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Pawnee Rock, Kansas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Pawnee Rock Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67567. The Survey maps it on the Pawnee Rock quadrangle. 193 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,949 feet above sea level.

Pawnee Rock within Barton County

On record in Pawnee Rock

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

Pawnee Rock fell from 252 to 193 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
2010252
2020193-59 (-23%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 16 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

2 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Pawnee Rock between 2016 and 2020, burning about 1 acre in total. 1 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
Natural1
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
24 June 2020Natural1.0 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
9 December 2016Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreKansas Forest Service19300

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Barton County

Storms near this place

56 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pawnee Rock in 56 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 27 hail, 19 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 4 flood. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 2017Tornado (EF3)Pawnee Rock2 hurt, $658,000This long track tornado moved in from Pawnee County. Law Enforcement reported the tornado just south of the county line near Pawnee Rock and then followed it as it moved to the NE. The tornado moved through the west side of Pawnee Rock causing sporadic EF1 and isolated EF2 damage to several homes and one school type facility. The tornado continued to move to the NNE causing EF2 damage to a couple of homes on West Barton County Road. One residence was a mobile home that lost the far east side of the structure and all roofing material. One injury was noted at that location as they did not seek shelter. The home just to the west lost the east half of structure with the occupants seeking refuge in the basement. Of note, a Ford F-150 was thrown or rolled approximately 75 to hundred yards away from its original location. Further to the NE, the tornado strengthened considerably as noted by complete destruction of an 1890 farm house. With the age of the home and no anchoring being present due to the structure resting on cinder blocks along with a lack of debarking, a higher rating could not be justified though the amount of devastation to the structure itself pointed towards a possible higher rating. Three occupants sought refuge in the basement and were unharmed. The next door neighbor's home was also considerably damaged with all of the structure being demolished except for one corner section. The tornado then continued to the NE over open country damaging trees and power lines along the way before dissipating NW of Hoisington. A total of 44 parcels were affected. Ten homes were deemed total losses. The estimated property value losses were estimated at $658,000.
August 2023Flash FloodPawnee Rock$100,000Multiple Roads flooding the city of Great Bend. Numerous cars flooded out. Some water considered fast moving.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock$5,000Severe straight line winds collapsed a shed. A couple was seeking shelter from the storm in their car inside the shed when it collapsed. They needed help getting out but were uninjured.
June 2009Flash FloodPawnee Rock$2,000Water was over Highway 56 southwest of Pawnee Rock.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-A 67 mph wind gusts was measured from a personal weather station.
May 2024HailPawnee Rock-Nickel to quarter sized hail was reported in Pawnee Rock.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Measured wind gust from a weather station near Pawnee Rock.
October 2023HailPawnee Rock-Hail ranging from 2.5 to 3 inches damaged a vehicle and a pontoon boat according to a public report.
April 2022HailPawnee Rock-Barton County dispatch relayed a public report of golf ball sized hail near Pawnee Rock.
April 2021HailPawnee Rock-The hail was slightly larger than quarters.
April 2021HailPawnee Rock-The hail was nickel to quarter size.
April 2019Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-No damage was reported.
June 2019HailPawnee Rock-Picture sent through Twitter to KWCH TV.
August 2019FloodPawnee Rock-Numerous roads across roughly the western half of the county were flooded. Sections of West Barton County Road were closed. Sandbagging occurred in and around Pawnee Rock due to swollen tributaries.
May 2018HailPawnee Rock-Law enforcement also reported 40 mph winds.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Reported by a trained spotter.
June 2017HailPawnee Rock-Wind gusts to 60 mph were also reported.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Law enforcement reported power lines down.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Estimated gust reported by trained spotter.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Estimated gust reported by trained spotter.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Estimated gust reported by trained spotter.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Winds were estimated around 60 mph.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Winds were estimated around 70 mph.
April 2010FloodPawnee Rock-Flooding was reported in and around both Great Bend and Ellinwood. Just less than 2 inches of rain occurred in Great Bend. Any potential property or crop damage that may have occurred is unknown.
June 2008HailPawnee Rock-The hail was at least an inch deep on the ground.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Car trailer was blown of highway.
June 2006FloodPawnee Rock-Southwest 70 County Road was closed due to high water over the road. The road did not reopen until around 1200 CST on the 23rd.
August 2006FloodPawnee Rock-A week of on and off heavy rainfall closed Highway 56 near Pawnee Rock for a relatively short time on the morning of the 21st. According to the Great Bend Tribune, two feet of standing water over the highway stranded a few motorists, and eventually lead to law enforcement officials barricading the highway.
March 2000Tornado (F0)Pawnee Rock-Brief touchdown in open country.
September 1999Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-Trees, 12 to 15 inches in diameter, blown down.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-no account filed
June 2019HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
June 2018HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
June 2017HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2016HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
April 2015HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2014HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
April 2010HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
July 2010HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
April 2009HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
September 2007Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2007HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2007HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2007HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2007HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2007HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2007HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 2007HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 1996HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 1996Flash FloodPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 1996HailPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 1996Flash FloodPawnee Rock-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindPawnee Rock-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Barton 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
Dundee5.6 miles16
Anchorway10.5 miles17
Heizer11.9 miles15
Albert13.0 miles15
Great Bend13.3 miles17
Olmitz17.5 miles13
Kanbrick17.9 miles17
Boyd18.8 miles13

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 Pawnee RockAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2232302The 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 484937. 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.