BlockBefore

Morton County, Kansas

10 topographic sheets cover 4 settlements here, and 7 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

7 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Kansas within the United States
Morton County within Kansas

What the record shows

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

Places on the National Register

7

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
Morton County WPA Bridgestructure198686003356
Point of Rocks-Middle Spring Santa Fe Trail Historic Districtdistrict201313000151
Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 2site201313000133
Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 3site201313000134
Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 4site201313000135
Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 5site201313000136
Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 1site201313000132

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

161 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 161 of them, burning about 29,113 acres. 53 started naturally and 2 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Natural53
Missing data/not specified/undetermined38
Equipment and vehicle use32
Recreation and ceremony13
Debris and open burning10
Power generation/transmission/distribution8
Smoking4
Arson/incendiarism2
Fireworks1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. One of them was set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 May 2011Equipment and vehicle use17,482 acresPike and San Isabel National ForestTUNNER
5 February 2006Arson/incendiarism2,380 acresPike and San Isabel National ForestSTEELER
3 May 1996Debris and open burning1,267 acresPike and San Isabel National ForestSECOND STREET
3 March 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined848 acresPike and San Isabel National ForestNORTH FORK
29 July 2005Equipment and vehicle use760 acresPike and San Isabel National ForestBROTHER
6 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined708 acresMorton CountyCOUNTY
5 April 2016Power generation/transmission/distribution700 acresPike and San Isabel National ForestWILBURTON
18 October 2010Debris and open burning520 acresPike and San Isabel National ForestGREENWOOD

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

Storms, 1951 to 2025

60 of 560 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 560 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 2 injuries and about $3,387,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail350
Thunderstorm Wind158
Heavy Rain24
Tornado20
Flash Flood5
Flood2
Funnel Cloud1

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
June 1951Tornadonot stated1 killed, $25,000no account filed
April 2001Tornado (F2)Rolla2 hurt, $100,000Rapidly moving tornado completely destroyed a mobile home. Female occupant ended up in some bushes and had a broken arm. Male occupant had debris in his eye. Their truck was rolled into trees and nearby outbuildings were demolished. Location of this home was north of Rolla. Elsewhere, 20 power poles were taken down, damage was done to buildings in Rolla with a garage losing its roof. Several silos were damaged or destroyed in the path of the tornado.
May 1977Tornado (F2)not stated$2,500,000no account filed
August 2006Heavy RainRolla$250,0007.12 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. Many stranded motorists. Many basements were flooded.
May 1996HailRolla$250,000no account filed
April 2016Tornado (EF1)(1k5)Elkhart$80,000The tornado pulled the center of the irrigation sprinkler out of the concrete. There was some damage to outbuildings near the path of the tornado. It appeared that perhaps 5 inches of rain fell in 2 hours.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindRichfield$50,000Microburst destroyed a mobile home that was unoccupied at the time. An outbuilding had a tree limb impaled into it.
July 1996Thunderstorm WindElkhart$50,000no account filed
June 1978Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
May 1972Tornado (F3)not stated$25,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindElkhart$15,000The roof off an old lumber building was blown off. Also power lines were down in the area.
June 1995HailRolla$10,000no account filed
April 1951Tornado (F1)not stated$2,500no account filed
April 1951Tornado (F1)not stated$2,500no account filed
August 1951Tornado (F1)not stated$2,500no account filed
May 2025Thunderstorm WindWilburton-A measured wind gust of 65 mph at the mesonet station CGLK1 Cimarron.
June 2025HailRolla-A public report of 1 inch hail.
August 2025HailRichfield-A public report of 2.75 inch hail.
August 2024HailRolla-One diameter inch hail was reported by the public.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Storm chaser estimated 60-70 mph wind gusts.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindElkhart-Measured at the Ekhart airport.
April 2022HailRichfield-Most of the hail was nickel sized.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Measured at the site in Richfield.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindElkhart-Winds were estimated to be at least 60 MPH.
June 2022Thunderstorm Wind(1k5)Elkhart-Several reports of uprooted trees were received.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindRolla-Three large oil tanks weight about 4 to 5 tons ere displaced as far as 70 yards due to the high winds.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindWilburton-Just east of Cimarron.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Winds were estimated to be at least 60 MPH.
July 2021Heavy RainWilburton-Rainfall of 1.13 inches was measured.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
June 2019HailRolla-The hail was nickel to quarter sized.
July 2019Heavy RainElkhart-Rainfall of 1.24 inches was observed.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindRolla-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
June 2018Heavy RainRolla-Rainfall of 5.09 inches was measured.
June 2018Heavy RainRichfield-Rainfall of 4.08 inches was measured.
June 2018Flash FloodRolla-Water was observed over Road J and Road 22.
June 2018Flash FloodRolla-Water was reported over the road.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Winds were estimated to be 60 to 65 MPH.
March 2017HailRichfield-Most of the stones were soft and splattered upon impact.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindElkhart-Observed at the Elkhart Middle School.
May 2017Thunderstorm Wind(1k5)Elkhart-Winds were estimated to be at least 60 MPH.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindElkhart-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
May 2017Thunderstorm Wind(1k5)Elkhart-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
September 2017HailElkhart-Winds were gusting to 50 MPH as the hail fell.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindRolla-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
August 2017Heavy RainRichfield-Rainfall was 4.0 inches.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindElkhart-There was pea sized hail with an estimated 60 MPH wind.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindRolla-Also had dime sized hail.
August 2017HailRolla-Winds of 65 MPH accompanied the hail.
July 2017Heavy RainRichfield-Rainfall was 2.75 inches.
July 2017Heavy RainRichfield-Rainfall was 1.80 inches.
July 2017Heavy RainRichfield-Rainfall was 2.95 inches.
April 2016Tornado (EF0)Rolla-There was nothing to damage by this tornado. It was verified by a storm chaser with pictures and video of the tornado that appeared to be at least 1/4 mile wide.
April 2016FloodRichfield-Widespread flooding was reported across much of the county. Many county roads, including highway 51, were covered by flood water.
April 2016Heavy Rain(1k5)Elkhart-Rainfall of 6.52 inches was observed.
April 2016Heavy Rain(1k5)Elkhart-Rainfall of 5.38 inches was reported.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Winds were estimated to be 65 MPH.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindRichfield-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.

Every populated place in the county

4

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.