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Bushton, Kansas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Farmer Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67427. The Survey maps it on the Holyrood quadrangle. 203 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,768 feet above sea level.

Bushton within Rice County

Population over time

2 figures

Bushton fell from 279 to 203 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010279
2020203-76 (-27%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

5 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Bushton between 2000 and 2017, burning about 344 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
14 September 2000Equipment and vehicle use325 acresQuivira National Wildlife RefugeWENDEL
9 March 2016Smoking1.0 acresKansas Forest Service2016007
11 March 2015Debris and open burning10 acresKansas Forest Service2015006
15 February 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresKansas Forest Service502215
11 February 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreEllsworth County2017004

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Rice County

Storms near this place

60 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bushton in 60 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 27 hail, 20 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 3 flood. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2007Thunderstorm WindBushton$225,000Thirty power poles were blown over due to the high winds. Numerous outbuildings and grain bins were also damaged or destroyed.
September 2009HailBushton$50,000A swath of large hail moved south across the western half of the county, causing extensive damage to crops, homes and vehicles. Windows were busted out of the homes, and leaves were shreaded off of the trees. The hail was so plentiful that Highway 56 became covered white with hail. This caused a propane truck to slide off the road into a ditch just east of the Barton/Rice county line, destoying the truck.
May 2007Tornado (EF1)Bushton$35,000The tornado blew power lines down along highway 4 and crossed into Ellsworth County 4.9 miles south of Holyrood.
September 2009HailBushton$25,000The large hail made a swath of destruction just to the east of Highway 14 in northern Rice. Hail up to two inches caused heavy damage to corn and vehicles along its path.
May 2007Tornado (EF1)Bushton$20,000The tornado some damage to sheds and downed several powerlines. The storm crossed into Rice 4.8 miles west-southwest of Bushton and dissipated 2 miles west of Bushton.
June 2010Tornado (EF1)Bushton$10,000The tornado touched down in a milo field and moved northeast knocking down a few power poles near 9th road and Avenue C.
November 2012Thunderstorm WindBushton$7,500A carport was damaged and blown over into a house. Report relayed from social media.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBushton$800Twelve inch diameter tree limbs were knocked down in and near Bushton.
September 2018FloodBushton$100Numerous roads were closed across the county due to high water. The most significant were along the Plum Creek which came out of its banks.
October 2018FloodBushton$100A middle school in Bushton had to be evacuated due to the driveway and parking lot becoming flooded.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindBushton-The gust was measured by a home weather station. No damage was reported, but with winds this strong, one would have to believe that there was.
October 2017HailBushton-The storm chaser reported quarter to half dollar sized hail.
May 2016FloodBushton-A considerable number of roads were closed due to water over them. Many of them due to Cow Creek flooding.
December 2016Thunderstorm WindBushton-No damage was reported.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindBushton-Winds were estimated around 70 mph.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindBushton-Numerous tree limbs were downed.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindBushton-Numerous tree limbs were downed and power is out in Bushton. Reports came from a trained spotter and emergency management.
June 2010Tornado (EF0)Bushton-Brief tornado touchdown in an open field with no damage.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBushton-A trained spotter reported the 60 to 70 mph wind gusts.
September 2009Thunderstorm WindBushton-A trained spotter reported the winds.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBushton-Estimated by a storm spotter.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBushton-Estimated by a storm spotter.
August 2005Tornado (F0)Bushton-Remained in the country.
May 2002Tornado (F0)Bushton-Brief touchdown in open country.
May 1999Tornado (F0)Bushton-Remained over open country.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindBushton-Large tree limbs downed including some trees completely uprooted.
October 1994HailBushton-Dime-size hail fell near Bushton, 20 miles northeast of Great Bend.
May 2025HailBushton-no account filed
April 2025HailBushton-no account filed
July 2018Heavy RainBushton-no account filed
May 2017HailBushton-no account filed
October 2017HailBushton-no account filed
June 2013HailBushton-no account filed
May 2011HailBushton-no account filed
April 2011HailBushton-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBushton-no account filed
May 2007Thunderstorm WindBushton-no account filed
April 2007Funnel CloudBushton-no account filed
May 2006HailBushton-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindBushton-no account filed
July 2004HailBushton-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindBushton-no account filed
June 2003HailBushton-no account filed
June 2002HailBushton-no account filed
June 2002HailBushton-no account filed
June 2001HailBushton-no account filed
June 2001HailBushton-no account filed
June 2001HailBushton-no account filed
June 2001HailBushton-no account filed
June 2001HailBushton-no account filed
September 2001HailBushton-no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindBushton-no account filed
August 1997HailBushton-no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBushton-no account filed
May 1996HailBushton-no account filed
May 1996HailBushton-no account filed
May 1996HailBushton-no account filed
May 1996Flash FloodBushton-no account filed
June 1996Thunderstorm WindBushton-no account filed
May 1995HailBushton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Rice County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Frederick6.7 miles14
Pollard10.7 miles14
Chase11.1 miles14
Silica11.6 miles14
Geneseo12.6 miles15
Lyons15.5 miles14
Raymond16.3 miles14
Galt16.8 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BushtonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2039102The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 475533. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.

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.