BlockFrom the record
One of 17 National Register listings published here for Owen County · listed in 2020 · category: District.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Spencer Courthouse Square Historic District
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
The listing
- Address. Roughly Franklin, Washington, Market and Main Sts. between Montgomery, Morgan, Harrison, and Jefferson Sts., Spencer, 47635
- When was it listed? August 2020
- Category. district
- National Register reference number. 100005510 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.
Storms near this property
60 of 87 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spencer, the town this property stands in, in 87 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 31 thunderstorm wind, 21 hail, 19 flood, 10 flash flood. The reports record 2 deaths and 7 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | Tornado (EF3) | Spencer | 2 killed, 2 hurt, $1,566,000 | The rotating supercell thunderstorm tracked over the town of Spencer before spawning a second, violent EF3 tornado, that first tracked through extreme northeastern Owen County. The tornado touched down in the McCormick's Creek State Park Campground Loop B, where EF2-intensity winds produced extensive tree damage. About 400 yards east the tornado impacted many campers at Campground Loop A, where two campers were killed and two others were injured. About 1.25 miles to the east-northeast further EF2-intensity damage occurred at Concord Road where large sections of a home's roof were removed while cars where crushed, rolled and thrown; here along the circulation's southern side the roof was blown off of a mobile home as it slid off its block piers, yet remained upright, consistent with high-end EF1 intensity winds.||The tornado intensified to EF3 strength as it neared the Owen-Monroe County line, with two barns 300-500 feet west of North County Line Road completely gone as their debris was lofted a quarter mile into Monroe County; a new farm combine weighing about 12 tons and other tractor implements were lofted and thrown 50 yards; debarking of trees also began near County Line Road, with only stubs of largest branches remaining, from the tornado's strongest winds of 153 mph. Less intense damage was again observed south of the path's center near the county line where unanchored outbuildings were destroyed by collapsed walls; and single-family homes experienced minor loss of roofing and broken glass, consistent with EF1-intense winds. The tornado maintained EF3 intensity while crossing into Monroe County. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | 5 hurt | Over 100 trees were toppled at McCormick Creek State Park injuring 5. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Spencer | $50,000,000 | Flooding occurred along the White River in Owen County, including near Spencer, due to heavy rain. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $250,000 | Numerous trees downed by thunderstorm wind gusts in Spencer and across the southern portions of the county. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Spencer | $200,000 | Spencer had multiple flood damaged homes. State Roads 43, 46, and 67 were all closed. United States 231 was also closed. Roads and bridges were washed out. Water was over railroad tracks near Gosport. Cars and golf carts were under water. Over 60 roads were washed out. Campers were stranded. |
| March 2006 | Flood | Spencer | $100,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $15,000 | Trees were reported down across much of the county due to thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| March 2008 | Flood | Spencer | $15,000 | Flooding occurred along the White River in Owen County, including near Spencer, due to heavy rain. Multiple roads were closed due to high water. |
| March 2008 | Flood | Spencer | $15,000 | Flooding occurred along the White River in Owen County, including near Spencer, due to heavy rain and snow melt. |
| June 2007 | Flood | Spencer | $11,000 | Rainfall of 2.23 inches fell in 1 hour causing streets, including West Morgan Street and Vandalia Avenue, to flood in Spencer. Flooding also caused water damage to two businesses. |
| January 2008 | Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | Flooding occurred along the White River in Owen County, including near Spencer, due to heavy rain and snow melt. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $10,000 | Several reports of damage were received in and around Spencer. A power line fell onto a moving vehicle. The driver reportedly drove on and was not injured. A tree was down near Hidden Valley Estates. A tree fell on top of a 1997 Ford Expedition on North Montgomery Street. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | Law enforcement reporting much of the town of Spencer under water with other areas of the county also experiencing flash flooding due to heavy rainfall. |
| January 2007 | Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | The White River in Owen County flooded for much of January. Crests were as high as 8.1 feet above flood stage. |
| March 2007 | Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | The White River flooded in Owen County. Crests were nearly 4.5 feet above flood stage. |
| March 2007 | Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | The White River flooded in Owen County. Crests were over 4 feet above flood stage. |
| March 2007 | Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | The White River flooded in Owen County. Crests were nearly 7 feet above flood stage. |
| March 2006 | Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | A car was caught in water on State Road 46 at Rattlesnake Creek. |
| December 2006 | Flood | Spencer | $10,000 | The White River flooded in Owen County. The river crested at over 5 feet above flood stage. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees in Spencer. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $5,000 | Trees downed due to thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| May 2008 | Flood | Spencer | $5,000 | Flooding occurred along the White River in Owen County, including near Spencer, due to heavy rain. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Spencer | $5,000 | Water was flowing over roads in Spencer and northwest Owen County due to heavy rainfall. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Spencer | $5,000 | Roadways were covered and previous flooding conditions were exacerbated due to heavy rainfall that caused renewed flash flooding. |
| July 2008 | Flood | Spencer | $5,000 | Excessive recent rains caused flooding on the White River in Owen county, including near Spencer. |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Spencer | $2,000 | Around a foot of water was running over State Road 46 in Spencer due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall. Some cars were stalled. Also several county roads were also flooded. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Spencer | $1,000 | Water was nearly covering all of State Route 46 through most of Spencer due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall. Most intersections were flooded with water over the curbs. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $1,000 | A tree was reported down at the intersection of Main Street and Morgan Street due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $1,000 | Trees blown down. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | $1,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down trees in and around Spencer. |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Spencer | $800 | Flash flooding was observed in portions of Spencer, where water was curb-deep or slightly higher due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall. Water was beginning to recede at the time of the report. Rainfall of 1.7 inches fell in two hours in this location. |
| December 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | A 61 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured by the public. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Spencer | - | Thunderstorm hail as large as softballs in Spencer. |
| February 2009 | Flood | Spencer | - | Flooding occurred along the White River in Owen County, including in and near Spencer, due to heavy rain. It affected county roads and agricultural land. |
| June 2009 | Heavy Rain | Spencer | - | Between the hours of 7 and 8 AM EDT, 1.3 inches of rain fell due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall. Some local flooding was also observed. |
| May 2009 | Flood | Spencer | - | Minor flooding occurred along the White River in/near Spencer, Indiana. The river crested 1.7 feet above flood stage on May 3rd at a reading of 15.7 feet. Flooding of this magnitude typically creates noticable flooding of agricultural land and some spotty road flooding. Damage costs are grossly estimated. |
| May 2009 | Flood | Spencer | - | Extensive flooding of agricultural lands occurred along the White River in/near Spencer, Indiana. The river crested 5.5 feet above flood stage on May 16th at a reading of 19.5 feet. Some local/county roads are typically affected at this height. Crop damage is grossly estimated. |
| August 2009 | Hail | Spencer | - | Golf ball sized hail was reported by law enforcement in Spencer. |
| December 2008 | Flood | Spencer | - | Rainfall and warm temperatures that occurred on and off during the second half of December led to very brief and minor flooding of lowlands on the White River at the end of December, affecting Owen County at and near Spencer. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | The wind gust was measured by an amateur radio operator. |
| June 2008 | Heavy Rain | Spencer | - | Measured rainfall of 7.15 inches was reported. |
| June 2008 | Heavy Rain | Spencer | - | Measured rainfall of 9.80 inches was reported. |
| July 2008 | Flash Flood | Spencer | - | Flash flooding from heavy rain was reported east-southeast of Spencer. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Trees were reported down on Pottersville Road due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Trees were downed. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Trees were downed. |
| June 2006 | Heavy Rain | Spencer | - | 3.50 inches of rain fell in approximately 30 minutes west of Spencer. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Trees were blown down near Spencer. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Trees were blown down. |
| August 2005 | Heavy Rain | Spencer | - | 4.20 inches of rain was measured near Spencer. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Tree limbs were downed. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | A large tree was downed near Spencer. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Trees were downed in Spencer. |
| July 2004 | Flash Flood | Spencer | - | Old Patricksburg Road and US Highway 231 were under water. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Several trees and power lines were downed on county highways. |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spencer | - | Trees were down. |
| March 2025 | Hail | Spencer | - | no account filed |
| May 2025 | Hail | Spencer | - | no account filed |
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.
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 100005510 in Record Group 79. |
| Owen County | All 17 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.
- 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.