Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
“The Masonic Opera House, also known as the What Cheer Opera House, is a historic building located in What Cheer, Iowa, United States. It is a Romanesque Revival style building from 1893.”
Wikipedia article Masonic Opera House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 10 National Register listings published here for Keokuk County · listed in 1973 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Masonic Opera House between 2009 and 2017, burning about 123 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/undetermined | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 3408 170 ST, IA |
| 25 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 April 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | HWY 92 & 112TH AVE, IA |
| 12 April 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 210TH & ZEPHER AVE, IA |
| 14 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 March 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Masonic Opera House: 6 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Bituminous. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What Cheer Clay Products Co. Pits | Clay, Bituminous | Past Producer | ||
| Just Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Kreise Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Clay | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names What Cheer, the town this property stands in, in 17 storm reports between 1995 and 2018: 10 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 1 heavy rain, 1 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 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | $10,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew part of a roof off of the grandstand at the fairgrounds, tore part of a roof off a brick building on Main Street, downed power lines, and damaged numerous trees and branches in What Cheer, IA at 825 pm CDT June 18. |
| July 2003 | Hail | What Cheer | $10,000 | Trees also downed |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | $6,000 | Also reported by spotters; limbs down and tin roof off an outbuilding |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Heavy Rain | What Cheer | $2,000 | in 10 minutes |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | - | A public report of large trees down in What Cheer. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| April 2009 | Flood | What Cheer | - | Heavy rains during the last week of April resulted in the North Skunk River at Sigourney going above the moderate flood stage level of 18 feet on April 30th around 11 am. It crested around 19.17 feet around 8:45 pm April 30. It stayed in moderate flooding through the end of the month. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | - | Winds estimated to be 60 mph blew down some 2 inch diameter branches around 7:30 am on June 3 in the vicinity of What Cheer, IA. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some branches in What Cheer, IA at 608 pm July 27. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew down a 4 foot diameter tree across a street in What Cheer, IA at 610 pm July 27. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew down a 4 foot diameter tree across a street in What Cheer, IA at 610 pm July 27. |
| August 2006 | Hail | What Cheer | - | Penny size hail was reported at an insurance office. |
| May 2001 | Hail | What Cheer | - | Nickel to quarter sized hail reported by law enforcement. |
| May 2001 | Hail | What Cheer | - | Quarter sized hail reported by trained storm spotter. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | What Cheer | - | Trees and power lines downed. |
| May 2003 | Hail | What Cheer | - | 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bruce Goldfish Fisheries | 4.3 miles | 1982 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 73000733 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Keokuk County | All 10 listed properties in this county. |
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