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Photograph of Lake City Public Library
Photograph by Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Lake City Public Library

Built in 1889 (Neoclassical architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

From the record

“The former Lake City Public Library is a historic structure located in Lake City, Iowa, United States. Efforts to establish a library began as early as 1889 when community socials were held to raise money for books.”

Wikipedia article Lake City Public Library (Lake City, Iowa), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 13 National Register listings published here for Calhoun County · listed in 1990 · category: Building · built in 1889, Neoclassical architecture.

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

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 120 N. Illinois St., Lake City, 51449
  • When was it listed? August 1990
  • Category. building
  • Also known as. Lake City Iowa MPS
  • City. Lake City city
  • When was it built? 1889
  • Architectural style. Neoclassical architecture
  • National Register reference number. 90001209 - 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

1 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Lake City Public Library in 2010, burning about 1 acre 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/undetermined1

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
29 March 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources1301 WEST MAIN STREET, IOWA

Every fire recorded in Calhoun County

Mines and quarries near this property

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Lake City Public Library: 4 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. 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
Johnson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Otto PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Packer PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Calhoun County

Storms near this property

30 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake City, the town this property stands in, in 30 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 13 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 heavy rain. 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
July 2021Tornado (EF3)Lake City$2,500,000This was the first and strongest tornado of the day. It developed west southwest of Lake City and produced tree and power line damage. The tornado moved into and across the southern portion of Lake City. Imagery from UAV's and chasers show that the tornado was multi-vortex as it passed through the city. Up to EF2 damage occurred as it passed through town. As the tornado moved east of the town, it began to consolidate into a larger funnel and strengthen. It passed through a farmstead producing considerable damage to the farmhouse and out buildings with EF3 damage noted on the house. The tornado continued for a few more miles and impacted a confinement facility before lifting to the northwest of Lohrville. Fortunately, no injuries or deaths occurred with this tornado.
May 2015Tornado (EF1)Lake City$1,000,000Tornado moved from Carroll County into Calhoun County. It moved across the western side of Lake City, doing EF1 damage to houses and the high school. It remained in rural areas of Calhoun County for the remainder of it's path, broadening as it went along. The tornado lifted shortly before crossing Highway 20.
May 1998HailLake City$750,000Trees damaged by the hail
May 2015HailLake City$250,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindLake City$40,000no account filed
May 1998HailLake City$25,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLake City$15,000Law enforcement received a call from a trained spotter of 60 to 70 MPH wind gusts. Trees were down and the power was out in Lake City.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLake City$5,000no account filed
September 2006Thunderstorm WindLake City$5,000no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindLake City$5,000no account filed
May 1998HailLake City$5,000no account filed
August 1993Thunderstorm WindLake City$5,000no account filed
May 2006HailLake City$2,000no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindLake City$2,000no account filed
August 1995HailLake City$2,000no account filed
October 1994HailLake City$2,000no account filed
June 2011HailLake City$1,000Hail along with extremely heavy rain.
April 2007HailLake City$1,000no account filed
May 2006HailLake City$1,000no account filed
May 1998HailLake City$1,000no account filed
February 1999HailLake City$500no account filed
May 1998HailLake City$500no account filed
August 2023Thunderstorm WindLake City-Tree down and blocking Highway 175 in Lake City.
June 2019Heavy RainLake City-Sheriff Deputy from Calhoun County measured 4.8 inches of heavy rainfall from his rain gauge. Location is estimated, but reported to be 3 miles south of Lake City along the North Raccoon River. Beginning time estimated.
June 2019Flash FloodLake City-Calhoun County Sheriff reported water over the road at the junction of Highway 4 and Highway 175 east of Lake City.
August 2018Heavy RainLake City-Mesonet station recorded heavy rainfall of 4.22 inches over the last 24 hours.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindLake City-Home weather station recorded 62 mph wind gust.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindLake City-Trained spotter reported high winds around 60 mph.
August 2006Tornado (F0)Lake City-Brief touchdown of landspout tornado.
May 1998Tornado (F0)Lake City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Calhoun 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
Lake City Community Memorial Buildingunder 500 feet1990
Lake City Water Standpipe0.1 miles1990
Central School0.2 miles1985
Peter and Mary Smith House0.2 miles1990
Chicago and North Western Office Building/Passenger Depot-Lake City0.3 miles1990
Gen. Cass and Belle Smith House0.3 miles1990

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 90001209 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Calhoun CountyAll 13 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.