BlockFrom the record
5 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Benton County, Minnesota
35 topographic sheets cover 19 settlements here, and 5 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 211 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 5 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 5 buildings.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 19 populated places in this county; 19 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
5Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Church of Sts. Peter and Paul-Catholic | building | 1982 | 82002932 |
 | Cota Round Barns | building | 1982 | 82002936 |
| Cota Round Barns | building | 1982 | 82002936 |
 | Esselman Brothers General Store | building | 1982 | 82002933 |
 | Leonard Robinson House | building | 1982 | 82002935 |
Wildfire, 1992 to 2020
770 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 770 of them, burning about 3,759 acres. 1 started naturally and 215 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 326 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 215 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 102 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 17 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 17 |
| Smoking | 15 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. Three of them were set deliberately.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 2005 | Debris and open burning | 210 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 May 1992 | Debris and open burning | 200 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 20 November 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 121 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 14 April 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 acres | Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge | GLENDERADO |
| 21 March 1998 | Debris and open burning | 100 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | 88 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 November 2015 | Debris and open burning | 75 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 April 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1954 to 2025
60 of 196 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 196 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 2 injuries and about $9,889,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 105 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 59 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 |
| Tornado | 7 |
| Flash Flood | 6 |
| Flood | 1 |
| Lightning | 1 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rice | 1 hurt, $50,000 | Many hundreds, perhaps thousands of trees were uprooted, snapped or broken in an eight mile wide swath that extended from the western edge of the county, near Rice to Watab, to just north of Sartell, to north central Benton County, in Graham Township, centered near State Highway 25 and County Road 77. In addition, a local Minnesota Department of Transportation Weather Station near Rice, measured a wind gust of 64 knots. A semi-truck was blown over near Rice along Highway 10, resulting in one injury. Plus, a spotter on the northeast shore of Little Rock Lake measured a wind gust of 81 mph before his tower collapsed and the anemometer ceased to function. The intense wind blew from the southwest. Hundreds of large and healthy trees were broken or snapped, blocking roads. The storm survey team concluded a downburst hit the area. |
| August 1954 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | 1 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Sauk Rapids | $3,000,000 | Hail damaged many houses and vehicles, and area crops. The hail fell when winds were not too strong, so crop damage was limited. |
| April 2001 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $3,000,000 | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sauk Rapids | $1,500,000 | A severe downburst wind event occurred from Sauk Rapids, north and northeast across a large swath of central and northern Benton County. Hundreds of trees were toppled, broken or pushed over. Many trees landed on houses, sheds and vehicles. |
| April 2001 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $500,000 | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Hail | Popple Creek | $250,000 | There were multiple vehicles damaged with windows broken. In addition, siding on houses was damaged and numerous windows were broken to houses and outbuildings in and around Popple Creek. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Foley | $250,000 | Roof off house. House was also moved 5 feet off its foundation. Trees down. Sheds and pole barns down. |
| September 1982 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1977 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| July 1970 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gilman | $200,000 | A barn was blown down near Gilman. In addition, numerous trees were blown down around the area. |
| August 2021 | Hail | Sauk Rapids | $100,000 | Hail damaged siding in Sauk Rapids. |
| July 2002 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $100,000 | Seven to ten inches of rain was common across a large swath of Benton County, from the northwest corner to the southeast. About 30 roads were closed, including State Highway 23 in Foley. A few township roads were washed out. About 3500 sandbags were used in the Foley area. Some basements were flooded. Local agriculture officials estimate that about 10% of the sellable crops in Benton County were destroyed. Numerous creeks in Alberta township (Gilman to Rum River area) rose out of their banks. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gilman | $50,000 | Roof off barn, two sheds down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sauk Rapids | $40,000 | 60 large trees damaged. Few businesses and homes damaged from wind or falling trees. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sartell | $25,000 | Roof of paper mill blown 100 feet away. |
| September 1982 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sauk Rapids | $17,000 | Roof partially ripped off and blown 100 feet away. |
| June 2015 | Lightning | Rice | $5,000 | Local officials determined that lightning started a fire, and also damaged a gas meter in Rice, Minnesota. The damage was limited mostly to the exterior of the house. |
| August 2014 | Tornado (EF0) | Jakeville | $2,000 | A supercell thunderstorm developed west of St. Cloud in eastern Stearns County around 3:45 PM CST. The storm gradually became better organized as it entered Benton County. A classic hook echo formed as it crossed U.S. Highway 10 around 4:25 PM CST and began to produce a tornado at 4:47 PM CST 3 miles south southwest of Morrill. The tornado produced a narrow swath of mainly tree damage along its path east northeast, but some minor structural damage was also noted - such as a roof being torn off from a farm outbuilding. The tornado moved into Morrison County at 4:56 PM CST. The tornado was photographed and caught on video by numerous storm chasers, spotters and others. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rice | - | Mesonet station MN064 T.h.10 - Rice - Mp 162 measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Popple Creek | - | A photo showed penny sized hail near the intersection of 30th St NE and Hwy 23. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ronneby | - | A tree was downed. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sauk Rapids | - | Large tree limbs were broken. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Foley | - | Some windows were broken. Vehicles were also damaged. |
| May 2022 | Funnel Cloud | Gilman | - | Two separate groups of storm chasers photographed a funnel cloud. Neither photo showed any ground contact, and no damage was reported. There were no reliable spotter reports of it touching down, so this has been documented as a funnel cloud. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Sartell | - | Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 7.11 inches. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Watab | - | Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 3.81 inches. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Sartell | - | Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 5.50 inches. |
| June 2022 | Heavy Rain | Sartell | - | Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 4.86 inches. |
| September 2019 | Funnel Cloud | Mayhew | - | A storm chaser documented a funnel cloud. It was not possible from the video to determine whether it touched down, and there were no reports of damage, so it was deemed to have been a funnel cloud. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rice | - | A Minnesota Department of Transportation wind sensor measured a wind gust of 65 mph. |
| March 2017 | Hail | Rice | - | A swath of large hail, up to quarter size, fell near Rice, and northeast of Rice to the Morrison County line. Almost all of the hail was dime size or smaller. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Watab | - | A few trees were blown down north of Sauk Rapids, along Highway 10. |
| June 2016 | Funnel Cloud | Sauk Rapids | - | Several trained spotters observed funnel clouds from Sauk Rapids, to approximately 5 miles east of Sauk Rapids. |
| July 2016 | Heavy Rain | Sauk Rapids | - | A measured rainfall report of 5.00 inches occurred in Sauk Rapids. |
| July 2016 | Flash Flood | Rum River | - | Benton County road crews said that numerous gravel roads washed out, and many others were under water due to excessive rainfall Monday Evening, July 11th. |The north and west parts of the county were hit the hardest. Benton County Road 4 was closed near Popple Creek due to the Elk River being over the bridge. |
| August 2016 | Heavy Rain | Foley | - | A measured rainfall report of 3.05 inches occurred southwest of Foley. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Foley | - | Foley police department and social media had pictures and videos of flood waters rushing down main streets in Foley. During the height of the flooding, Highway 23 was closed due to one foot of flowing water across the road. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brennyville | - | A few trees were blown down south of Morrill, Minnesota. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Popple Creek | - | Numerous trees were blown down from west to east near Popple Creek. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Parent | - | Wind speed measured by a private weather station. |
| May 2012 | Heavy Rain | Sauk Rapids | - | A trained spotter reported 2.50 inches of rainfall in a short period of time. |
| August 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Foley | - | A large tree was blown down in Foley. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sauk Rapids | - | Several large trees were blown down in Sauk Rapids. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Glendorado | - | Several large trees were blown down near Glendorado. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Oak Park | - | Hail fell along Highway 23, just northeast of Oak Park. It began as one inch hail at 1915 and increased to two inch hail by 1919. |
| July 2011 | Hail | North Benton | - | A picture of 3.50 inch hail was observed north of Gilman, Minnesota. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oak Park | - | Several large branches, up to 10 inches in diameter, were blown off trees in Oak Park, Minnesota. |
| March 2010 | Flood | Watab | - | Approximately 20 structures, mainly cabins, flooded near Little Rock Lake due to back water problems from an ice jam on the Mississippi River. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gilman | - | A wind gust of 81 mph was measured in the city of Gilman, Minnesota. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Skaja | - | The public reported one inch diameter hail in Graham Township. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Rice | - | Local Law Enforcement officials and the Emergency Manager reported a nearly continuous path of large hail that fell across northern Benton County from near Rice, northeast to Brennyville. This path is the extension of the hail swath across northern Stearns County. Most of the hail was nickel to quarter size and had depths over 6 inches in some places. The largest hail stone was around tennis ball size. |
| July 2009 | Heavy Rain | Sauk Rapids | - | A local weather observer measured three inches of rainfall Tuesday afternoon July 14th. Minor street flooding was reported. |
| July 2009 | Funnel Cloud | Duelm | - | A storm chaser reported that the funnel may have touched down, but it was impossible to tell for sure. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rice | - | Wind gust occurred on US Highway 10 Mile post 162. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sartell | - | Awnings blown off of a deck in the northern portion of Sartell near the grade school. Also, two doors blown in on home. A twenty foot pine tree uprooted. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Foley | - | Three inch tree limbs severed. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Popple Creek | - | Hail occurred at County roads 4 and 25. |
Mines and quarries
3 recordedThe Survey's mineral resources record lists 3 workings inside this county. 2 still produce and 1 is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 2 |
| Limestone, General | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County Marl Bed | Limestone, General | Occurrence | ||
| Corrigan Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Killinger Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Every populated place in the county
19Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
Provenance
- Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
- Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
- Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
- 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.