BlockBefore
Photograph of Onawa Public Library
Photograph by JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Onawa Public Library

Built in 1902 (Prairie School architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

From the record

“Onawa Public Library is located in Onawa, Iowa, United States. The public library began in 1902 when Judge Addison Oliver offered to buy the former Congregational Church for a library building, and funds to buy books and fixtures.”

Wikipedia article Onawa Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 11 National Register listings published here for Monona County · listed in 1979 · category: Building · built in 1902, Prairie School architecture, by Patton & Miller.

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

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. Iowa Ave. and 7th St., Onawa, 51040
  • When was it listed? October 1979
  • Category. building
  • City. Onawa city
  • When was it built? 1902
  • Architectural style. Prairie School architecture
  • Architect. Patton & Miller
  • National Register reference number. 79000917 - 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

8 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Onawa Public Library between 2006 and 2017, burning about 48 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
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
6 September 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 August 2012Smokingunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 August 2012Smokingunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 June 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined35 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 April 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 February 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 January 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Monona County

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Onawa Public Library: 1 unknown. None of them 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
MorvilleSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Monona County

Storms near this property

45 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Onawa, the town this property stands in, in 45 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 21 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 4 flash flood, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 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
July 2008Thunderstorm WindOnawa2 hurtThunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph blew some trees down on top of campers at the Lewis and Clark State Park, causing 2 minor injuries. Some campers in the area were also rolled due to the winds.
May 2007Flash FloodOnawa$1,440,000Rainfall of 3 to 4 inches produce flash flooding of streets in Onawa. Other creeks across the county flooded county roads causing road, bridge and levee damage.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindOnawa$40,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph caused roof damage to a business by displacing large air-conditioning units. The winds also blew the roof canopy off of a truck stop into cars in a parking lot.
August 1996Thunderstorm WindOnawa$12,000no account filed
August 2001Tornado (F0)Onawa$5,000A tornado touched down northwest of Onawa overturning a center pivot irrigation system according to a law enforcement official. The tornado was also captured on film from someone staying at the Lewis and Clark State Park. All of the pictures taken showed that the condensation portion of the tornado was very narrow. The path of the tornado crossed I-29 before lifting around 2 miles north northwest of Onawa.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindOnawa$5,000no account filed
March 2025Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Public estimated wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph, lasting nearly 10 minutes.
June 2024HailOnawa-A report from mPING of 3.5 inch hail.
July 2021HailOnawa-Emergency manager relayed reported of 1.5 inch hail.
July 2019Flash FloodOnawa-Three to five inches of rain caused some minor flooding on city streets.
August 2013Flash FloodOnawa-Heavy rain caused some minor flash flooding of a few streets in the Onawa area.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindOnawa-The brick front of a building facet at a car dealership was blown off and fell onto a couple of automobiles.
May 2012HailOnawa-Hail up to quarter-size fell south of Onawa.
June 2012Flash FloodOnawa-Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in a few hours caused flash flooding across several street in the Onawa area. However, damage was apparently minimal.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph downed trees in the Onawa area which blocked a few roads. Torrential rain also caused some brief street flooding in town.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at around 60 mph a little north of the Onawa area.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts around 60 mph knocked a large tree down blocking a road in Onawa. The winds also blew down power lines trapping a traveler on a highway near town for a while until electrical crews could move the lines.
February 2009HailOnawa-Hail up to 3/4 inches in diameter was reported on the west side of Onawa.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph knocked down a few trees up to 2 feet in diameter. Power lines were also downed in the vicinity.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph caused chimney damage to a house and downed a few tree limbs.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Estimated thunderstorm wind gusts.
April 2006Funnel CloudOnawa-Several cold-air, or non-thunderstorm funnel clouds were reported from around Onawa toward Mapleton. These very narrow funnels did not appear to touch the ground, and were not even associated with any precipitation. Occasionally more than 1 appeared at the same time. These funnels were observed on both sides of the Missouri River from south of Omaha toward the Onawa area and made the local news reports.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph caused scattered tree damage around town, including 1 tree limb that fell onto a law enforcement vehicle causing significant damage.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 mph broke or uprooted large trees, some up to 4 feet in diameter, from just west of Onawa to south of Blencoe. A large tree fell on a mobile home near Onawa.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gust estimated at around 60 mph by law enforcement.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Thunderstorm wind gusts downed power lines which briefly closed Interstate 29 north of Onawa.
October 2000HailOnawa-Hail...some as large as 1.5 inches in diameter, covered the ground near Onawa.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Widespread trees damage. Power lines downed.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindOnawa-Numerous trees downed.
September 2019HailOnawa-no account filed
March 2017HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2012HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2012HailOnawa-no account filed
April 2011HailOnawa-no account filed
August 2011HailOnawa-no account filed
August 2007HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2004HailOnawa-no account filed
July 2003HailOnawa-no account filed
June 2003HailOnawa-no account filed
May 2001HailOnawa-no account filed
August 2001HailOnawa-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindOnawa-no account filed
April 1998HailOnawa-no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindOnawa-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindOnawa-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Monona 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

2 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
Monona County Courthouseunder 500 feet1981
Newell A. Whiting House0.3 miles1990

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 79000917 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Monona CountyAll 11 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.