BlockBefore

Wakefield, Kansas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Republican Township. It stands on Timber Creek. The Survey maps it on the Wakefield quadrangle. 858 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,142 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Wakefield within Clay County

On record in Wakefield

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

Wakefield fell from 980 to 858 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
2010980
2020858-122 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 14 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

16 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Wakefield between 2012 and 2020, burning about 2,519 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined7
Debris and open burning4
Equipment and vehicle use2
Smoking1
Arson/incendiarism1
Natural1

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
13 July 2018Natural5.0 acresKansas Forest Service4353
30 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Service3060
2 May 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresGeary County58
23 April 2015Smoking1.0 acresKansas Forest Service2537
14 April 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
10 April 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreClay County201704
4 March 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined2,200 acresFort Riley KansasTRAINING AREA 60
31 March 2015Debris and open burning65 acresKansas Forest Service1976

Every fire recorded in Clay County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Wakefield: 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
John D. GrayLimestone, GeneralUnknown

Every working recorded in Clay County

Storms near this place

60 of 61 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wakefield in 61 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 44 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 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
April 2025Flash FloodWakefield$30,000Multiple county roads damaged due to washouts from flash flooding overnight. Delayed report. Time estimated from radar.
April 2002HailWakefield$1,000Quarter size hail broke windows on a church.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindWakefield$1,000Some windows were blown out of a house by strong winds.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Two inch tree limbs were blown down.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Wind gust was estimated.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Tree limbs down in Wakefield. Time based on radar.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Estimated wind gust.
June 2010Flash FloodWakefield-Numerous County Roads were flooded due to measured rainfall of 2.30 inches in approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
March 2009HailWakefield-Spotter reported that lots of pea size hail had fallen. The largest stones were the size of pennies.
June 2008HailWakefield-Trained spotters reported hail from the size of quarters to the size of golfballs.
May 2007HailWakefield-Nickel and dime sized hail reported. Small creeks and streams were also reported to be running near bankfull.
January 2006HailWakefield-Mostly dime to some nickel size hail.
September 1998Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Large trees were blown down.
June 2024HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2024HailWakefield-no account filed
May 2015HailWakefield-no account filed
September 2014HailWakefield-no account filed
July 2014HailWakefield-no account filed
April 2013HailWakefield-no account filed
May 2013HailWakefield-no account filed
May 2013HailWakefield-no account filed
April 2012HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2011HailWakefield-no account filed
August 2010HailWakefield-no account filed
August 2009HailWakefield-no account filed
March 2009HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
June 2008HailWakefield-no account filed
May 2007HailWakefield-no account filed
May 2007HailWakefield-no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
April 2006HailWakefield-no account filed
April 2006HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2006HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2006HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
August 2006Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
August 2004HailWakefield-no account filed
August 2004HailWakefield-no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
March 2002HailWakefield-no account filed
April 2002HailWakefield-no account filed
April 2002HailWakefield-no account filed
May 2002HailWakefield-no account filed
April 2002HailWakefield-no account filed
April 2002HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2001HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2001HailWakefield-no account filed
September 2001HailWakefield-no account filed
September 1998HailWakefield-no account filed
September 1998HailWakefield-no account filed
September 1998HailWakefield-no account filed
July 1997HailWakefield-no account filed
September 1997Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
June 1996HailWakefield-no account filed
June 1996HailWakefield-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindWakefield-no account filed
May 1996HailWakefield-no account filed
November 1996FloodWakefield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Clay 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
Broughton (historical)7.9 miles14
Ladysmith10.3 miles14
Industry10.4 miles15
Clay Center12.9 miles14
Green14.8 miles14
Idana16.9 miles14
Longford17.5 miles14
Oak Hill18.0 miles14

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 WakefieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2666759The 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 476323. 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.