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Elk County, Kansas

55 topographic sheets cover 10 settlements here, and 5 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

5 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Kansas within the United States
Elk County within Kansas

What the record shows

  • 145 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 5 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 4 buildings and 1 structure.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 10 populated places in this county; 10 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

5

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Elk County Courthousebuilding200909000227
Elk Falls High School Gymnasiumbuilding2024100009705
Elk Falls Pratt Truss Bridgestructure199494000403
Grenola Mill and Elevatorbuilding200202000764
Howard National Bankbuilding2020100005948

Wildfire, 1996 to 2020

183 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 183 of them, burning about 38,369 acres. 1 started naturally and 31 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined75
Debris and open burning61
Arson/incendiarism31
Equipment and vehicle use9
Smoking4
Other causes1
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. Three of them were set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
11 April 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined12,000 acresElk Countynot named
12 February 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined3,500 acresGreenwood CountyLILLIAM RANCH
21 March 2015Arson/incendiarism2,000 acresKansas Forest Service1500031
20 March 2017Arson/incendiarism1,800 acresElk County17039
3 March 2017Arson/incendiarism1,500 acresElk County17023
14 April 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined850 acresElk Countynot named
17 March 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined800 acresKansas Forest Service1600045
17 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined800 acresKansas Forest Service18047

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1956 to 2026

60 of 345 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 345 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 8 injuries and about $30,582,830 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail159
Thunderstorm Wind88
Tornado31
Heavy Rain26
Flash Flood24
Flood12
Funnel Cloud4
Lightning1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1956Tornado (F4)not stated1 killed, 6 hurt, $2,500,000no account filed
April 1991Tornado (F3)not stated1 killed, 2 hurt, $250,000no account filed
July 2007Flash FloodHoward$27,000,000Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Elk County. The flooding damaged or destroyed around 400 houses. This led 12 to 42 million dollars in damage. An awesome 21.49 inches of rain fell during the month of June. Much of this fell during the last few days of the month.
October 1982Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
May 2009Thunderstorm WindLongton$180,000An estimated 80 mph winds knocked down 6 barns, and broke several trees.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindMoline$50,000Damage was reported to buildings and homes, including windows blown out. One mobile home was also damaged.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindHoward$50,000Numerous trees were knocked down across town.
June 2001LightningHoward$50,000The northwest roof of Elk County Courthouse was struck, inflicting damage to the roof tile, the elevator, and several computers. A second lightning strike set fire to a hay barn. The barn was a total loss.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindHoward$35,000A pole barn with dimensions of 40 feet by 60 feet was completely destroyed. Additionally, some minor shed and house damage occurred. Ten inch tree limbs were blown down as well.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindHoward$27,000High winds knocked out power to Howard.
May 2005HailMoline$25,000Unspecified number of vehicles damaged with windows broken out of homes, businesses and vehicles. (Narrative courtesy of Independence Daily Reporter.)
April 1984Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
November 1960Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
November 1958Tornadonot stated$25,000no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindHoward$12,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindGrenola$10,000Transformers blown out.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindLongton$8,000The destructive winds tore off part of a roof from a home.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindElk Falls$7,500A trained spotter reported that thunderstorm winds downed a powerline south of Elk Falls.
September 2019Tornado (EF1)Longton$5,000There was some roof damage to a home and an outbuilding was shifted from its foundation. There was also some damage to chicken coops. The time of the event was estimated.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindGrenola$5,000Reports of 4 to 6 inch diameter branches being blown out of trees.
May 1993Thunderstorm WindMoline$5,000no account filed
May 1993Thunderstorm WindElk Falls$5,000no account filed
April 2010Thunderstorm WindHoward$3,000Estimated 70 mph winds damaged a fence and a sheet metal shed.
July 1996Thunderstorm WindMoline$3,000no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindGrenola$3,000no account filed
April 1960Tornado (F1)not stated$2,500no account filed
June 1959Tornado (F2)not stated$2,500no account filed
May 1957Tornadonot stated$2,500no account filed
May 1957Tornadonot stated$2,500no account filed
May 1957Tornadonot stated$2,500no account filed
May 1957Tornadonot stated$2,500no account filed
April 2010Thunderstorm WindHoward$2,250Estimated 70 mph winds damaged a tree and damaged a barn roof.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindGrenola$2,000A 30 foot tree was uprooted.
March 2015HailElk Falls$1,000The report was received from a ham operator. The hail caused dents on a car roof.
May 2009FloodLongton$500Water was covering Highway 160 east to Oak Valley Road.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindGrenola$500A cattle truck was blown over four miles west of town and there were fallen trees in town.
May 1993HailHoward$500A thunderstorm dropped three-quarter inch hail around Howard.
April 1994HailMoline$500no account filed
April 1994HailMoline$500no account filed
February 1993HailGrenola$500no account filed
May 1993HailHoward$500no account filed
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHoward$100Winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph downed some small tree limbs as well as damaged a screen door.
July 2010Flash FloodLongton$100Heavy rainfall of 5 to 6 inches closed portions of Highway 160 from Grenola to Longton. The town of Howard reported 4.70 inches of rainfall. The worse flooding along Highway 160 was near Oak Valley.
July 2010Flash FloodLongton$100Numerous rural roads were flooded over the eastern half of the county. Highway 160 was closed near Oak Valley.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindLongton$100Tree limbs were downed by the strong winds.
June 2008FloodHoward$100Heavy rainfall produced 4.30 inches of rain with agriculture flooding and some minor road flooding.
April 1994HailHoward$50no account filed
May 1957Tornadonot stated$30no account filed
July 2025Thunderstorm WindHoward-Several trees and large tree limbs were reported down corroborated from two different CO-OP observers that there was widespread tree damage across Howard. Time was estimated from radar.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindLongton-Wind gusts were estimated to be around 60 mph.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindHoward-The KSU mesonet measured a 62 mph wind gust.
April 2024Tornado (EF0)Longton-Law enforcement officer sent in pictures of tree damage that occurred in eastern Elk County.
February 2024Heavy RainLongton-This is a 24 hour rainfall total of 1.44 inches.
May 2024Heavy RainLongton-Twenty four hour rainfall from COOP observer of 2.46 inches. This heavy rain resulted in some flooding of Highway 160 on the west side of town.
May 2024Heavy RainHoward-Twenty four hour rainfall from CoCoRaHS observer of 2.05 inches. Street flooding occurred in town during the late evening hours of the 6th.
May 2024FloodMoline-Portions of US Highway 160 flooded between the town of Elk Falls and Dove Road, east of Moline.
May 2024Heavy RainGrenola-Twenty four hour rainfall total from CoCoRahs observer of 2.18 inches.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Moline-A couple of hardwood trees fell onto a car near a vacant house. Minimal if any damage occurred to the nearby home. A shed across the road had some tin peeled up on it, but it has open sides. A smaller tree down the road, to the north, had its trunk snapped. There was damage to a power pole and broken branches off a tree at the end of the path.
April 2024Tornado (EFU)Moline-A multi-vortex brief tornado just south of Moline and secondary to the main rotation off to the north. No damage occurred.
April 2024Tornado (EFU)Elk Falls-A tornado was reported by law enforcement likely between Elk Falls and Longton. No damage occurred.

Every populated place in the county

10

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • 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.