BlockBefore
Photograph of Union Block
Photograph by Jcakp, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Union Block

Built in 1892 (Richardsonian Romanesque). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

From the record

“The Union Block in Oskaloosa, Kansas, is a commercial block building which was built in 1892. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.”

Wikipedia article Union Block (Oskaloosa, Kansas), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 10 National Register listings published here for Jefferson County · listed in 1973 · category: Building · built in 1892, Richardsonian Romanesque.

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. SW corner of Delaware and Jefferson Sts., Oskaloosa, 66066
  • When was it listed? April 1973
  • Category. building
  • Township. Oskaloosa township
  • When was it built? 1892
  • Architectural style. Richardsonian Romanesque
  • National Register reference number. 73000760 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

48 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 48 fires within 5 miles of Union Block between 2003 and 2020, burning about 302 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 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 burning26
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Arson/incendiarism5
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking1

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
11 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreKansas Forest Service236
5 August 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresKansas Forest Service208
2 August 2005Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresJefferson Countynot named
26 July 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresJefferson Countynot named
2 July 2006Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresJefferson Countynot named
13 June 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresKansas Forest Service163
7 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Service95
5 April 2018Debris and open burning2.0 acresKansas Forest Service4000055

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this property

60 of 101 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oskaloosa, the town this property stands in, in 101 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 47 hail, 42 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 3 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
August 2005Flash FloodOskaloosa$80,000Fast flowing water across several rural roads.
May 2002Tornado (F1)Oskaloosa$50,000A short lived tornado touched down in Oskaloosa and damaged a seed mill and other buildings.
May 2002Tornado (F1)Oskaloosa$10,000A short lived tornado touched down near Oskaloosa and damaged buildings, roofs, and power lines.
May 2002Tornado (F0)Oskaloosa$5,000A tornado briefly touched down northeast of Oskaloosa and damaged power lines.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa$2,000Strong winds downed power lines near Oskaloosa.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa$2,000Strong winds blew windows out of a house and uprooted a large tree.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa$2,000no account filed
June 2005Tornado (F0)Oskaloosa$500This brief weak tornado remained mainly over open country but did damage a shed.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Estimated 70 mph winds in Oskaloosa.
October 2024Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Emergency manager estimated 60 mph gust in Oskaloosa.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Estimated 90 mph winds. Power lines down and a structure fire reported in the area.
June 2023HailOskaloosa-Quarter sized hail reported.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Spotter reported several large trees snapped about 8 feet above the ground and many large branches broken off.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Tree limb about 5 inches in diameter fell on a house.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Numerous trees down throughout the town of Oskaloosa.
July 2023HailOskaloosa-Emergency manager reported quarter sized hail.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Wind estimate from the emergency manager.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Measured on a personal weather station.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Measured on a personal weather station.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Measured on a Kansas mesonet station.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Reported by the Emergency Manager.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Report of a 70 mph wind gust.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Delayed report of a 5 foot diameter tree snapped at the base and laying over 94th and Marion Road.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Multiple power poles down, large barn blown down at Topeka and Union Street.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Power poles down near Oskaloosa.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Several 6-8 inch diameter limbs down.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Wind gust to around 70 mph.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Wind gusts at least 70 MPH at 134th and US 59.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Winds estimated to be 70 MPH at Marshall Road and K-92.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Power lines were reported down approximately 4 miles north of Oskaloosa.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-A large tree was blown over, blocking portions of Highway 59.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Damage to metal roofs at a lumber yard on HWY 59.
May 2011Funnel CloudOskaloosa-An emergency manager reported a funnel cloud near US 59 and Fairview Road near Oskaloosa.
May 2011Funnel CloudOskaloosa-A trained spotter reported a brief funnel cloud near Oskaloosa.
August 2009FloodOskaloosa-North of Highway 92, an officer reported some water across most of the north-south roads.
April 2008Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Power lines down in town.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-The roof was blown off a new barn, and several trees were blown down near the residence of the citizen.
June 2005Funnel CloudOskaloosa-Several funnel clouds were reported in the area and one was captured on live tv from Kansas City television station helicopter.
November 2005Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-Tree down.
March 2001FloodOskaloosa-Heavy rains of one to 3 inches caused many small creeks and streams to overflow their banks and spread water over roadways. Several roads were reported impassable for a time.
August 2019HailOskaloosa-no account filed
May 2016HailOskaloosa-no account filed
May 2014HailOskaloosa-no account filed
April 2011HailOskaloosa-no account filed
May 2011HailOskaloosa-no account filed
May 2011HailOskaloosa-no account filed
June 2011HailOskaloosa-no account filed
September 2010HailOskaloosa-no account filed
June 2009HailOskaloosa-no account filed
June 2009HailOskaloosa-no account filed
April 2009HailOskaloosa-no account filed
April 2009HailOskaloosa-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOskaloosa-no account filed
March 2006HailOskaloosa-no account filed
April 2006HailOskaloosa-no account filed
April 2006HailOskaloosa-no account filed
April 2006HailOskaloosa-no account filed
April 2006HailOskaloosa-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson 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.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Newell-Johnson-Searle House0.2 miles2017
Methodist Episcopal Church of Oskaloosa0.2 miles2025
Jefferson Old Town Bowstring Truss0.3 miles1990

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 73000760 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Jefferson CountyAll 10 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.