Lower Rattlesnake Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

From the record

One of 90 National Register listings published here for Missoula County · listed in 1999 · category: District.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. Roughly bounded by Vene St., Greenough Park, Elm St., and Pierce St., Missoula, 59802
When was it listed? June 1999
Category. district
Census division. Missoula
National Register reference number. 99000697 - 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

546 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 546 fires within 5 miles of Lower Rattlesnake Historic District between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,248 acres in total. 27 started naturally. 12 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	297
Debris and open burning	127
Recreation and ceremony	51
Natural	27
Smoking	16
Arson/incendiarism	12
Equipment and vehicle use	7
Misuse of fire by a minor	3
Fireworks	2
Railroad operations and maintenance	2
Power generation/transmission/distribution	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
9 September 2016	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Southwestern Land Office	not named
8 September 2019	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Missoula County	not named
8 September 2005	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Southwestern Land Office	not named
8 September 1996	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Southwestern Land Office	CRAZY TRAIL FIRE
6 September 2020	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Missoula County	200430
6 September 2019	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Missoula County	not named
6 September 1992	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Southwestern Land Office	CRAZY CANYON CAMPFIRE
5 September 2007	Arson/incendiarism	1.5 acres	Southwestern Land Office	not named

Every fire recorded in Missoula County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 17 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 17 workings within 5 miles of Lower Rattlesnake Historic District: 7 occurrences, 4 past producers, 4 producers, 1 unknown. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Barium-Barite, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Pumice. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Clay Deposit In Northeast Missoula	Brick Clay	Past Producer	Unconsolidated Sediments
Gold Prospect	Gold	Prospect
L.S. Jensen & Sons Inc.	Stone	Producer
Stock Pile	Lead, Zinc	Unknown
Unnamed Kaolin	Clay	Occurrence
Unnamed Kaolin	Clay	Occurrence
Unnamed Pumice	Pumice	Occurrence
Unnamed Pumice	Pumice	Occurrence
Pattee Canyon Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Western Materials Inc	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Missoula County

Storms near this property

58 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Missoula, the town this property stands in, in 58 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 32 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 3 lightning, 2 dust devil. The reports record 2 deaths and 3 injuries. 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 1998	Lightning	Missoula	1 killed, 1 hurt	no account filed
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	1 killed, $260,000	no account filed
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	1 hurt	no account filed
July 2002	Lightning	Missoula	1 hurt	no account filed
August 2003	Wildfire	Missoula	$250,000	no account filed
August 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$50,000	Strong winds destroyed a tent at the Western Montana Fair and blewdown several trees.
August 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$50,000	Trees and powerlines were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2003	Dust Devil	Missoula	$40,000	no account filed
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$30,000	no account filed
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$25,000	no account filed
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$18,000	The broadcast media reported a tree limb fell and crushed an outbuilding in the Orchard homes development at 315pm.
August 2025	Heavy Rain	Missoula	$5,000	A public report described torrential rain of approximately 20 minutes in duration and roadway ponding near Bernices Bakery around 1600MST; additionally, the roof of new annex started leaking.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$5,000	Several large trees were uprooted and fell onto two cars and a house. The Missoula International Airport ASOS reported a gust to 48 mph while a sensor on top of Mount Sentinel recorded a 68 mph wind gust. A local power company reported at least 2,000 customers were without power for at least three hours.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$5,000	Two transmission poles located in the South Hills area of Missoula were knocked out by the wind which caused a power outage. Multiple trees were pushed over by the wind including a 50 foot Ponderosa Pine tree that fell onto a home. A NWS employee reported that a Maple tree was snapped in half at the corner of Mount and Brooks Street.
May 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$5,000	no account filed
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$4,000	Thunderstorms that moved from the Bitterroot Valley northward to the Missoula Valley, blew down two rotten cottonwood trees in Hamilton, and three trees in the city of Missoula.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	$1,000	Multiple trees were blown down on the south side of Missoula. One tree was 10-12 inches in diameter and was snapped off at the base.
July 2012	Hail	Missoula	$500	Hail of 1/4 to 1/2 inch diameter was reported, also 0.45 inch of rain fell in 10 minutes.
June 2022	Hail	Missoula	-	Quarter size hail in the Rattlesnake area to the northeast of Missoula.
August 2016	Hail	Missoula	-	A person from the public located in Missoula tweeted a photo of hail that appeared to be quarter size. There were multiple reports of nickel sized hail with some damage to gardens and vegetation. Intense rainfall was also produced by this storm, and the greater impact may have been street ponding.
August 2016	Dust Devil	Missoula	-	A person from the public observed a prominent dust devil in northern Missoula. It formed ahead of showers that were tracking south to north in a very unstable environment. No damage was reported.
July 2013	Hail	Missoula	-	A right-moving supercell moved across the Missoula International airport and brought penny sized hail.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	Trained spotter reported a large spruce tree blown over 4 miles n of East Missoula.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph was recorded by the Point six RAWS, at an elevation of 7929 feet.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	Trees were downed near the cross streets of Phillips and Cowper by a thunderstorm wind gust.
May 2007	Hail	Missoula	-	One inch diameter hail was reported from the Grant Creek area.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	A large tree was blown down onto a house on River Road. Another large tree was blown down on Bancroft Road.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	Power lines reported down from thunderstorm winds.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	Thunderstorms winds blew part of the roof off the grandstand at the city fairgrounds. Roof damage was also reported at the Fine Arts center on the campus of the University of Missoula. A gust of 68 mph was recorded at the National Weather Service office in Missoula.
April 2006	Heavy Rain	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2006	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2006	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 2006	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2004	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
September 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
April 2003	Funnel Cloud	Missoula	-	no account filed
May 2003	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2003	Lightning	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2001	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
July 1998	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
September 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
June 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 1996	Hail	Missoula	-	no account filed
September 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Missoula	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Missoula 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

6 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
East Pine Street Historic District	0.5 miles	1989
Reid House	0.5 miles	2003
Forkenbrock Funeral Home	0.6 miles	1984
Northern Pacific Railroad Depot	0.6 miles	1985
U.S. Post Office	0.6 miles	1979
Carnegie Public Library	0.7 miles	1982

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 99000697 in Record Group 79.
Missoula County	All 90 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.