Valley Falls, Kansas
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1960. It stands in Delaware Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66088. It stands on Peter Creek. The Survey maps it on the Valley Falls quadrangle. 1,092 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 942 feet above sea level.
On record in Valley Falls
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
- Delaware River Composite Truss Bridgelisted 2003
Population over time
2 figuresValley Falls fell from 1,192 to 1,092 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 | 1,192 | |
| 2020 | 1,092 | -100 (-8%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 19 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.
- 1886 USGS Oskaloosa quadrangle1:125000
- 1888 USGS Oskaloosa quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Oskaloosa quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1950 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Valley Falls quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
10 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 10 fires within 5 miles of Valley Falls between 2003 and 2016, burning about 427 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 July 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Horton Agency | PLAYGROUND |
| 5 March 2016 | Debris and open burning | 300 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 54 |
| 31 March 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Jefferson County | not named |
| 31 March 2005 | Debris and open burning | 35 acres | Jefferson County | not named |
| 19 March 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Jefferson County | not named |
| 19 March 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 acres | Jefferson County | not named |
| 19 March 2007 | Debris and open burning | 16 acres | Horton Agency | SNEAKY LONG FIRE |
| 18 March 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Jefferson County | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 72 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Valley Falls in 72 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 32 hail, 31 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 3 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | $50,000 | High winds, estimated to 90 mph, caused widespread damage to trees, power lines and some buildings across the county. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | $50,000 | High winds ripped part of the roof off a rural Valley Falls home. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | $5,000 | Strong winds blew the siding off a house. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | $3,000 | Strong winds did minor damage to outbuildings and trees. |
| September 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | $2,000 | Strong winds damaged several outbuildings. |
| April 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | $1,000 | A speed limit sign was blown over, and 6-8 inch tree limbs were broken. A weather vane was blown off of a roof near Valley Falls. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | $1,000 | A building was damaged south of Valley Falls by strong winds. |
| March 2024 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | Quarter size hail northeast of Valley Falls relayed by emergency manager. |
| August 2024 | Flood | Valley Falls | - | Flood waters from Cedar Creek overflowing Finney Road north of Valley Falls from 166th 174 Road. Water was estimated to be 4-5 feet deep. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Fire chief estimated 70 mph wind gusts near Valley Falls. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Time estimated from radar. Large tree limb fell on roof of house and three cars parked near the home. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Report of a 24 inch diameter tree split in half. |
| March 2022 | Tornado (EF1) | Valley Falls | - | National Weather Service surveyed the area and found a intermittent narrow damage path to outbuildings and a few structures. Maximum winds estimated to around 97 mph based on the damage indicators and degree of damage. This was an EF1 tornado. No injuries occurred due to this tornado. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Report from mping of three inch tree limbs down and power poles broken. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Public report of 75 mph wind gust. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Report of 70 mph wind gust. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Mesonet station fw2032 valley falls. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Widespread tree branches 6 to 12 inches in diameter were reported down. A healthy 18 inch diameter tree and barn were blown over. Power lines were also reported down with power out in the city of Valley Falls. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Small buildings destroyed and power lines blown down in Valley Falls. |
| September 2010 | Flash Flood | Valley Falls | - | Law enforcement reported water over the road at K4 and 138th Road. |
| May 2008 | Flash Flood | Valley Falls | - | Water was reported over several roadways in the Valley Falls area. The cooperative observer located three miles southwest of Valley Falls reported 3.76 inches of rain as of 6:10am CST. The intersection of 142nd and K-4 had an estimated 6 inches of water over the roadway. Blue Mound Road north of K-16 was closed because of high water over the roadway. The Delaware River on the north side of Valley Falls was running two feet out of it's banks. A roadway near the intersection of Coal Creek Road and 170th was covered with one and a half feet of water. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Live tree limbs around 4 inches in diameter broken off. Spotter estimated the 70 mph wind speeds. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Spotters relayed reports through Emergency Manager. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | A 50 foot tall tree was reported to have fallen onto a house. Some barn damage noted, and power lines were blown down. |
| May 2007 | Funnel Cloud | Valley Falls | - | Numerous reports of this funnel cloud. |
| May 2007 | Funnel Cloud | Valley Falls | - | Several reports of this funnel cloud. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | Large tree blown down in the city. |
| May 2003 | Funnel Cloud | Valley Falls | - | A funnel cloud was seen near Valley Falls. |
| June 2001 | Flood | Valley Falls | - | Heavy rains caused water to overflow roads for a brief time. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| April 2014 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| October 2014 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| November 2013 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| March 2003 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| March 2003 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| March 2003 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Valley Falls | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Valley Falls | - | 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.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half Mound | 4.7 miles | 20 | |
| Boyle | 5.7 miles | 20 | |
| Lake Shore | 7.2 miles | 22 | |
| Dunavant | 7.3 miles | 20 | |
| Ozawkie | 7.6 miles | 22 | |
| Rock Creek | 7.9 miles | 19 | |
| Nortonville | 8.4 miles | 20 | |
| Indian Ridge | 8.7 miles | 22 |
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 Valley Falls | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1944959 | 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 478332. 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.







