Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
One of 7 National Register listings published here for Williams County · listed in 1978 · 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 6 fires within 5 miles of Ray Opera House in 2015, burning about 809 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | HALVERSON FIRE |
| 20 August 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | CVANCARA FIRE |
| 15 August 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | ALAMO MUTUAL AID SKAARE FIRE |
| 11 August 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | ROSTEN FIRE |
| 9 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | HEDLAND FIRE |
| 13 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | SOLUM FIRE |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ray, the town this property stands in, in 38 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 20 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1999 | Hail | Ray | $600,000 | Hail damage to 30 homes, 150 vehicles and 30 to 100 percent crop damage. |
| July 2014 | Hail | Ray | $75,000 | Wind driven hail resulted in damage to homes and vehicles in the city of Ray. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | $70,000 | Siding was torn off homes in Ray. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | $65,000 | The strong winds knocked a wind charger tower over onto a car. Hail accompanied the high winds. |
| July 2006 | Hail | Ray | $20,000 | Spotters indicated that the most intense part of the hail swath from this storm began around 20 miles west of Ray, just to the south of Blacktail Dam, and was around 1 mile wide as it extended to approximately 2 miles north of Ray. The hail was accompanied by damaging thunderstorm winds in excess of 60 mph, which broke out windows and resulted in 100 percent crop loss in the hardest hit areas. Quarter size hail was also reported in the town of Ray, and was also accompanied by strong thunderstorm winds. This was part of the same storm which resulted in damage to the west and north of Ray. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | $15,000 | Wind speed estimate is based off of widespread tree damage around Ray. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Ray | $10,000 | There was minor damage to vehicles along U.S. Highway 2. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | Large hail accompanied the strong winds. |
| July 2014 | Hail | Ray | - | Strong winds accompanied the large hail. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Ray | - | Hail was accompanied by 2.10 inches of rainfall and 45 to 50 mph wind gusts. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Ray | - | This was a prolonged period of hail with the largest stones 1.75 inch diameter. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| August 2023 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 2013 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Funnel Cloud | Ray | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Hail | Ray | - | 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.
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 78001997 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Williams County | All 7 listed properties in this county. |
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