BlockFrom the record
3 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Steele County, North Dakota
17 topographic sheets cover 9 settlements here, and 3 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 72 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 3 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 2 buildings and 1 structure.
- 1 of the 3 listings was added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 9 populated places in this county; 9 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
3Every 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Baldwin's Arcade | building | 1975 | 75001306 |
| Beaver Creek Bridge | structure | 1997 | 97000183 | |
 | Steele County Courthouse | building | 1985 | 85002995 |
Wildfire, 1996 to 2019
12 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 12 of them, burning about 1,278 acres. 1 started naturally and 2 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. Two of them were set deliberately.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 November 2006 | Debris and open burning | 927 acres | Valley City Wetland Management District | FULLER'S LAKE 06 |
| 3 May 2015 | Natural | 160 acres | Valley City Wetland Management District | ROGERS |
| 26 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | DEVOLD VILLAGE |
| 25 October 1999 | Debris and open burning | 60 acres | Valley City Wetland Management District | THYKESON |
| 4 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | DARIN SAASTAD |
| 6 April 2012 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | HANSON FIRE |
| 24 June 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 acres | Valley City Wetland Management District | DRONEN |
| 21 October 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Valley City Wetland Management District | DRONEN |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1958 to 2025
60 of 360 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 360 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 4 injuries and about $8,185,390 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 175 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 107 |
| Tornado | 44 |
| Flash Flood | 12 |
| Flood | 10 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | 3 hurt, $500,000 | A woman taped several minutes of a multiple vortex tornado that passed south of her farm. As the tornado went out of view of the video, she and her two children took cover in their mobile home. At the end of the tape, as the tornado moved out of view, the video showed a microburst to the west of the farm. This is what did most of the damage. After the microburst, she looked up and saw blue sky. She and the children were in the limbs of a tree with mobile home debris covering her legs. They were treated for scratches and bruises. The woman and one child were kept overnight at the hospital for observation. Some of the damage included destruction of the mobile home and other farm buildings as well as farm machinery and trees. The path and length of the tornado were estimated. |
| June 1971 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 1 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | $2,000,000 | Fully grown trees were uprooted. Some trees fell on power poles and powerlines, causing power outages in Finley. Trees also fell on cars and damage was reported at the grain elevator. On one house porch, the windows were blown out and the screens were torn off. Extensive wind driven hail produced crop damage across portions of Finley Township. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | $2,000,000 | Five wooden double post high voltage power towers were snapped off by downburst winds. The utility company estimated winds around 100 mph. Large hail and damaging winds produced extensive crop damage across portions of Easton and Melrose Townships. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colgate | $1,000,000 | Numerous trees were blown down and a field irrigation system was overturned. Extensive crop damage also occurred in Colgate and Broadlawn Townships. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hope | $500,000 | There was a report of quarter size hail, 1.50 inches of rain, and full grown pine trees broken in half. The baseball field scoreboard was blown down and the metal batting cage was blown across two baseball diamonds. Extensive crop damage occurred throughout Hugo Township. |
| September 2019 | Flash Flood | Luverne | $250,000 | Streets, low spots, rivers, and basements were flooded by 4 to 9 inches of rain over a short duration of time. Cars that got stuck in the flood waters were abandoned where they stalled. Farm fields and access roads were also flooded. |
| July 2004 | Tornado (F2) | Finley | $250,000 | The tornado tore the roof off a barn and impaled a tree branch in the wooden door of a granary. Many trees were damaged and a high voltage power tower was knocked over. The tornado tracked mainly along the Goose River (about 4 miles west of Hatton) to about 4 miles south-southwest of Hatton. |
| July 1987 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| July 1987 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Tornado (EF2) | Sharon | $150,000 | This tornado tracked from far northeast Sharon Township across far northwest Westfield Township. A tornado Debris Signature was evident on KMVX radar. The tornado completely dismantled and destroyed a barn at one farmstead. It also snapped or uprooted numerous spruce, ash, cottonwood, and willow trees at various locations along its path. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Blabon | $100,000 | The Steele County sheriff reported the quarter sized hail accumulated to a depth of one foot. Several sections of cropland received damage in northern Melrose township. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hope | $100,000 | Numerous trees were blown down and an 85 foot steel grain bin was knocked down onto the railroad tracks. The bin had an 83,000 bushel capacity. |
| May 1994 | Tornado (F0) | near Mint Hill | $50,000 | A woman taped several minutes of a multiple vortex tornado that passed south of her farm. As the tornado went out of view of the video, she and her two children took cover in their mobile home. At the end of the tape, as the tornado moved out of view, the video showed a microburst to the west of the farm. This is what did most of the damage. After the microburst, she looked up and saw blue sky. She and the children were in the limbs of a tree with mobile home debris covering her legs. They were treated for scratches and bruises. The woman and one child were kept overnight at the hospital for observation. Some of the damage included destruction of the mobile home and other farm buildings as well as farm machinery and trees. The path and length of the tornado were estimated. |
| April 2019 | Flood | Sharon | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Guelph | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hope | $40,000 | A steel grain bin was blown off its foundation and tumbled for a quarter of a mile. |
| August 2011 | Flash Flood | Finley | $25,000 | State highway 32 was closed to traffic both north and south of Finley due to water overtopping the roadway. The sheriff reported that many sections of county roads were washed out. |
| August 2011 | Flash Flood | Hope | $25,000 | Three to six inches of rain fell over the Hope area, causing street and basement flooding. Numerous county and local township roads were flooded across Willow Lake and Carpenter townships. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Finley | $25,000 | The hailstorm hit one farmstead particularly hard. The large hailstones punched holes in the house siding, broke windows, and dented cars and several tractors. |
| June 1988 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1988 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1986 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 1984 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1976 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 1966 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Luverne | $20,000 | Several sections of cropland received damage in northern Riverside township. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Sharon | $20,000 | The hailstorm went through the town of Sharon, damaging many vehicles. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Finley | $15,000 | The hail battered a farmhouse, denting the siding and putting holes in the gutters. Several windows were broken and the shingles were damaged. |
| June 2020 | Tornado (EF1) | Sharon | $10,000 | This tornado tracked intermittently to the north-northeast for over 7 miles, roughly 2 miles of the track in Steele County, then the remainder of the 5 miles in Grand Forks County (where it ended around 442 pm CDT). The tornado blew out the back wall of a pole shed and tore off some of its steel sheathing. It also snapped or uprooted several cottonwood and pine trees in shelterbelts along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colgate | $10,000 | A chicken coop was destroyed and two large evergreens were blown down. |
| August 2011 | Flood | Finley | $10,000 | Overland flooding continued around Finley after 3 to 6 inches of rain fell. |
| August 2011 | Flood | Hope | $10,000 | After the 3 to 6 inches of rain fell over the Hope area, overland flooding kept numerous roads closed. |
| May 2010 | Flood | Hope | $10,000 | Overland flow covered portions of North Dakota highway 32 near the Barnes County line. The golf course near Hope was also damaged by high water. |
| May 2010 | Flash Flood | Sharon | $10,000 | Two to four inches of rain fell over portions of northwest Steele County, causing rapid rises in water levels at some locations. Two feet of water flowed over state highway 32 about six miles south of Finley. About a mile south of the junction of highways 200 and 32, three feet of water covered the road for about 70 feet. |
| April 2002 | Lightning | Finley | $10,000 | Lightning struck a house southeast of Finley, knocking out power and phone service to the house. The strike also ruptured a propane line near the home shooting flames up into the air. The lightning hit also left a hole in the roof. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Finley | $10,000 | The hail damaged a pickup. County extension agents estimated that 10,000 acres were destroyed along a strip from highway 200 along the Steele/Griggs line to near Blabon. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pickert | $5,000 | Trees were uprooted and a power pole was snapped by the strong wind. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | $5,000 | A portion of the roof of a large shed was destroyed by the wind. |
| March 2009 | Flood | Sharon | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Flood | Sharon | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Hope | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Sharon | $2,000 | A brief touchdown was observed near highway 32. Gravel was thrown across the road. Peak winds were estimated at 65 mph. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | $2,000 | Trees were blown down. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hope | $2,000 | Trees were blown down in Hope. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Finley | $2,000 | Hail broke several windows. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Finley | $1,000 | The large hail broke the windows in a pickup truck. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hope | $500 | Trees were blown down. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | $500 | Branches were blown down. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | $300 | Branches were blown down. |
| August 1983 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $30 | no account filed |
| July 1982 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $30 | no account filed |
| July 1958 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $30 | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hope | - | Measured wind gust at the Hope NDAWN. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Finley | - | Damage to a shop from strong winds. |
| July 2025 | Hail | Hope | - | Received a report of hail up to 1 inch in diameter. |
| July 2025 | Hail | Luverne | - | Received a public report of hail up to the size of half dollars. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Luverne | - | Trained spotter reported a 111 mph wind gust 1 mile east of Luverne. Measurement verified via personal weather station. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hope | - | NDAWN station 5 NE Hope reported a 76 mph wind gust. Mesonet station 321686 Hope ND NDAWN. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blabon | - | Personal weather station via Weather Underground, I.D. Brent Johnson NA86 Airport - KNDHOPE4. Measured gust to 92 mph. Duration of severe gusts 100 minutes. Duration of significant severe gusts over 75 mph 65 minutes. Extreme wind gusts associated with MCV on back side of Derecho. |
Every populated place in the county
9Named 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.
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Interlaken
Golden Lake township · 58240 · Golden Lake quadrangle
8 sheets, 1952 to 1985
No longer a settlement
The vanished settlements of Steele County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.
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.