Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
“Elias Conwell House is a historic home located at Napoleon, Indiana. It was built about 1822, and is a two-story, L-shaped, Federal style brick dwelling.”
Wikipedia article Elias Conwell House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 17 National Register listings published here for Ripley County · listed in 1979 · 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 1 working within 5 miles of Elias Conwell House: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napoleon Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Napoleon, the town this property stands in, in 54 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 25 thunderstorm wind, 11 flood, 9 flash flood, 7 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2025 | Tornado (EF0) | Napoleon | $150,000 | Damage from the tornado was first noted west of North County Road 600 West, where trees, outbuildings, and one home were damaged. As the tornado continued northeast toward Napoleon, a few outbuildings were damaged south of West County Road 850 North. The final damage from the tornado was observed along North Old Michigan Road directly south of Napoleon, where it is believed to have dissipated. |
| February 2014 | Tornado (EF1) | Napoleon | $100,000 | The tornado first touched down near a mobile home on North Finks Road just north of West County Road 700 North. The mobile home was moved up to 15 feet off its foundation and in the process this knocked down two brick walls that were two feet high. Windows were blown out on three sides of the mobile home. Major roof damage also occurred to the home. Insulation from this mobile home covered the east facing side of the structure, indicating strong rotating winds. Two small trees were snapped east of the home. Based on the damage surveyed, this portion of the tornado path had maximum estimated wind speeds of 90 miles per hour. Just before the tornado lifted, two pole barns were damaged. The southeast corner of the first barn completely collapsed. Some siding was missing on all four sides of this barn. The second barn, located just south of the first barn, had 20 to 30 percent of the roof missing and 10 to 20 percent of the siding missing on three of its sides. On the south side of this barn, up to 40 percent of the siding was missing. The damage surveyed along this portion of the track was indicative of an EF0 tornado with 70 mile per hour winds. |
| August 2009 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | $30,000 | High water was over United States Route 421 in addition to county roads in the area. |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $30,000 | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $25,000 | A barn was destroyed and numerous trees were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $20,000 | Winds estimated to be 60-70 mph caused numerous trees and power lines to be downed. Dime size hail also fell around Napoleon. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Napoleon | $15,000 | Golf ball to hen egg size hail fell across the northwest part of the county. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $10,000 | A barn was damaged on County Road 800 North. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $10,000 | Power poles were downed. Part of a roof was peeled off a home on Baseline Road. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $8,000 | Multiple trees were downed across a roadway. Additionally, the trees knocked down several power lines. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $8,000 | Several power poles were downed along U.S. 421 near the Decatur County line. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $8,000 | Three barn doors were blown off in addition to numerous large tree limbs and trees that were blown down due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Napoleon | $8,000 | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $5,000 | Several barns sustained roof and siding damage along North County Road 250 West. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $5,000 | A power pole and wires were downed. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $5,000 | Numerous trees were downed. |
| November 2017 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | $5,000 | High water was reported in some homes and numerous roads were flooded. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $5,000 | Trees were downed across the northern part of the county. |
| April 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $5,000 | Numerous trees knocked down. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $5,000 | Trees downed. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $4,000 | A power pole was snapped near McCluer Cemetery. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $4,000 | A few trees were downed. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $4,000 | A power pole and wires were downed at the intersection of Main Street and North County Road 300 West. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $3,000 | Trees were reported down on a road in Napoleon due to thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $3,000 | Many trees knocked down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $3,000 | Trees downed. |
| April 2017 | Hail | Napoleon | $2,000 | Glass in a greenhouse was shattered by hail, estimated to be golf ball size. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $2,000 | Several trees were knocked down in the Napoleon area. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $1,000 | A tree was downed near Finks Road and County Road 700 North. |
| October 2017 | Flood | Napoleon | $1,000 | A van became trapped in high water along County Road 900 W, and a water rescue was performed. |
| October 2017 | Flood | Napoleon | $1,000 | A vehicle became trapped in high water. The vehicle needed to be towed out of the water. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $1,000 | A large tree was downed near the intersection of Old Michigan Road and W County Road 650 N. |
| May 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Napoleon | $1,000 | One tree and one tree limb were knocked down by a thunderstorm wind gust. |
| December 2011 | Flood | Napoleon | $1,000 | Several roads across the county were reported closed due to high water caused by heavy rain. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Napoleon | $1,000 | High water was reported due to heavy rainfall. |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | $1,000 | Roads were closed due to heavy rainfall. |
| February 2025 | Flood | Napoleon | - | Old Michigan Road was flooded over with standing water. |
| June 2025 | Flood | Napoleon | - | High water was reported on State Route 421 near County Road 850 N. |
| July 2024 | Flood | Napoleon | - | High water was reported on a roadway. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Napoleon | - | Several roads were closed throughout the county due to high water. |
| June 2021 | Flood | Napoleon | - | High water was reported on numerous roads between Napoleon and Osgood. |
| June 2021 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | - | Several inches of water were flowing across U.S. Route 421 in Napoleon. |
| June 2019 | Flood | Napoleon | - | Water was reported over a portion of Milhousen Road. |
| June 2017 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | - | Water was reported flowing across U.S. 421. |
| October 2017 | Flood | Napoleon | - | High water was reported along several roads in the Napoleon area with several low lying areas impassable. There were no reports of roads that were closed. |
| September 2016 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | - | Over 2 feet of water was over a road in downtown Napoleon. Several roads elsewhere across the county were also impassable due to high water. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | - | High water was reported across Michigan Road near Napoleon. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | - | A volunteer fire department posted pictures of flooding on their property. Rain was also ponding on U.S. 421 towards Osgood. |
| July 2003 | Flash Flood | Napoleon | - | Numerous roads were flooded and closed. |
| April 2017 | Hail | Napoleon | - | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Hail | Napoleon | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Napoleon | - | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Napoleon | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Central House | 0.1 miles | 1982 |
 | Straber Ford Bridge | 4.4 miles | 2009 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 79000041 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Ripley County | All 17 listed properties in this county. |
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