BlockFrom the record
44 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Riley County, Kansas
57 topographic sheets cover 18 settlements here, and 44 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 404 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 44 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 37 buildings, 4 districts and 3 structures.
- 2 of the 44 listings were added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 18 populated places in this county; 18 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
44Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
Wildfire, 2002 to 2020
330 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 330 of them, burning about 59,613 acres. 2 started naturally and 9 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 158 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 108 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 18 |
| Smoking | 12 |
| Fireworks | 12 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 November 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | IMPACT COMPLEX |
| 15 October 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,289 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | IMPACT |
| 5 December 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,278 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | CALFEX COMPLEX |
| 20 February 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,800 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | OLD 82 |
| 6 December 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | KILO |
| 6 November 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | 2019-3238 |
| 13 November 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | 2019-3238A |
| 19 February 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,490 acres | Fort Riley Kansas | MA-KILO |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1950 to 2025
60 of 680 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 680 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 57 injuries and about $111,240,700 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 321 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 259 |
| Flash Flood | 43 |
| Tornado | 29 |
| Lightning | 21 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 |
| Flood | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1999 | Lightning | Manhattan | 1 killed | Eyewitnesses claimed a lightning bolt directly struck a 41 year old woman as she was on an early morning jog along a street in Manhattan. She never regained consciousness and died 16 days later at a local hospital. |
| June 1966 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 50 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Keats | 3 hurt, $17,200,000 | Residents in the city of Keats were being evacuated due to the rapidly rising water on Wildcat Creek. The flooding of Wildcat creek resulted in an estimated 17.2 million dollars in losses to property. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zeandale | 2 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 1950 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | 1 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Lightning | Manhattan | 1 hurt | Light struck a trailer in Manhattan and injured a woman touching the trailer. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF4) | Ogden | $66,000,000 | The tornado touched down to the southwest of Manahattan on a farm, and first destroyed a large machine shed, and threw a grain cart into an adjacent field. The tornado tracked to the northeast and destroyed several homes that were in the process of being built. Then, the tornado entered the Miller Ranch area of Manhattan, where the EF-4 damage was observed. Fifteen well built homes were completely destroyed. Nearby in the Amherst residential area, approximately thirty homes were damaged. A local newspaper reported that 45 residences in Manhattan were destroyed, 142 were damaged, and 637 were affected by the tornado. Ninety three apartments or duplexes, twenty mobile homes, and ten total businesses were impacted. Thereafter, the windows at the Little Apple Honda/Toyota car dealership were blown out, and several cars on the lots were tossed. A nearby hardware store and several self-storage units were demolished. Other nearby businesses were also damaged. The Lee Elementary School was then damaged. The tornado continued toward the Kansas State University campus. There, the roof was blown off a fraternity house, windows were blown out of buildings, the USDA Wind Erosion Labratory roof was damaged, and debris from damage to the southwest was blown across the campus. Summer classes at the University were shuffled around to find appropriate, undamaged buildings to hold summer students. New student orientation was also going on the week the tornado struck. It was reported that $37 million dollars in damage was done to the KSU campus alone.||The total preliminary damage estimate from the Manhattan torando was approximately $71 million. Off-campus, $22 million in structural damage was reported, as was $7 million in vehicle damage. |
| June 2022 | Tornado (EF2) | Manhattan | $10,000,000 | Two surveys were done by NWS for this damage. It appears that a very short path narrow tornado occurred embedded on the northeast flank of small enhanced downburst that created widespread damaging north to northwest winds. Several homes were heavily damaged with the debris field blown to the northeast or approximately perpendicular to the movement. It appears the tornado was narrow and only 25-50 yards at the widest. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Keats | $5,000,000 | Softball size hail demolished 98% of the cars parked at the Manhattan Regional Airport. Dents were also noted in the terminal building, and a stone hangar had it's windows blown out. Car dealerships and car rental facilities near the airport also report extreme damage to nearly every vehicle on the lot. Several hundred vehicles in the Manhattan Corporate Technology Park were severely dented by the large hail stones, and nary a car was left without having at least one window smashed. At the Auth-Florence Manufacturing Co. approximtely 250 employee cars were deemed total losses as a result of the hail. The hail between the size of baseballs, near Keats, and softballs, across the southwestern portion of Manhattan fell for nearly twenty minutes. Hail up to one and a quarter inches in diamter was reported across portions of the west side of the city of Manhattan. The homes in Random Woods looked to have suffered the most damage. It was reported by the local newspaper that several motorists were injured on K-18. These motorist had glass fly into their eyes when their windshields shattered as the hail fell. An exact number was not available.||Preliminary damage estimates were around $5,000,000- most of which was damage to vehicles. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $5,000,000 | A bow echo moved east across Riley county producing strong winds and large hail. Winds reached a speed of 82 mph at the Manhattan airport. The strong winds knocked out power and did widespread damage in Manhattan to many homes and businesses. The Walmart store had severe roof damage that resulted in store closure for several days until repairs could be made. Total damage estimates from Riley county officials were 5 million dollars. |
| November 2005 | Tornado (F1) | Ogden | $800,000 | The tornado entered Riley county from Geary county 2 miles westsouthwest of Ogden and crossed Fort Riley Army Base. The tornado moved north for approximately one mile in Riley county before dissipating two miles west of Ogden. The tornado caused siding, window, roof, tree, and car damage in the Ellis Heights housing area on the base with 32 homes in all receiving minor damage. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $500,000 | High winds moved across the county from north to south producing widespread damage to trees, power lines and some buildings. Power was out in some areas for several days. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $500,000 | High winds knocked down trees and power lines in an early morning thunderstorm. Heavy rain in a short time caused some temporary flooding problems also. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ogden | $400,000 | A wind measuring instrument mounted to the roof of the Air Traffic Control tower at Manhattan Regional Airport measured a 93 mph wind gust. The ASOS station at Manhattan Regional Airport also reported a strong wind gust of 68 mph. In the town of Ogden the windows of a residence were cracked by the force of the wind. No estimation of the wind speed was given by this resident. Kansas State University also sustained some significant damage, as wind damage to Anderson Hall's roof resulted in over a quarter million dollars in repairs. In and around Manhattan, numerous outbuildings were damaged and destroyed. Widespread power line and tree damage was also noted across the city, resulting in many damaged roofs and widespread power outages. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Manhattan | $400,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Lightning | Manhattan | $370,000 | Lightning struck a house and started a fire that destroyed the structure. |
| May 2007 | Flood | Keats | $338,000 | Water two feet deep running over Reservation Dr. near Keats with some home affected and county roads closed. K-114 near Ogden has water flowing across all four lanes. The town of Ogden had substantial flooding with over 30 structures damaged and a number of families evacuated. Wildcat Creek in out of it's banks in Manhattan with floating metal trash dumpsters noted. Some apartments near the creek are being evacuated. Mobile homes near the creek also are flooded. At least 93 residences in Manhattan were affected. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Ogden | $250,000 | Seven Mile creek and Dry Branch creek flooding portions of the town of Ogden. Wildcat creek beginning to block portions of Scenic drive. Residents of approximately 50 homes are being evacuated...or being helped to move belongings to higher ground. Some sandbagging occurring. Schools were closed and Ogden was isolated for a period of time. Also, a portion of some railroad tracks were washed out around Ogden. |
| June 2005 | Flash Flood | Manhattan | $200,000 | Flash flooding was reported with four to six inches of rain. Cars were stranded by fast flowing water across Tuttle Creek Boulevard. A mudslide also occurred but no injuries or damage were reported from the mud slide. |
| May 2007 | Lightning | Manhattan | $150,000 | Lightning struck a home. The two occupants escaped safely before a fire broke out. Nearly half of the home was a total loss. |
| June 2005 | Heavy Rain | Manhattan | $150,000 | Heavy rain of 4 to 5 inches caused urban and small stream flooding in Manhattan. Numerous stranded vehicles but no injuries were reported. |
| June 2005 | Flash Flood | Riley | $100,000 | Over 6 inches of fast flowing water bringing logs and debris across roads. |
| October 2005 | Heavy Rain | Manhattan | $100,000 | Heavy rain of two to three inches in a short period of time brought urban and small stream flooding to Manhattan. |
| June 2001 | Lightning | Manhattan | $90,000 | Lightning struck a house and started a fire that destroyed the house and its contents. This was the last in a series of lightning strikes over a 25 hour period which caused nearly 1 million dollars total damage over northeast Kansas. |
| May 1996 | Heavy Rain | Manhattan | $90,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $85,000 | no account filed |
| October 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Manhattan Arpt | $80,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $75,000 | Damage was observed on the extreme northwestern edge of town. The damage path went right through the center of town and created the worst damage to the center part of town just south and southeast of town. A roof was blown off of a motel and caused damage to cars in the parking lot. Numerous trees, up to 48 inches in diameter were snapped at the base, and some fell on cars and houses. The visible damage path ended on the southeast part of town. |
| June 1998 | Lightning | Manhattan | $70,000 | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Leonardville | $60,000 | Water one foot deep over Barton road one quarter mile east of Union road. |
| June 2008 | Lightning | (Mhk)Manhattan Muni | $55,000 | A house that had been spared from the destruction of the EF-4 tornado the week before was struck by lightning. A fire started in the attic and damaged the home. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | Manhattan | $50,000 | Relayed by Kansas State EM. A foot of water on the roadways at Kansas State and in Manhattan. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $50,000 | Portion of roof removed off Holiday Inn near Anderson and 17th Street. Portion of roof landed on vehicles in parking lot. Water damage to several of the rooms with trees blown down. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Manhattan | $50,000 | Butterfield road in northeast Manhattan under water. Water over a number of street curbs in town. Some sandbagging occurring in town. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Manhattan | $50,000 | K-18 closed near the town of Wabaunsee. Water over the highway. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | Eureka Lake | $40,000 | Water running over roadways, vehicles were stranded. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $40,000 | A bow echo moved through Riley County around 11PM CST and caused sporadic damage in the Manhattan area. The most severe damage was reported along K18 Highway where one building was destroyed and 2 others sustained structural damage. Debris was scattered more than 100 feet into a nearby field. A telephone pole was uprooted at the same location. Elsewhere there were reports of a pole barn and gazebo being destroyed. Damage amounts estimated. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $30,000 | There are reports of downed trees and power lines. Roof of apartment building on west side of town is partially removed. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Manhattan | $30,000 | Streets were flooded on the west side of Manhattan. Nearly 2.45 inches of rain in approximately one hour near the intersection of Kimball and Dennison avenues. |
| June 2004 | Lightning | Manhattan | $28,000 | Lightning struck a house and started a fire that did major damage. |
| May 1997 | Lightning | Keats | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1950 | Tornado | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1950 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Lightning | Leonardville | $23,000 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Keats | $20,000 | Report of water flowing over highway 77/177 at Mill Creek. In the 7000 block of Anderson Street water was flowing over the road. |
| July 2006 | Lightning | Manhattan | $15,000 | Lightning struck and fell some power lines in the city of Manhattan causing a loss of power to around 2100 customers. |
| July 2002 | Lightning | Manhattan | $10,000 | Lightning struck the roof of a restaurant and ignited a fire that did serious damage. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds overturned boat docks at Tutle Creek resevoir totally destroying them. Six boats were also damaged. |
| October 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Lightning | Manhattan | $7,000 | Lightning struck and damaged a mobile home. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan Arpt | $6,000 | Strong winds damaged the roof of the airport terminal and blew the roof off a trailer. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Manhattan | $6,000 | no account filed |
| November 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mariadahl | $5,000 | A spotter reported shingle blown off of the room and the front door window and encasement was blown in near Randolph in Riley County. |
| November 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Riley | $5,000 | This tornado briefly touched down around 3:32 PM 3 miles east of Riley, moved north and produced F0 damage to a barn. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keats | $5,000 | Strong winds knocked down power poles near Keats and caused a number of residents and businesses to be without power for a time. |
| May 2002 | Lightning | Ogden | $5,000 | Lightning struck a shop and ignited a fire that destroyed part of the shop. |
| July 2002 | Flash Flood | Manhattan | $5,000 | Heavy rains caused rapid runoff that flooded some businesses between Ogden and Manhattan. |
| September 1998 | Lightning | Manhattan | $5,000 | Lightning struck a transformer near Kansas Stata University and knocked out power to much of the campus for a time. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leonarrowdville | $5,000 | Winds estimated about 60 mph knocked over several TV antennas. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keats | $5,000 | no account filed |
Mines and quarries
2 recordedThe Survey's mineral resources record lists 2 workings inside this county. 1 still produces and 1 is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Titanium, Metal, Garnet | 1 |
| Stone, Crushed/Broken | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reichling Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Stockdale Kimberlite Deposit | Titanium, Metal, Garnet | Occurrence | Ilmenite, Perovskite, Pyrope |
Every populated place in the county
18Named 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.
-
Eureka Lake
Manhattan township · 66502 · On Sevenmile Creek · Keats quadrangle
25 sheets, 1886 to 1992
-
Fairmont
Manhattan township · 66502 · Near Prospect Hill · Manhattan quadrangle
27 sheets, 1886 to 1991
-
Manhattan
Manhattan city · 66502 · Near Longview Hill · Manhattan quadrangle
27 sheets, 1886 to 1991
-
Pillsbury Crossing
Zeandale township · 66502 · Near Tabor Valley · Saint George quadrangle
18 sheets, 1889 to 1990
-
Rocky Ford
Manhattan township · 66502 · On Phiel Creek · Manhattan quadrangle
27 sheets, 1886 to 1991
-
Sunset Park
Manhattan city · 66502 · Near Longview Hill · Manhattan quadrangle
27 sheets, 1886 to 1991
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.