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Photograph of Reeve Electric Association Plant
Photograph by Ann Sullivan-Larson, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Reeve Electric Association Plant

A National Historic Landmark. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

From the record

“The Reeve Electric Association Plant, now known as the REA Power Plant Museum, is a historic structure located near Hampton, Iowa, United States. In the 1930s only 10% of rural homes and farms in the United States had electricity.”

Wikipedia article Reeve Electric Association Plant, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 12 National Register listings published here for Franklin County · listed in 1990 · category: Building · a National Historic Landmark.

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

The listing

  • National Historic Landmark. The highest federal designation, held by about 2,600 places in the country against roughly 100,000 Register listings.
  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 5 structuress, 1 building, 1 site as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. RR 1, SW of Hampton, Hampton, 50441
  • When was it listed? April 1990
  • Category. building
  • Township. Reeve township
  • National Register reference number. 89002307 - 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

3 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Reeve Electric Association Plant between 2011 and 2012, burning about 3 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/undetermined2
Debris and open burning1

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
20 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesHWY 3 AND 122 SOUTH 1 MILE AND 1/4 MILE UNIT, IA
1 November 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
20 October 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesOLIVE AVE AND 110TH ST SOUTH OF HAMPTON, IA, IA

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Mines and quarries near this property

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Reeve Electric Association Plant: 4 producers, 3 past producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Heuberger PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wagner PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Geneva QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Heitland QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Hibness QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this property

60 of 74 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hampton, the town this property stands in, in 74 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 32 thunderstorm wind, 25 hail, 11 heavy rain, 4 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
June 1997Flash FloodHampton$200,000no account filed
August 2011Thunderstorm WindHampton$100,000Winds of 60 to 65 MPH produced widespread tree damage in the town of Hampton. Numerous trees and limbs were downed through town. Many location were without power due to branches falling on power lines.
June 1998FloodHampton$100,000no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindHampton$60,000no account filed
May 2017Thunderstorm WindHampton$50,000Public reported traffic poles downed and roof damage. Reported via social media.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindHampton$50,000Trained spotter reported power lines down along Highway 65 between Hampton and Sheffield. Also reported up to 12 inch diameter limbs down in Hampton.
June 1998FloodHampton$50,000no account filed
June 1998FloodHampton$50,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindHampton$40,000no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindHampton$30,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindHampton$30,000no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindHampton$25,000Trained spotter reported power lines down in the city.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindHampton$20,000High winds from a thunderstorms downed 14 trees, many uprooted.
July 2003HailHampton$20,000no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindHampton$15,000Numerous tree limbs down. Road department had to clear the roads.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindHampton$15,000no account filed
May 1996HailHampton$15,000no account filed
June 2014Flash FloodHampton$10,000At least 6 inches of water flowing cross portions of highway 3 in the Hampton area. flooding of farm fields approaching roads and highways.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindHampton$10,000Numerous branches down.
June 2010FloodHampton$10,000Highway 65 was closed north of Hampton near 180th St. due to water over the road from Otter Creek.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindHampton$10,000Tree damage was reported and corn was flattened on the west edge of Hampton near the fairgrounds.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindHampton$10,000no account filed
August 2004HailHampton$10,000no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindHampton$10,000no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindHampton$10,000no account filed
July 2019Thunderstorm WindHampton$5,000Emergency manager reported three large trees down in town and estimate 60 mph winds.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindHampton$5,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindHampton$5,000no account filed
August 2004HailHampton$5,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindHampton$5,000no account filed
May 2003HailHampton$5,000no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindHampton$5,000no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindHampton$5,000no account filed
May 2011HailHampton$3,000Quarter size hail was reported southeast of Hampton.
July 2003HailHampton$3,000no account filed
May 1999HailHampton$3,000no account filed
July 2019Thunderstorm WindHampton$2,000Public shared a picture of downed tree limbs, about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and tents ripped apart. Wind gusts were estimated to be between 50 and 60 mph.
July 2003HailHampton$2,000no account filed
May 2017HailHampton$1,000Public reported half dollar sized hail along with tree limbs up to 6 inches in diameter broken off.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindHampton$1,000no account filed
July 2003HailHampton$1,000no account filed
May 1993HailHampton$500no account filed
April 2025HailHampton-Golf ball hail occurring throughout Hampton.
April 2025HailHampton-Picture of numerous hailstones close to golf ball sized. Occurred over several minutes.
April 2025HailHampton-Report via mping.
September 2025HailHampton-Delayed report from mping.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindHampton-Trees and power lines down. Time estimated by radar.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindHampton-Public mping report of trees uprooted or snapped, roof damage.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindHampton-Hampton AWOS reported a gust of 63 knots.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindHampton-Hampton AWOS reported a gust of 63 knots.
June 2020Heavy RainHampton-Coop observer reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 2.70 inches.
June 2020Heavy RainHampton-Coop observer reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 2.70 inches.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindHampton-Hampton Municipal Airport AWOS recorded an 88 mph wind gust.
August 2018Heavy RainHampton-Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.17 inches over the last 24 hours.
June 2018Heavy RainHampton-Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.07 inches over the last 24 hours.
September 2018Heavy RainHampton-Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 3.70 inches over the last 24 hours.
September 2018Heavy RainHampton-Public reported heavy rainfall of 5.5 inches over the past 12 hours and 9.3 inches over the last 48 hours. They also reported basement flooding within their house.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindHampton-Public reported 6 inch tree branches down and some dime to quarter sized hail, and was getting bigger at the time.
May 2017HailHampton-Public reported some hail slightly larger than quarters.
May 2017HailHampton-KLMJ/KQCR-FM radio in Hampton reported quarter sized hail.

Every storm recorded in Franklin 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
Maysville Schoolhouse2.1 miles1981
Leander Reeve House3.6 miles1979
Dr. O. B. Harriman House3.8 miles1987
Franklin County Courthouse3.9 miles1976
H. E. Boehmler House4.0 miles1991
Franklin County G. A. R. Soldiers' Memorial Hall4.0 miles1991

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 89002307 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Franklin CountyAll 12 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.