BlockFrom the record
13 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Finney County, Kansas
39 topographic sheets cover 16 settlements here, and 13 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 171 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 13 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 7 buildings, 5 districts and 1 site.
- 1 of the 13 listings was added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 16 populated places in this county; 16 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
13Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 900 Block North Seventh Street Historic District | district | 1998 | 98001175 |
 | Buffalo Hotel | building | 2008 | 07001480 |
 | Bungalow Historic District | district | 2000 | 00000110 |
 | Cedar Cliff | building | 1997 | 97000464 |
 | Finney County Point of Rocks | site | 2013 | 13000487 |
 | Hope House | building | 2000 | 00000157 |
 | Little Finnup House | building | 2000 | 00000155 |
 | Sabine Hall | building | 1996 | 96000075 |
| The J.H. Stevens-C.L. Thompson Block Historic District | district | 2024 | 100009417 | |
| The J.H. Stevens-C.L. Thompson Block Historic District | district | 2024 | 100009417 | |
| The J.H. Stevens-C.L. Thompson Block Historic District | district | 2024 | 100009417 | |
 | Sen. William H. Thompson House | building | 1996 | 96000037 |
 | Windsor Hotel | building | 1972 | 72000498 |
Wildfire, 2002 to 2020
196 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 196 of them, burning about 11,369 acres. 10 started naturally and 6 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 117 |
| Fireworks | 20 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 18 |
| Debris and open burning | 12 |
| Natural | 10 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 February 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,000 acres | Finney County | 10 |
| 6 March 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 acres | Finney County | 200-141 FIELD |
| 3 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 448 |
| 6 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 acres | Kansas Forest Service | not named |
| 12 April 2017 | Natural | 100 acres | Finney County | 252 |
| 20 June 2017 | Natural | 80 acres | Finney County | 416 |
| 27 January 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 acres | Finney County | 54 |
| 10 April 2017 | Other causes | 50 acres | Finney County | 246 |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1950 to 2025
60 of 1,315 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 1,315 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 44 injuries and about $99,371,830 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 625 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 544 |
| Tornado | 99 |
| Heavy Rain | 27 |
| Flash Flood | 11 |
| Flood | 4 |
| Lightning | 3 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1967 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 1 killed, 30 hurt, $25,000,000 | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | 1 killed | A downburst rolled two trailer homes, demolishing them both. An occupant in one of the trailers did not survive. Also, there were other trailers in the area that had broken windows or siding torn off. A fence was also blown down. |
| October 1971 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 7 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Tornado (EF1) | Plymell | 1 hurt, $1,300,000 | This tornado started out moving southeast but then curved back to the southwest towards the end of it's life. It unfortunately went through a cattle dairy and killed over 200 head as a tremendous amount of tin churned through the air. There was one male that received injury when a door blew in. There were 8 pivot irrigation sprinklers damaged or destroyed, along with power poles, trees, roof and window damage. |
| April 2009 | Tornado (EF1) | Plymell | 1 hurt, $240,000 | This tornado broke power poles, roofs on homes, destroyed two mobile homes, disintegrated a shed and destroyed a pivot sprinkler. One female was injured when she was looking out the window and was struck in the face by a piece of wood that crashed into the window. |
| March 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | 1 hurt, $5,000 | High wind blew a semi over. The driver had minor injuries. |
| May 1965 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 1 hurt, $2,500 | no account filed |
| May 1965 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 1 hurt, $2,500 | no account filed |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tennis | 1 hurt | Strong winds blew over a semi-tractor truck on Highway 83. The driver had minor injuries and was released at the scene. |
| June 1999 | Lightning | Garden City | 1 hurt | Lightning struck the chimney, travelled down the phone line and burnt the ear of the resident talking on the phone when the handset exploded. Also, the charge blew the hinged fireplace doors 20 feet into the living room. |
| July 1999 | Hail | Garden City | $53,000,000 | Widespread golfball to softball size hail produced a tremendous amount of damage but miraculously there were no injuries. Almost every house in Garden City sustained damage and all vehicles left in the elements received hail dents or broken windows. Several stories of hail bouncing through rooms were received. The severity of the storm was also unique in that it occurred well after midnight. |
| September 1993 | Hail | Holcomb | $5,000,000 | no account filed |
| May 1995 | Hail | Garden City | $4,900,000 | Numerous houses and automobiles damaged or destroyed from baseball to softball size hail. |
| May 1977 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Holcomb | $1,500,000 | Significant roof damage occurred at the Holcomb High School. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Holcomb | $1,000,000 | Major damage was done to the Holcomb power plant. The roof was blown off the boiler house, panels blown off the sides of the building and 9 empty coal cars were blown over. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Holcomb | $1,000,000 | Sunflower electric reported damage as greater than 60 knot thunderstorm wind passed through. A six story coal stacker was moved 240 feet! Damage was done to the stacker and coal cars. |
| April 1993 | Tornado (F1) | Garden City | $500,000 | Three center pivot sprinkler systems were damaged or destroyed. A semi-trailer was knocked over onto a pickup truck. |
| September 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $300,000 | A microburst did major roof damage to several houses in the SouthWind country club area. Siding was also taken off several other homes in the neighborhood. |
| May 1978 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1973 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1962 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1962 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Tornado (EF1) | Plymell | $240,000 | This tornado moved quickly into Haskell county at 746 PM (0046Z) but not before damaging three pivot irrigation sprinklers. |
| April 2009 | Tornado (EF1) | Plymell | $225,000 | This was a landspout that was occurring west of a bigger tornado that went through a cattle dairy. This landspout damaged 3 pivot irrigation sprinklers as it moved southwest. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Garden City Airport | $150,000 | Two mobile homes blown over and windows blown out others. |
| May 1995 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | $150,000 | Although damage was F1, this tornado was rated higher based on observation and video. Damage was done to two golf courses, a few house roofs, power lines, and one overturned tractor-semitrailer at the dying stage of the tornado. |
| July 1996 | Tornado (F1) | Friend | $150,000 | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Holcomb | $100,000 | Damage was done to pivot irrigation sprinklers, to a house and to a fence. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $100,000 | Several pivot irrigation sprinklers were blown over. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City airport | $100,000 | Had half dollar size-hail, this occurred for the second day in a row with hail and high wind. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $100,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Lightning | Plymell | $82,500 | Lightning struck a home that was being constructed and burnt it to the ground. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pierceville | $65,000 | Pivot sprinkler was destroyed...many trees were blown down and 11 power poles were blown down. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $50,000 | A pivot irrigation sprinkler was overturned. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Holcomb | $50,000 | A pivot irrigation sprinkler was overturned. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City Airport | $50,000 | Two mobile homes blown over and windows blown out others. |
| September 1993 | Tornado (F1) | Garden City | $50,000 | Tornado moved mainly over open farmland. A multiple vortex tornado was reported at 2034 CST, 8 miles north of the Garden City Airport. |
| April 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $50,000 | A semi-trailer blown over by winds on Highway 83. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Holcomb | $50,000 | High winds caused roof damage in Holcomb, picked up and carried trash dumpsters over parked vehicles, and blew the windows out of vehicles. |
| November 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1977 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1967 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1967 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1954 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pierceville | $20,000 | Two mobile homes blown over and windows blown out others. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | to | $20,000 | Power lines down and outbuildings damaged. |
| July 1999 | Flash Flood | Garden City | $10,000 | Leaves stripped from trees during the hail storm clogged sewer drains and drainage ditches allowing water to back up into several houses. Low spots also had ponding of water from over 3 inches of rain that fell in less than 1 hour. Thirty-one windows were broken out at the hospital. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $10,000 | Two mobile home overturned. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pierceville | $9,000 | A fully loaded semi truck trailer w/o wheels, used as a storage shed, was moved 10 feet. Shingles and the felt pad were completely stripped off a house. Ten additional power poles were blown down. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Plymell | $8,000 | The hail punched numerous holes in windows and damaged the blinds that were inside. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $7,500 | Patio roof blown over a house...big scoreboard blown down and a 25 foot maple uprooted. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $6,000 | Semi blown over. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $5,500 | Seven power poles were blown down by the high wind. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $5,000 | Truck blown over on the north bypass. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $5,000 | Trees uprooted and windows blown out of cars. |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Garden City | $5,000 | Trees and power lines blown down in center of town. |
| May 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Garden City Arpt | $5,000 | Simultaneously with another small tornado. |
| May 1993 | Tornado (F1) | Garden CIty | $5,000 | Tornado was a multiple vortex tornado at the beginning with three tornadoes being reported for a brief time. Tornado pushed a pickup truck into a ditch. |
Every populated place in the county
16Named 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.