Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
One of 25 National Register listings published here for Leelanau County · listed in 2008 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Empire School between 1993 and 2020, burning about 40 acres in total. 4 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 August 2004 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | CHIEF |
| 1 July 1993 | Fireworks | under an acre | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | FIREWORKS |
| 8 June 2011 | Natural | under an acre | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | POWERLINE FIRE |
| 25 June 1998 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | POLE |
| 19 June 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | EMPIRE BLUFF |
| 10 June 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | EMPIRE HILL POWER LINE FIRE |
| 27 May 2012 | Natural | under an acre | Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | GREENAN FIRE |
| 22 May 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | GLEN LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT 0000151 - 2020 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Empire, the town this property stands in, in 8 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 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 2016 | Hail | Empire | $85,000 | Hail to golfball-sized was reported in Empire, and up to three inches in diameter in Glen Arbor. Some vehicles were damaged, and a few homes lost windows and skylights. Considerable damage was done to orchards and vineyards in the area. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Empire | $10,000 | Trees and powerlines down countywide between approximately 1017 PM and 1040 PM. |
| September 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Empire | $5,000 | Several trees downed by wind. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Empire | $2,000 | Large tree limbs and power lines were downed by the wind at both locations. |
| December 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Empire | $1,000 | A strong area of low pressure moved across the western Great Lakes region on the 5th. Ahead of the system, unseasonably warm and moist air moved into Michigan, causing showers and thunderstorms to develop. A few strong to severe wind gusts were associated with the thunderstorms, with a television station west of Traverse City reporting damage to a satellite dish. As the low passed east of Michigan strong non-convective wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were common, causing some power outages across northern Michigan. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Empire | - | Water up to 6 inches deep flowing over some roads around Empire. |
| April 2011 | Hail | Empire | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Empire | - | no account filed |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Glen Haven Village Historic District | 5.9 miles | 1983 |
 | Sleeping Bear Inn | 6.6 miles | 1979 |
 | Sleeping Bear Point Life Saving Station | 6.9 miles | 1979 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 08000222 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Leelanau County | All 25 listed properties in this county. |
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