Elk County Courthouse

Built in 1907 (Italian Renaissance architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

From the record

“The Elk County Courthouse, located at 127 N. Pine in Howard in Elk County, Kansas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.”
Wikipedia article Elk County Courthouse (Howard, Kansas), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 5 National Register listings published here for Elk County · listed in 2009 · category: Building · built in 1907, Italian Renaissance architecture, by George E. McDonald.

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

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 127 N. Pine, Howard, 67349
When was it listed? April 2009
Category. building
Also known as. County Courthouses of Kansas MPS
Township. Howard township
When was it built? 1907
Architectural style. Italian Renaissance architecture, Romanesque Revival architecture
Architect. George E. McDonald
National Register reference number. 09000227 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

31 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 31 fires within 5 miles of Elk County Courthouse between 1998 and 2020, burning about 3,981 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were 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
Debris and open burning	13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	11
Equipment and vehicle use	3
Arson/incendiarism	2
Smoking	2

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
25 September 2017	Arson/incendiarism	110 acres	Elk County	17078
2 July 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	20 acres	Kansas Forest Service	1500074
17 May 2018	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Kansas Forest Service	1869
4 April 2018	Debris and open burning	20 acres	Kansas Forest Service	1832
4 April 2015	Arson/incendiarism	80 acres	Kansas Forest Service	1500054
30 April 2018	Debris and open burning	200 acres	Kansas Forest Service	1865
28 April 2018	Debris and open burning	500 acres	Kansas Forest Service	1861
18 April 2018	Debris and open burning	350 acres	Kansas Forest Service	1850

Every fire recorded in Elk County

Storms near this property

60 of 110 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howard, the town this property stands in, in 110 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 52 hail, 32 thunderstorm wind, 11 heavy rain, 6 flash 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
July 2007	Flash Flood	Howard	$27,000,000	Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Elk County. The flooding damaged or destroyed around 400 houses. This led 12 to 42 million dollars in damage. An awesome 21.49 inches of rain fell during the month of June. Much of this fell during the last few days of the month.
August 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	$50,000	Numerous trees were knocked down across town.
June 2001	Lightning	Howard	$50,000	The northwest roof of Elk County Courthouse was struck, inflicting damage to the roof tile, the elevator, and several computers. A second lightning strike set fire to a hay barn. The barn was a total loss.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	$35,000	A pole barn with dimensions of 40 feet by 60 feet was completely destroyed. Additionally, some minor shed and house damage occurred. Ten inch tree limbs were blown down as well.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	$27,000	High winds knocked out power to Howard.
July 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	$12,000	no account filed
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	$3,000	Estimated 70 mph winds damaged a fence and a sheet metal shed.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	$2,250	Estimated 70 mph winds damaged a tree and damaged a barn roof.
May 1993	Hail	Howard	$500	A thunderstorm dropped three-quarter inch hail around Howard.
May 1993	Hail	Howard	$500	no account filed
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	$100	Winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph downed some small tree limbs as well as damaged a screen door.
June 2008	Flood	Howard	$100	Heavy rainfall produced 4.30 inches of rain with agriculture flooding and some minor road flooding.
April 1994	Hail	Howard	$50	no account filed
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Several trees and large tree limbs were reported down corroborated from two different CO-OP observers that there was widespread tree damage across Howard. Time was estimated from radar.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	The KSU mesonet measured a 62 mph wind gust.
May 2024	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	Twenty four hour rainfall from CoCoRaHS observer of 2.05 inches. Street flooding occurred in town during the late evening hours of the 6th.
April 2024	Hail	Howard	-	Trained spotters relayed report to emergency management of quarter sized hail at Kansas Highway 99 and Rock Road.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	This was a measured wind gust from a Kansas Mesonet site northwest of Howard.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	There was a picture on social media of at least a 1-foot diameter tree branch snapped.
July 2023	Hail	Howard	-	There were pictures on social media of golf ball sized hail near Howard.
July 2023	Hail	Howard	-	There was a picture of at least 2-inch hail on the outskirts of Howard.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	This was an estimated wind gusts. This was corroborated by other similar reports.
May 2022	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	A Cocorahs station in Howard, Kansas, reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 3.85 inches.
June 2022	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	A Cocorahs observer near Howard reported 4.93 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
June 2022	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	A Coop observer reported 5.60 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
June 2022	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	A Cocorahs observer near Howard reported 4.93 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
June 2022	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	A Coop observer in Howard reported 2.63 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
October 2021	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	This is a 24 hour rainfall report of 3.67 inches about 1 mile SSE of Howard.
May 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	This was an estimated wind gust.
April 2019	Hail	Howard	-	The quarter sized hail lasted for a few minutes.
April 2019	Hail	Howard	-	Report came in via Facebook.
June 2019	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	This is a 24 hour total.
June 2019	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	This is a 24 hour total.
June 2019	Flash Flood	Howard	-	A deputy reported that the main road heading west out of Howard was covered with swiftly flowing water in multiple places which made them impassable.
May 2014	Funnel Cloud	Howard	-	The funnel cloud went half way to the ground, but did not last very long. A distinct wall cloud was also noted.
May 2014	Funnel Cloud	Howard	-	A trained spotter reported the funnel cloud about halfway to the ground.
August 2013	Flood	Howard	-	Several streets in downtown Howard are under a small amount of water. The ditches along the roads are full and spilling over.
April 2013	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	Observer in Howard measured 2.15 inches in the past 24 hours.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Estimated gust reported by a trained spotter.
June 2011	Hail	Howard	-	Law Enforcement also reported 70 mph wind gusts.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Estimated gust reported by a Law Enforcement officer.
June 2011	Hail	Howard	-	Winds up to 60 mph were also reported.
March 2010	Hail	Howard	-	Pea to nickel sized hail covered the ground.
July 2010	Heavy Rain	Howard	-	The Elk county dispatch center measured 4.7 inches since midnight.
August 2008	Flood	Howard	-	Numerous roads in the town of Howard were flooded.
June 2007	Flash Flood	Howard	-	Widespread 14 to 17 inch rainfall amounts occurred across Elk County from June 27th through July 1st, producing widespread, significant flooding. Please refer to this event in the July 2007 StormData publication for complete details.
June 2007	Flash Flood	Howard	-	Numerous thunderstorms moved across Elk County during the predawn hours of June 1st, dumping widespread 3 to 4 inch rainfall amounts across primarily the northwest half of the county. Several roads were flooded and impassable northwest of Howard.
June 2005	Flash Flood	Howard	-	Several county roads flooded.
August 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	AGTAP EK104.
April 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Limbs downed.
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Trees uprooted.
March 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Limbs downed.
May 2002	Flash Flood	Howard	-	Highway 99 flooded one mile south of the Greenwood/Elk county line.
September 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Unspecified farm equipment moved slightly. Velocities estimated between 61 and 70 kts. Time of occurrence estimated.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Branches 5-6 inches in diameter downed.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Howard	-	Tree blown down.
June 2025	Hail	Howard	-	no account filed
June 2025	Hail	Howard	-	no account filed
June 2025	Hail	Howard	-	no account filed
May 2024	Flood	Howard	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Elk 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

3 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.

Property	Distance	Listed
Howard National Bank	under 500 feet	2020
Elk Falls High School Gymnasium	7.6 miles	2024
Elk Falls Pratt Truss Bridge	7.8 miles	1994

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 09000227 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Elk County	All 5 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.