BlockFrom the record
6 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Garden County, Nebraska
24 topographic sheets cover 5 settlements here, and 6 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 53 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 6 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 3 structures, 2 buildings and 1 district.
- 1 of the 6 listings was added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 5 populated places in this county; 5 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
6Every 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash Hollow Historic District | district | 1975 | 75001093 | |
 | Garden County Courthouse | building | 1990 | 89002231 |
 | Lewellen State Aid Bridge | structure | 1992 | 92000756 |
 | Lisco State Aid Bridge | structure | 1992 | 92000757 |
 | Oshkosh Water Tower | structure | 2019 | 100004140 |
 | Rackett Grange Hall # 318 | building | 2001 | 01000713 |
Wildfire, 1992 to 2020
131 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 131 of them, burning about 58,924 acres. 78 started naturally and 1 was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 78 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 23 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 August 2012 | Natural | 19,000 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | TURNER TATANKA |
| 3 September 2000 | Natural | 12,000 acres | Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge | DRYWELLS |
| 21 March 2019 | Recreation and ceremony | 5,035 acres | Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge | RED KATE |
| 15 May 2013 | Natural | 5,000 acres | Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge | BLUE LAKE |
| 24 August 1998 | Natural | 3,700 acres | Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge | SUGARLOAF |
| 29 August 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 7 August 2012 | Natural | 1,200 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | JEFFRIES |
| 24 August 1998 | Natural | 1,000 acres | Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge | ORVIN |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1953 to 2025
60 of 486 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 486 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 1 injury and about $6,097,590 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 313 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 133 |
| Tornado | 26 |
| Flash Flood | 9 |
| Lightning | 2 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 |
| Heavy Rain | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 | Lightning | Oshkosh | 1 killed | An individual was struck by lightning resulting in death. Reported by the Garden County Sheriff's Department. |
| July 1953 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $3,500,000 | Flat roof was rolled back halfway on a commercial building. |
| April 2025 | Tornado (EF2) | Oshkosh | $750,000 | Tornado touched down approximately 3 miles southwest of Bingham in far northern Garden County. This tornado quickly increased in size as it moved northeast, impacting utility poles and trees along Highway 2. Just to the east, the tornado impacted a farmstead and overturned a freight train, producing EF2 damage. The tornado continued to move slowly northeast for the next hour, primarily impacting open country in rural southwest Cherry County. The tornado ended shortly after 6 PM MST, 11 miles north-northeast of Ashby Nebraska. |
| October 1980 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Lisco | $200,000 | Flash flooding along and south of the North Platte river from near Lisco to near Lewellen washed out several county roads with many county roads closed. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $150,000 | A violent downburst broke off large trees...one which fell on the roof of a small motel. The downburst also caused a pole barn to be destroyed, removed a roof from a machine shed, overturned two pivot irrigation systems, and stripped numerous corn fields on the northeast side of Oshkosh. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $150,000 | Thunderstorm outflow winds of 50 MPH caused the derailment of 40 empty coal train cars. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Lewellen | $100,000 | The hail and wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph damaged roofs on homes, broke skylights in homes, and damaged vehicles. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F2) | Lewellen | $100,000 | The tornado touched down near the North Platte River and destroyed an old barn and snapped off trees before moving north across Highway 26 and taking down power poles. After moving across the highway, it destroyed three outbuildings, three grain bins, a large machine shed, and a two car detached garage and broke off numerous large trees at a farmstead. It continued to move north-northeast and destroyed three wind mills and three center pivot irrigation systems and threw 1/2 ton hay bales one quarter mile into a corn field. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Oshkosh | $100,000 | Extensive damage to vehicles. Windows broken in homes. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Lewellen | $80,000 | A tornado touched down briefly just to the south of railroad tracks near State Highway 92. As the tornado touched down, it destroyed a grain bin at a local farmstead, broke off a power pole near the railroad tracks, and picked up hay bales that were near to the railroad tracks. The tornado and the debris hit the side of a westbound Union Pacific train and caused 22 empty coal cars to derail. Debris from the hay bales and grain bin were carried north-northeast across State Highway 92 and into an open pasture. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Oshkosh | $60,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Oshkosh | $50,000 | Damage to vehicles and buildings in Oshkosh. |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Oshkosh | $50,000 | Thunderstorms moving along the same path produced in excess of 4 inches of rainfall. This resulted in water flowing over roads and causing areas of road damage. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lewellen | $40,000 | Seven tower center pivot irrigation system overturned. |
| October 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $30,000 | Power lines were reported downed in portions of Oshkosh. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lewellen | $25,000 | Several large tree limbs down and hardwood trees trunks were snapped. Power lines were down in the vicinity as well. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Lisco | $25,000 | Damage to vehicles and buildings in Lisco. |
| July 1996 | Hail | Bingham | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1980 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1965 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 1960 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Oshkosh | $20,000 | Estimated wind gusts to 53 knots accompanied the thunderstorm as it moved through the residence. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Lisco | $15,000 | Hail covered the ground up to 1 to 2 inches deep creating slippery roads. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lewellen | $15,000 | The strong thunderstorm outflow winds pushed a grain bin off its foundation. Crop damage also occurred but the extent is unknown. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $15,000 | Trees and power poles were snapped off and a metal shed was tossed by the strong outflow winds. |
| August 2002 | Flash Flood | Oshkosh | $12,000 | The River Road south of Oshkosh washed out in numerous locations due to fast flowing water rushing over the road. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lewellen | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds snapped power poles at this location. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Lewellen | $10,000 | A nearly stationary thunderstorm produced heavy rain which washed out some roads. One area of road that was washed out was approximately 100 yards long, 10 feet deep and 15-20 feet wide in places. |
| August 1998 | Hail | Oshkosh | $10,000 | Golfball size hail accompanied by strong winds damaged buildings, vehicles, and crops. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused extensive tree damage. |
| June 2003 | Hail | Oshkosh | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Lisco | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Lewellen | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Oshkosh | $8,000 | A cooperative observer reported golf ball to tennis size hail that broke out windows and skylights southeast of his location. |
| August 2002 | Hail | Oshkosh | $8,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Oshkosh | $8,000 | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Oshkosh | $7,000 | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Lewellen | $7,000 | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $6,000 | Thunderstorm outflow winds tore a roof off a hay shed, destroyed and damaged grain bins, broke off four power poles, uprooted trees, and tore rain gutters off a house. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Oshkosh | $6,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Lisco | $6,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Oshkosh | $6,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Oshkosh | $6,000 | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lewellen | $5,000 | Strong winds and hail of an unknown size knocked out windows at a residence. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Lewellen | $5,000 | General public reported hail up to ping ball size covered the ground white and lasted for 20 minutes. |
| August 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lewellen | $5,000 | General public reported thunderstorm wind gusts of 70 mph with up to quarter size hail covering yard. |
| August 2008 | Hail | Lisco | $5,000 | Marble to golfball size hail and 50 MPH winds chipped the paint from the siding of a house and cracked two windows. |
| March 2007 | Hail | Oshkosh | $5,000 | Law enforcement reported golf ball size hail 5 miles southeast of Oshkosh in Garden County. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Lewellen | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds in excess of 60 mph accompanied the hail. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Lewellen | $5,000 | Strong winds combined with the hail and broke windows and produced minor roof damage. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Lewellen | $5,000 | The tornado touched down in a corn field on the north side of Highway 26. An outbuilding from a farmstead to the south of the touchdown area was shifted off its foundation. Also, the front deck of a home to the northeast received minor damage. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oshkosh | $5,000 | Several large trees blown down. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lisco | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down several large branches. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Oshkosh | $5,000 | Large tree limbs blown down |
| June 2014 | Hail | Lisco | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Oshkosh | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Oshkosh | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lewellen | $4,000 | Co-op observer reported power poles blown over. |
Every populated place in the county
5Named 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.