Medicine Lodge, Kansas
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Medicine Lodge Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67104. It stands on Elm Creek. The Survey maps it on the Medicine Lodge quadrangle. 1,781 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,496 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Medicine Lodge
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 2 records
Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty SiteNational Historic Landmark · listed 1969
Carry A. Nation HouseNational Historic Landmark · listed 1971
Population over time
2 figuresMedicine Lodge fell from 2,009 to 1,781 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,009 | |
| 2020 | 1,781 | -228 (-11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 14 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1891 USGS Medicine Lodge quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Medicine Lodge quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1955 USGS Pratt quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Pratt quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1973 USGS Medicine Lodge quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Medicine Lodge quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
4 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Medicine Lodge between 1994 and 2018, burning about 2,420 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/undetermined | 3 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 420 acres | Barber County | PIKE FIRE |
| 27 March 2017 | Smoking | under an acre | Barber County | 6 |
| 17 March 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 8 |
| 14 March 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 acres | Barber County | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Medicine Lodge: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Gypsum-Anhydrite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine Lodge Plant | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 148 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Medicine Lodge in 148 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 104 hail, 35 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | $500,000 | Rear Flank Downdraft caused extensive damage to roofs, trees, power lines and sheds. |
| May 2019 | Lightning | Medicine Lodge | $100,000 | A home was struck by lightning causing a fire. The resident received smoke inhalation was expired so this is an indirect death. |
| September 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | $15,000 | Numerous trees were uprooted. |
| September 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | $5,000 | Large tree toppled by the high wind. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | Picture of golf ball size hail sent via social media. |
| June 2025 | Heavy Rain | Medicine Lodge | - | A cocorahs report indicated 2.60 inches of rain fell. |
| June 2024 | Heavy Rain | Medicine Lodge | - | Rainfall report of 3.35 inches. |
| October 2024 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | Hail with diameters ranging from quarter size to golf ball size was reported by law enforcement. |
| August 2024 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | Hail the size of quarters was reported by the public. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | Half dollar sized hail was also observed with the wind. |
| May 2019 | Flash Flood | Medicine Lodge | - | Street flooding. |
| October 2018 | Flash Flood | Medicine Lodge | - | Several roads, including the city park, were under water from flooding. |
| May 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Medicine Lodge | - | There may have been some minor tree damage but was unable to locate due to road options. |
| September 2017 | Flood | Medicine Lodge | - | Water was reported over a few of the roads. |
| September 2017 | Flood | Medicine Lodge | - | There was significant street flooding. |
| April 2013 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | Hail up to the size of nickels covered the ground. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| April 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | Four inch tree limbs broken |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | Trees down. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | Severe trees blown down. |
| September 2000 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | Lasted five minutes. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| April 2021 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| October 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| October 2007 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Medicine Lodge | - | no account filed |
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.
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 Medicine Lodge | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1001733 | The 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 470446. 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.
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.





