BlockFrom the record
One of 18 National Register listings published here for Orange County · listed in 2026 · category: Building.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
French Lick Methodist Episcopal Church
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2026.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building, 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
- Still standing. The Park Service records this property as extant.
- Address. 537 South Maple Street, French Lick, 47432
- When was it listed? March 2026
- Category. building
- Township. French Lick township
- National Register reference number. 100012759 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.
Fires near this property
19 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of French Lick Methodist Episcopal Church between 1995 and 2019, burning about 90 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 September 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 acres | Hoosier National Forest | SPURGEON |
| 8 July 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Hoosier National Forest | 56 S CURVE |
| 27 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Hoosier National Forest | CASINO |
| 12 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18 acres | Hoosier National Forest | STEVENS SAWMILL |
| 28 March 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Hoosier National Forest | GOLF BALL |
| 24 March 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7.0 acres | Hoosier National Forest | WEST BADEN RESTART |
| 24 March 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 4.0 acres | Hoosier National Forest | SPRINGS VALLEY |
| 17 March 2005 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Hoosier National Forest | STEVENS FIRE |
Mines and quarries near this property
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of French Lick Methodist Episcopal Church: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cave Quarries, Inc. | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this property
34 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names French Lick, the town this property stands in, in 34 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 16 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 6 flash flood, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2001 | Lightning | French Lick | $75,000 | A house was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | $20,000 | The public reported trees and power poles down in the area. |
| March 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | $5,000 | A broadcast media meteorologist relayed a report of a roof blown off a gas station due to severe thunderstorm winds. |
| October 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | $1,000 | Power poles were broken. |
| April 2026 | Flash Flood | French Lick | - | There was a water rescue after a car ended up in a creek in French Lick. |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | There were multiple trees down just south of French Lick along State Road 145. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | Trees down in French Lick. |
| June 2023 | Hail | French Lick | - | One inch hail was reported at the French Lick Resort. |
| June 2023 | Hail | French Lick | - | A picture of large hail was on social media. |
| August 2023 | Tornado (EF1) | French Lick | - | The tornado began along S Indiana Ave where several large hardwood trees had branches snap towards the east. Some homes saw side wall paneling damage as well as roofing cover damage. Damage continued along W Summit Circle Dr where several more large hardwoods were uprooted and snapped.||The main area of damage is located just south of the downtown area of French Lick on Skyline Drive. This is an area of higher elevation that saw multiple large hardwood trees snapped, some houses saw shingles and side paneling damage. This is where the highest wind speeds of 107 mph would have occurred based on damage making this tornado an EF1.The tornado then made its way northeast to S Summit St where one home saw significant sidewall damage on both its north and south side, as well as paneling damage.||The tornado then tracked southeast towards W County Road 100 S where it appeared to weaken. Several smaller hardwoods saw their limbs broken off and debris was spread out towards the north. A small sandbox outbuilding had its roof torn off and|debris fell just slightly east of the structure. Surrounding trees were bent towards the east and northeast. The winds in this area topped out at 85 mph based on the damage seen. |
| March 2016 | Hail | French Lick | - | A trained spotter reported hail 1.75 inches in diameter. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | French Lick | - | A law enforcement official relayed to the NWS that because of torrential rainfall, there were county roads flooded with high water flowing over. |
| April 2014 | Flash Flood | French Lick | - | Flash flooding briefly closed Indiana State Highway 56 in French Lick. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | Power lines were downed along State Road 56 in French Lick. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | Trees and power lines were down across the city of French Lick. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | A tree was blown down across a power line. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | Thunderstorm winds brought down a few trees. Near French Lick, one falling tree took a power line down. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | Several trees reported down across French Lick and Paoli. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | A few trees were downed. |
| September 2006 | Flash Flood | French Lick | - | Monon Road was closed by high water. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | A 60 mph wind gust was measured in the Patoka Lake area. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | A spotter reported a 60 mph wind gust near Patoka Lake. |
| May 2002 | Flash Flood | French Lick | - | Water covered roads in and near the town of French Lick. |
| February 1999 | Hail | French Lick | - | Dime size hail fell in French Lick |
| April 2009 | Hail | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| December 2001 | Flash Flood | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | French Lick | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | French Lick | - | 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.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 milesOther 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | French Lick Springs Hotel | 0.4 miles | 2003 |
 | Dixie Garage | 1.1 miles | 2001 |
 | First Baptist Church | 1.1 miles | 1994 |
 | West Baden Springs Hotel | 1.3 miles | 1974 |
 | Homestead Hotel | 1.3 miles | 1998 |
 | West Baden National Bank | 1.3 miles | 1993 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 100012759 in Record Group 79. |
| Orange County | All 18 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.