Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
“The Fillmore Block, now known as the Dows Mercantile Store, is a historic building located in Dows, Iowa, United States. The Dows commercial district was destroyed in a fire in 1894.”
Wikipedia article Fillmore Block, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 9 National Register listings published here for Wright County · listed in 1998 · 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 mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Fillmore Block: 8 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dows Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Denger Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Dows Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Marlowe Oakland Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Meineke Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Patterson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Stuck Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dows, the town this property stands in, in 27 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 tornado, 2 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1995 | Hail | Dows | $75,000 | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $45,000 | Significant damage to an outbuilding on a farm near Dows. Images found via social media. |
| March 2005 | Tornado (F1) | Dows | $30,000 | Tornado destroyed a garage and ripped the roof off of a barn northwest of Dows. |
| April 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Dows | $20,000 | This tornado entered into Wright County from Hamilton County. The tornado immediately impacted a hog confinement building upon entering the county producing severe damage to the back third of one of the buildings with EF1 damage. The tornado continued northward before a more northwest movement occurred and dissipated shortly thereafter. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $20,000 | Semi blown over at mile post 154 on I-35. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $10,000 | Trained spotter reports wind gusts in excess of 60 MPH. Power out in Dows. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Dows | $10,000 | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $5,000 | A large tree branch was downed. It took out a power line and blocked a road. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2014 | Hail | Dows | $3,000 | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Dows | $2,000 | Report was received from a KCCI TV viewer. Time was estimated. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Dows | $2,000 | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Dows | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | - | Wind gust measured by an RWIS from the Iowa DOT. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | - | Williams RWIS report of 50 knot wind. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | - | Fire department reported large limbs down in town of around 6 to 8 inches in diameter. |
| September 2018 | Heavy Rain | Dows | - | Public reported heavy rainfall of 3.25 inches and still raining as of time of the report. |
| June 2017 | Funnel Cloud | Dows | - | Public reported a funnel cloud looking north of the truck stop near I-35 and Highway 20 interchange. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | - | Iowa DOT RWIS station measured a 60 mph wind gust. |
| July 2010 | Funnel Cloud | Dows | - | Small short-lived funnels extending less than half way down from the base of the cloud. |
| May 2010 | Hail | Dows | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dows | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Quasdorf Blacksmith and Wagon Shop | under 500 feet | 1994 |
 | Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Depot-Dows | under 500 feet | 1993 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 98001323 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Wright County | All 9 listed properties in this county. |
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