BlockFrom the record
One of 102 National Register listings published here for Warren County · listed in 1979 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
J. L. Wright House
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
- Listed as. Wright, J. L., House - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
- Address. 1st St., Smiths Grove, 42171
- When was it listed? December 1979
- Category. building
- Also known as. Warren County MRA
- Census division. Smiths Grove
- Architectural style. Greek Revival architecture
- National Register reference number. 79003540 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Fires near this property
14 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of J. L. Wright House between 2000 and 2014, burning about 139 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 |
|---|---|
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 September 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 75 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 14 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | LOVING RD. FIRE |
| 30 June 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | NOAH BLEDS |
| 7 April 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 6.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HAYS FIRE |
| 6 April 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 4.2 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | LITTLE KNOB FIRE |
| 19 April 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | PIG ROAD |
| 6 March 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 21 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 3 March 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9.5 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
Mines and quarries near this property
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of J. L. Wright House: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Grove No. 3 Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this property
22 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Smiths Grove, the town this property stands in, in 22 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | $30,000 | A trained spotter reported that a home sustained roof damage and a camper was overturned along Highway 31W near KY 101 due to severe thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | $15,000 | A Twitter report relayed to the NWS from the public indicated that a tree fell on a house due to severe thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | $5,000 | An unspecified structure was blown on to Highway 68-80 and was blocking the road. |
| November 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | $5,000 | no account filed |
| December 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | $2,000 | A spotter located in Smith's Grove reported some minor damage to some outbuildings. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | $500 | A porch was blown of f a home. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Smiths Grove | - | There was a photo of ping pong size hail. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | The National Weather Service in Louisville conducted a storm survey for the macroburst damage extending from western Grayson County, through Edmonson County, before ending in northeastern Warren County. ||As the survey continued into northeastern Warren County, multiple barns suffered damage along Louisville Road (US Highway 31W), resulting in wind speed estimates between 85 and 95 mph. Additionally, in this area, scattered tree damage continued to be observed. Another pocket of heavily concentrated damage was noted in the Smiths Grove, Oakland, and Plum Springs communities, resulting in minor structural damage and numerous trees down. The most severe tree damage along the whole path of the macroburst was observed in Smiths Grove, where multiple large trees were snapped near their bases. Maximum wind speeds in Smiths Grove were estimated at 100 mph, with wind speeds elsewhere in northeastern Warren County estimated between 85 and 95 mph. While isolated damage continued farther to the south and west, the area between Plum Springs and Smiths Grove served as the end of the path of heavy damage.||All tree and structural damage was blown to the southeast along the path. This damage pattern is consistent with downburst winds, with the large scale of damage suggesting a macroburst event. |
| August 2018 | Flash Flood | Smiths Grove | - | It was reported that six to eight inches of flowing water was flowing over highway 101 and US 31W. |
| November 2018 | Flood | Smiths Grove | - | Six to eight inches of water were covering approximately 30 yards of U.S. Highway 31W a quarter of a mile south of Kentucky Highway 101. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | A trained spotter reported trees down across Highway 31W. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | Local law enforcement reported trees down near Smiths Grove. |
| July 2010 | Flash Flood | Smiths Grove | - | Main street in Smiths Grove had about six inches of water across the roadway. |
| October 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | Trees were blown down at 6th St. and College St. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | A tree was downed near the intersection of U.S. 68/80 and Highway 101. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | Several trees were downed near the intersection of KY 101 and U.S. 68/80. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | Several trees were reported down near Smiths Grove, at the intersection of Kentucky Highway 101 and Interstate 65. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | Numerous trees were blocking the road from Bowling Green to Smith's Grove. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Smiths Grove | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Smiths Grove | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Hail | Smiths Grove | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Smiths Grove | - | no account filed |
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
6 within 8 milesOther 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smiths Grove District | under 500 feet | 1979 | |
| Smiths Grove Historic District (Boundary Increase) | under 500 feet | 1987 | |
 | Smiths Grove Presbyterian Church | 0.1 miles | 1979 |
| Sterrett House | 0.1 miles | 1979 | |
 | Smiths Grove Baptist Church | 0.3 miles | 1979 |
| Smiths Grove Historic District (Boundary Increase II & Additional Documentation) | 0.3 miles | 2007 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 79003540 in Record Group 79. |
| Warren County | All 102 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.
- 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.