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Dexter, Kansas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Dexter Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67038. It stands on Turkey Creek. The Survey maps it on the Dexter quadrangle. 224 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,211 feet above sea level.

Dexter within Cowley County

On record in Dexter

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Dexter fell from 278 to 224 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
2010278
2020224-54 (-19%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

4 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Dexter between 2006 and 2017, burning about 706 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
6 April 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresCowley County2017015
12 April 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCowley County2017017
12 March 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined700 acresKansas CountiesKAUFMAN RANCH
12 October 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreKansas Forest Service1825

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cowley County

Storms near this place

60 of 65 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dexter in 65 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 36 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado, 4 heavy rain. 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
August 2010LightningDexter$50,000Fire from a lightning strike destroyed a barn during the evening hours on the 31st. The contents of the barn were also destroyed, including saddles, a four-wheeler and a quantity of hay. The Winfield Daily Courier contributed to this report.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindDexter$25,000A tractor trailer was blown over on Highway 166 4 miles west of the Cowley/Chautauqua County Line. It was unknown as to whether or not the driver was injured.
October 2016Tornado (EF1)Dexter$25,000The tornado touched down initially in a soybean field just to the southeast of a farmstead. The tornado than skimmed along at tree top level over the farmstead, before touching down again on the north side of the farmstead, destroying an open ended horse barn and grain bin. The horse barn and grain bin were thrown to the northeast into the road, as the tornado lifted along 191st road.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindDexter$20,000At least two power poles were reported leaning and two others were knocked down.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindDexter$10,000The emergency manager reported that approximately 10 power poles were snapped along Kansas Highway 15. The time of the event was based on other reports.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindDexter$10,000Some trees were knocked down by the gusts.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindDexter$6,500A total of 13 power poles were snapped along 291st Rd. from 272nd to 282nd roads. This was a delayed report.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindDexter$5,000Winds from 60 to 70 mph blew out a window at a rock quarry a couple miles west of Cedar Vale.
February 2012Thunderstorm WindDexter$5,000Winds were estimated around 65 mph in Dexter, downing two utility poles two miles north of town. The Arkansas City Traveler and the Winfield Daily Courier contributed to this report.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindDexter$5,000Two trees were uprooted, and a machine shed sustained rather substantial damage.
August 2004LightningDexter$4,500Oil tank battery struck. Resulting fire consumed all contents with very little spillage occurring. (Report and narrative courtesy of Winfield Daily Courier.)
May 2009HailDexter$100The hail covered the ground up to an inch deep, making the ground white.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Dexter-Tree damage was noted in a couple of fields with the trunks of hardwood trees snapped.
April 2024FloodDexter-There was noticeable debris from the rise of Crab Creek which was strewed on either side of the bridge of a rural county road. A speed limit sign was pushed over by dead branches. Tree branches, limbs, etc. were found along either side of the roadway. No flooding was occurring during the following afternoon. It is estimated that the creek rose near 20 to 30 feet to get the debris spread out as far as it was.
July 2023HailDexter-This was reported via social media.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindDexter-Trained spotter reported estimated wind gust.
July 2023HailDexter-There was a picture of wind driven hail damage to the siding of a house. The windows were also blown out. Most of the town of Dexter appeared to have this damage.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindDexter-This was an estimated wind gust.
May 2022Tornado (EFU)Dexter-A storm tracker for KSN saw a brief tornado that lasted for a few seconds.
May 2022Tornado (EFU)Dexter-A brief tornado occurred in an open field based on a video sent via social media.
June 2022Heavy RainDexter-A Cocorahs observer in Dexter reported 2.21 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
June 2022Heavy RainDexter-A mesnoet station near Dexter reported 2.24 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
June 2022Heavy RainDexter-A cocorahs observer near Dexter reported 2.8 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
April 2019HailDexter-The ground had about 10 percent coverage.
April 2019HailDexter-The ground was 100 percent covered.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindDexter-This was reported at Dexter High School.
March 2016Tornado (EF0)Dexter-There were multiple reports of a brief touchdown. The tornado had since lifted.
April 2016HailDexter-The hail occurred on K-14 and was a delayed report received via Twitter. The time of the event was adjusted per radar.
October 2014Heavy RainDexter-The 24 hour rainfall amount was 3.12 inches.
September 2014Tornado (EF0)Dexter-Nice cone shaped tornado moved over open country and did not produce any damage.
April 2012HailDexter-This report was relayed from KSOK radio.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindDexter-Estimated gust reported by a trained spotter.
May 2003Flash FloodDexter-Grouse Creek Road impassable.
May 2002Flash FloodDexter-K38 under water just north of town.
May 2002Flash FloodDexter-Small stream overflowed, resulting in the closure of two roads.
June 2025HailDexter-no account filed
April 2024HailDexter-no account filed
August 2024HailDexter-no account filed
May 2022HailDexter-no account filed
May 2022HailDexter-no account filed
May 2022HailDexter-no account filed
April 2022HailDexter-no account filed
April 2014HailDexter-no account filed
February 2011HailDexter-no account filed
April 2009HailDexter-no account filed
May 2008HailDexter-no account filed
May 2008HailDexter-no account filed
May 2008HailDexter-no account filed
May 2008HailDexter-no account filed
May 2008HailDexter-no account filed
May 2008HailDexter-no account filed
June 2005HailDexter-no account filed
May 2003HailDexter-no account filed
May 2003HailDexter-no account filed
May 2003HailDexter-no account filed
May 2003HailDexter-no account filed
September 2002HailDexter-no account filed
April 2001HailDexter-no account filed
April 2001HailDexter-no account filed
April 1999Thunderstorm WindDexter-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cowley 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
Eaton4.7 miles14
Eschs (historical)4.8 miles14
Hooser5.2 miles13
Vinton7.7 miles13
Tisdale8.6 miles14
Maple City8.8 miles13
Taussig9.1 miles14
Burden9.6 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 DexterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2235696The 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 469581. 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.