Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
“Jesse Wasson Building, also known as the Knights of Pythias Lodge and the K. Building, is a historic building located in La Porte City, Iowa, United States.”
Wikipedia article Dr. Jesse Wasson Building, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 51 National Register listings published here for Black Hawk County · listed in 1999 · 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 4 workings within 5 miles of Dr. Jesse Wasson Building: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Froning Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Bagenstos Sand & Gravel Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Tom Zeien Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names La Porte City, the town this property stands in, in 28 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 5 heavy rain, 1 flash 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $300,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Flash Flood | La Porte City | $150,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Tornado (F1) | La Porte City | $125,000 | Tornado with intermittent track over open country. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $100,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $75,000 | Aluminum machine shed was ripped off its foundation and blown anticyclonically north and east, destroying it. Debris from the shed continued in an anticyclonic path and was blown southward and wrapped into a grove of trees 100 feet to the east of the original location of the shed. Door from the machine shed was blown 15 feet into a neighboring corn field. Cattle barn 120 feet to the west was shifted south by 15 feet. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $50,000 | no account filed |
| April 2000 | Hail | La Porte City | $40,000 | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Flood | La Porte City | $25,000 | Water was over Highway 218 near La Porte City. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 2000 | Hail | La Porte City | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $5,000 | The Black Hawk County EM reported tree and crop damage. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $5,000 | Tree branches of 8 to 10 inches in diameter were blown down, blocking the road at Iowa and Sycamore. Reported by KWWL TV. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $5,000 | Thunderstorms formed along a stationary frontal boundary across Iowa. Although they were widespread, there was little in the way of severe weather associated with them. One inch diameter IOWA Cont'd hail was reported on the south side of Waterloo. High winds were also reported in the area. Northeast of La Porte City saw high winds. A grove of maple trees, 20 in all, was downed by the high winds. The average diameter of the trees was about one foot. The storms produced heavy rainfall. A small area of east central Tama County into west central Benton County received very heavy rainfall. Three to six inches of rain fell in a 3 hour period in that area. A check with officials in the county indicated there was no significant flooding from the rains however. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | La Porte City | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | $2,000 | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | - | Measured by a personal weather station. Reports of trees down in town as well. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | - | Wind gust report from personal weather station. |
| May 2024 | Hail | La Porte City | - | Hail broke windshield of car. Strong wind and heavy rain at the time. |
| July 2024 | Hail | La Porte City | - | Relayed by broadcast media of 1-inch hail. |
| November 2022 | Heavy Rain | La Porte City | - | A 24 hour rain total of 2.14 inches. |
| June 2020 | Heavy Rain | La Porte City | - | Personal weather station recorded 4.23 inches of rainfall over the last 24 hours. |
| June 2020 | Heavy Rain | La Porte City | - | Public weather station recorded 4.23 inches of rainfall over the last 24 hours. |
| June 2020 | Heavy Rain | La Porte City | - | Personal weather station reported a 24 hour rain total of 3.92 inches. |
| June 2020 | Heavy Rain | La Porte City | - | Mesonet station reported a 24 hour rain total of 5.94 inches thus far. Still raining at time of report. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Porte City | - | Trained spotter reported estimated 60 mph wind gusts just northwest of La Porte City on Highway 218 near Eagle Road. |
| June 2017 | Hail | La Porte City | - | Public reported quarter sized hail via social media. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | La Porte City Station | under 500 feet | 1979 |
 | LaPorte City Town Hall and Fire Station | 0.1 miles | 1977 |
 | Syndicate Block | 0.1 miles | 2005 |
 | John N. and Mary McQuilken House | 0.2 miles | 1994 |
 | Chapple and Young Block | 0.2 miles | 2002 |
 | Clement B. Gingrich House | 0.2 miles | 1996 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 99001239 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Black Hawk County | All 51 listed properties in this county. |
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