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Richardton, North Dakota

5 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the East Stark unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 58652. The Survey maps it on the Richardton quadrangle. 692 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,464 feet above sea level.

Richardton within Stark County

Population over time

2 figures

Richardton grew from 529 to 692 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010529
2020692+163 (+31%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 5 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

27 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 27 fires within 5 miles of Richardton between 1999 and 2020, burning about 55 acres in total. 1 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Equipment and vehicle use7
Debris and open burning4
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Recreation and ceremony1
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service40TH ST EAST DITCH FIRE
7 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service39TH STREET DITCH FIRE
5 September 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreNorth Dakota Field OfficeSCHNELL SITE 1
12 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceBLOWING HAY FIRE
9 August 2017Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service85TH AVE TRACK FIRE
3 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceENDERLE DITCH FIRE
27 August 2015Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceSATTLER FIRE
24 August 1999Naturalunder an acreNorth Dakota Field OfficeSCHNELL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Stark County

Storms near this place

43 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Richardton in 43 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 20 hail, 15 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 3 funnel cloud. The reports record 1 death. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2019LightningRichardton1 killedA 32-year old male died when he was struck by lighting while working on a trail at the Schnell Recreation Area east of Richardton in Stark County. At the time of the strike the victim was loading mowing equipment into the back of a pickup truck.
August 2016HailRichardton$100,000Extensive property and crop damage were reported north of Richardton. No exact details were provided.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindRichardton$40,000Fifteen power poles were broken, all pushed towards the east.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindRichardton$20,000A tree was down in town, along with a power line.
June 2017HailRichardton$15,000Five windows were shattered by the hail.
June 2011Tornado (EF0)Richardton$10,000The National Weather Service spoke to an eye witness who described this tornado. This tornado touched down briefly on the north side of Interstate 94 southwest of Richardton, lifting immediately after tearing part of a roof off of an outbuilding on a farm. This was the only damage attributed to this tornado, with no injuries or fatalities. Based on the damage description, this tornado was indicative of a strong EF0 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with peak winds of 85 miles per hour.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindRichardton$7,000A two and a half foot diameter ash tree that was seventy feet tall fell over onto a house.
July 2009LightningRichardton$3,500Two separate lightning strikes ignited hay bales near Richardton and Gladstone in Stark County. Eighty bales of hay were lost near Richardton, and one bale of hay was lost near Gladstone.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindRichardton$2,000Trees were damaged.
May 2018Tornado (EF0)Richardton-The tornado occurred over rural locations south of Richardton. No damage occurred, therefore the tornado was rated EF0.
June 2011Funnel CloudRichardton-This report was relayed by the Stark County Emergency Manager from a public report of a brief appearance of a funnel cloud.
June 2011Funnel CloudRichardton-A funnel cloud briefly formed near Richardton.
July 2008HailRichardton-This report was from the Severe Hail Verification Experiment.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindRichardton-Reported by a NWS cooperative observer.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindRichardton-Dumpster tipped over by the strong winds. Dime size hail accompanied the storm.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindRichardton-Reported by a NWS cooperative observer.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindRichardton-Pea size hail and very heavy rain accompanied the storm.
May 1998Tornado (F0)Richardton-Brief touch down. Location is also 10 northwest of Hebron.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindRichardton-Extensive tree damage.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindRichardton-no account filed
July 2023HailRichardton-no account filed
June 2021HailRichardton-no account filed
June 2021HailRichardton-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindRichardton-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindRichardton-no account filed
May 2018HailRichardton-no account filed
September 2018HailRichardton-no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindRichardton-no account filed
August 2016HailRichardton-no account filed
August 2016HailRichardton-no account filed
July 2013HailRichardton-no account filed
July 2013HailRichardton-no account filed
August 2011HailRichardton-no account filed
June 2009Funnel CloudRichardton-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindRichardton-no account filed
August 2008HailRichardton-no account filed
August 2006HailRichardton-no account filed
July 2004HailRichardton-no account filed
June 2001HailRichardton-no account filed
July 2001HailRichardton-no account filed
May 1998HailRichardton-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindRichardton-no account filed
June 1994HailRichardton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Stark County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Taylor5.9 miles5
Antelope6.3 miles5
Gladstone13.5 miles5
Lefor19.0 miles5
Lehigh20.1 miles6
Dickinson25.1 miles6
Eland30.0 miles5
Schefield32.0 miles5

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on RichardtonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2170329The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1030900. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.

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.