numerous tree limbs down on houses and powerlines. Time estimated from radar. An estimated 14 inch diameter tree was snapped near the base. Power was out in portions of town.
May 2013Flash FloodOttumwa$50,000Culvert washed out on Rock Bluff Road near 155th Ave.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$50,000Trees and power lines down in town.
October 2002Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$50,000no account filed
May 1998FloodOttumwa$50,000no account filed
June 1998FloodOttumwa$50,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$35,000no account filed
March 2017Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$30,000Law enforcement reported several trees down throughout town along with a roof off of a house on S. Madison Ave and a metal shed destroyed on 50th Street. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar.
September 2007Heavy RainOttumwa$30,000Heavy rainfall was reported overnight from KBIZ radio.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$30,000no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$25,000Chaser reported large trees down across roads just north of Ottumwa.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$25,000Larger than one foot diameter trees down. A light pole was also blown down. One large tree was snapped off on the trunk near the school.
June 2010Flash FloodOttumwa$25,000Highway 149 and Highland Park Road had water partially covering the roadway.
August 2010Flash FloodOttumwa$25,000Trained spotter reports water flowing over the road and blocking traffic near the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave and Jefferson Street.
August 2010Flash FloodOttumwa$25,000Six inches of flowing water across Eddyville Road. Cars stalled.
April 2007FloodOttumwa$25,000no account filed
May 2007FloodOttumwa$25,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$25,000no account filed
July 1998FloodOttumwa$25,000no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$20,000Public/Chaser report of trees down and debris 2 miles E of Ottumwa.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$20,000Spotter estimated wind gusts of 80 mph with reports of large tree limbs down in town.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$20,000no account filed
April 1996HailOttumwa$20,000no account filed
September 2018Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$15,000Public reported a tree down on a camper, with the roof buckled. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$15,000Law Enforcement reported power lines down in town.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$15,000Trained spotter reported telephone pole knocked over at intersection of Clay and Gateway. Wind gusts estimated at 60-65 mph.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$15,000Public reported multiple areas with power lines down. Photo posted on facebook.
June 2008Heavy RainOttumwa$15,000Street flooding was reported in Ottumwa. A number of intersections and low lying areas were under water, including the intersection of Jefferson and Main.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$15,000no account filed
May 2003Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$15,000no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$15,000no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000Public reported a large tree down over power lines.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000Large trees down.
June 2010Flash FloodOttumwa$10,000West snd St in Ottumwa was closed from the 1100 to 1500 block. Up to 2 feet of water was reported on Harrows Branch Road.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000House debris on Rutledge Rd and 120th.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000Some damage was reported in downtown Ottumwa, along with half inch diameter hail.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000Winds were estimated at 60 to 65 MPH in Ottumwa.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000Power outages reported in Ottumwa.
April 2010LightningOttumwa$10,000no account filed
April 2010HailOttumwa$10,000no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000no account filed
August 2006Flash FloodOttumwa$10,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000no account filed
May 2002HailOttumwa$10,000no account filed
May 2001HailOttumwa$10,000no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindOttumwa$10,000no account filed
October 2001HailOttumwa$10,000no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wapello 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

6 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
Benson Blockunder 500 feet1985
Benson Buildingunder 500 feet1995
First National Bank0.1 miles1995
U.S. Post Office0.1 miles1976
J.W. Garner Building0.1 miles2010
B'nai Jacob Synagogue0.2 miles2004

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 16000365 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Wapello CountyAll 32 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.