L.C. Adam Mercantile Building

Built in 1904 (Italianate architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

From the record

“Adam Mercantile Building, also known as the Cedar Vale Historical Museum, is a historic building at 618 Cedar St. in Cedar Vale, Kansas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.”
Wikipedia article L.C. Adam Mercantile Building, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 6 National Register listings published here for Chautauqua County · listed in 2007 · category: Building · built in 1904, Italianate architecture.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Listed as. Adam, L.C., Mercantile Building - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. 618 Cedar St., Cedar Vale, 67024
When was it listed? April 2007
Category. building
Township. Jefferson township
When was it built? 1904
Architectural style. Italianate architecture
National Register reference number. 07000312 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

6 since 2017

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of L.C. Adam Mercantile Building between 2017 and 2020, burning about 148 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
Equipment and vehicle use	2
Misuse of fire by a minor	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 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	100 acres	Kansas Forest Service	not named
3 March 2020	Misuse of fire by a minor	40 acres	Kansas Forest Service	not named
16 March 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Chautauqua County	3162017
21 February 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	5.0 acres	Chautauqua County	22117
31 December 2019	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Kansas Forest Service	254
28 January 2018	Equipment and vehicle use	2.0 acres	Kansas Forest Service	2

Every fire recorded in Chautauqua County

Storms near this property

60 of 142 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cedar Vale, the town this property stands in, in 142 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 66 hail, 58 thunderstorm wind, 7 flash flood, 6 tornado. 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 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$100,000	Estimated winds up to 85 mph caused a swath of damage from Cedar Vale to 9 miles northwest of Sedan. Numerous trees, power lines, and limbs were reported down. The swath was estimated to be 2 to 3 miles wide. An estimated 9 power poles were laying across highway 99.
June 2007	Flash Flood	Cedar Vale	$100,000	The CO-OP observer in Cedar Vale measured 7.2 inches of rain which lead to flooding of his residence. 6 inches of rain was also measured in the town of Chautauqua. Flash flooding was also reported in Sedan where numerous city streets were inundated.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$20,000	The estimated winds of 80 mph blew about 50 percent of a roof off of a home.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$15,000	A couple of power poles were downed with power outages reported.
February 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$15,000	Winds estimated around 80 mph produced some damage across Cedar Vale. Power lines were downed, tree limbs 10 inches in diameter were downed, and the announcer's box roof at the ball field blew off. Additionally, ping pong ball size hail accompanied these severe winds.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$15,000	Severe winds tore the roof off of a gas station.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$10,000	A tree was downed onto a building. The extent of damage is unknown, therefore property damage amounts are rough estimates.
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$10,000	Some power flashes were noted with a few powerlines knocked down.
September 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$5,000	Tree fell onto a house.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$5,000	Several pieces of tin torn off a barn.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$3,000	The strong winds stripped siding from a house.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$2,000	Several street signs and tree limbs of 5 to 6 inches in diameter were snapped off of trees.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	$500	Tree limbs were downed.
April 1994	Hail	Cedar Vale	$500	no account filed
February 1993	Hail	Cedar Vale	$500	no account filed
February 1993	Hail	Cedar Vale	$500	no account filed
April 2026	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	The ground was covered with pea to quarter size hail.
April 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Wind gusts were estimated between 60 and 70 mph.
August 2025	Flash Flood	Cedar Vale	-	There was a report of water over the bridge just southwest of the cemetery and much of the road leading up to the bridge was under water as well.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Wind gusts up to 60 mph were estimated.
April 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Emergency manager had an estimated 60 mph wind that lasted for 10 to 15 minutes.
April 2024	Flash Flood	Cedar Vale	-	Emergency manager relayed quite a bit of road damage with roads washed out completely north of Cedar Vale due to rapid rises on the Caney River and its associated creeks. At Road 6 and Quivira, a rainfall gauge had 6.4 inches of rain through the following morning, but it overfilled before getting the complete total.
April 2024	Heavy Rain	Cedar Vale	-	A public report relayed via emergency management of an estimated 6.4 inches of rain at Road 6 and Quivira Road. The gage overflowed thus the full measurement is unknown. Additional rainfall reports were received in the county ranging from 4.02 inches in Sedan to 3.77 inches near Hale by cooperative observers. There was quite a bit of flooding and associated road damage in the western portion of the county due to rises on rivers, creeks and streams.
September 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	A camper trailer was blown over and off of Highway 166 near the Cowley-Chautauqua county line. Nearby, a video showed a barn was severely damaged along with several power lines and trees snapped or down.
June 2022	Heavy Rain	Cedar Vale	-	A mesonet station near Cedarvale reported 1.22 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
May 2020	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	The dime to nickel size hail covered the ground.
September 2019	Tornado (EFU)	Cedar Vale	-	This was a brief event that caused no damage.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Tree damage was reported across town along with the awning at the city pool being blown off.
May 2018	Tornado (EF0)	Cedar Vale	-	Brief touchdown in open country outside of town.
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	The winds were estimated up to 60 mph. Numerous limbs were downed along with some blowing debris.
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	The caller estimated 60 to 70 mph winds. The time of the event was estimated from radar.
April 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	A trained spotter measured the 77-mph gust on a home weather station. The time is estimated from radar. No damage was reported.
April 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	A law enforcement officer estimated the gust.
April 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	A trained spotter reported the gust.
April 2015	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	Winds of 70 to 75 mph were also reported.
April 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Quarter sized hail was also reported.
May 2015	Flood	Cedar Vale	-	Reports of minor street flooding was noted at many low water crossings across the county.
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Damage to several trees were noted across the area along with several downed power lines. Wind speed up to 70 mph were reported.
September 2014	Tornado (EF1)	Cedar Vale	-	Nice cone tornado move across open country across the county causing damage to a couple of barns and several trees. One barn was completely collapsed and another lost some of the metal roofing.
September 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	The winds were estimated at between 70 and 80 mph.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	No damage was reported.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Some minor damage was reported to a few structures.
May 2013	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	Fifty five mile per hour winds were also reported.
April 2012	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	The hail covered the ground.
February 2012	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	Winds estimated around 80 mph accompanied the large hail.
November 2011	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	The hail was mostly dime to quarter size, but a few were up to golfball size. The hail occurred with 50 mph winds.
February 2011	Tornado (EF0)	Cedar Vale	-	The tornado touched down briefly over open country. No damage was noted with this tornado.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	A trained spotter reported an estimated wind gust of 60 mph.
June 2011	Heavy Rain	Cedar Vale	-	Heavy rains caused minor flooding of rural land across the county.
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Wind gusts were estimated at around 60 mph.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	The strong winds were accompanied by pea sized hail.
October 2010	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	Winds estimated at 50 mph occurred with the hail.
March 2010	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	Pea to penny sized hail covered the ground.
May 2009	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	Winds also gusted to 45 mph.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Cedar Vale	-	Cedar Vale experienced a power outage due to the wind.
May 2009	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	The hail was accompanied with 50 mph winds.
June 2008	Flood	Cedar Vale	-	Very heavy rainfall in a short period of time caused some flooding across Chautauqua County from the early morning to early afternoon hours on the 28th. Water covered parts of Highway 99 just west of Sedan, and typical low water crossings flooded in and around Cedar Vale. Any potential damage estimates are unknown.
June 2005	Flash Flood	Cedar Vale	-	Water flowed over Gallup Road Bridge.
April 2004	Hail	Cedar Vale	-	Hail covered ground, making roads slick.
April 2003	Tornado (F0)	Cedar Vale	-	Remained in the country.

Every storm recorded in Chautauqua County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

2 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph	Property	Distance	Listed
	Hewins Park Pavilion	0.7 miles	2007
	Otter Creek Bridge	3.4 miles	1990

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 07000312 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Chautauqua County	All 6 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
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.