BlockFrom the record
9 National Register listings published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Holt County, Nebraska
59 topographic sheets cover 26 settlements here, and 9 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 258 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 9 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 8 buildings and 1 district.
- 1 of the 9 listings was added during the 1970s.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 26 populated places in this county; 26 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
9Every 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W.J. Biglin House | building | 2022 | 100007506 | |
 | Golden Hotel | building | 1989 | 89002040 |
 | Holt County Courthouse | building | 1990 | 90000974 |
 | O'Neill Carnegie Library | building | 2018 | 100002665 |
 | Old Nebraska State Bank Building | building | 1974 | 74001120 |
 | Rouse Ranch | district | 2013 | 13000674 |
| St. Patrick's Catholic Church | building | 2020 | 100005337 | |
 | Brantly Sturdevant House | building | 1999 | 99000387 |
 | US Post Office-O'Neill | building | 1992 | 92000479 |
Wildfire, 2004 to 2020
151 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 151 of them, burning about 3,458 acres. 39 started naturally and 3 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 39 |
| Debris and open burning | 36 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 33 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 3 April 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 425 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 3 May 2009 | Debris and open burning | 311 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 2 May 2009 | Debris and open burning | 290 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 15 April 2010 | Debris and open burning | 200 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 11 April 2010 | Debris and open burning | 150 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 17 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 150 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 24 April 2015 | Natural | 140 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1952 to 2025
60 of 886 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 886 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 8 injuries and about $42,704,280 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Hail | 560 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 211 |
| Tornado | 80 |
| Flash Flood | 17 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 |
| Flood | 6 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 |
| Lightning | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1997 | Lightning | Atkinson | 1 killed | A 55 year-old man was struck and killed by lightning while riding a horse moving cattle in a meadow 22 miles southwest of Atkinson. |
| October 1996 | Tornado (F1) | O Neill | 3 hurt, $150,000 | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chambers | 2 hurt | An inflatable fun jump was overturned by thunderstorm winds which resulted in two injuries. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Page | 1 hurt, $50,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 80 MPH blew over a semi truck injuring the driver. |
| October 1996 | Tornado (F1) | Bassett | 1 hurt, $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 1968 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | 1 hurt, $2,500 | no account filed |
| May 1965 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | $25,000,000 | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F3) | Emmet | $5,700,000 | As the tornado initially touched down, it encountered a farmstead and destroyed three barns, a detached garage, and 3 large metal grain binds, and also ripped off a portion of the house roof, broke windows, and uprooted and snapped off 90% of the trees around the farmstead. As the tornado moved southeast, it hit two more farmsteads where it completely overturned a modular home, destroyed barns, snapped off nearly all trees. Further along the path to the southeast, the tornado threw farm machinery one quarter mile into a grove of trees. Then it hit another farm where it ripped off an attached garage on a house, broke most windows in the house, moved an old home off its foundation 2 feet, and killed one cow and extensively injured 14 other cows. A barn was also destroyed at a dairy farm across the road to the southeast. The tornado then moved southeast mainly across farmland destroying fields of corn and soybeans, overturning 200 hundred center pivot irrigation systems, snapping off 1,000 power poles, and breaking off numerous large trees. As the tornado passed 3 miles north of O'Neill, it destroyed storage sheds at numerous homesteads. Baseball size hail associated with the storm punctured holes in vinyl siding and broke windows and skylights in homes. Finally just before dissipating 2 miles north of Page, the tornado lifted the front porch on a home which then took off the roof and one exterior wall of the home. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Emmet | $1,000,000 | Fire Chief reported extensive storm damage due to thunderstorm winds at the Scribner Grain facility. The grain facility was damaged with power lines down, irrigation systems damaged and a grain bin and the rigging at the site damaged. |
| August 1997 | Hail | O Neill | $1,000,000 | Widespread hail damage occurred to automobiles in the city of O Neill. |
| June 1996 | Tornado (F2) | O Neill | $1,000,000 | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Tornado (F1) | Ewing | $750,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Flash Flood | East Portion | $500,000 | Water was running about 15 feet deep and 40 feet wide near Highway 108 about 18 miles east of O'Neill. Part of the highway was washed away 16 miles east of O'Neill. In the Page area, 5 inches of rain caused flooding that washed out culverts and created gullies in many county roads. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Ewing | $500,000 | Wind driven hail up to golf ball-size broke windows out at a school and damaged cars. |
| July 1994 | Tornado (F1) | Chambers | $500,000 | Two farmsteads were destroyed and a farmhouse was leveled west of Chambers. |
| June 1994 | Tornado (F1) | O Neill | $500,000 | A tornado blew over farm equipment, destroyed a grain bin, damaged irrigation systems, and ripped out trees. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Ewing | $250,000 | Highway 45B near Ewing crossing the Elkhorn River is closed due to water over the road. |
| March 2019 | Flood | (Onl)O Neill Arpt | $250,000 | Water reported over several streets in O'Neill. |
| June 1996 | Tornado (F1) | Page | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1992 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1992 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1992 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1990 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1990 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1980 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stuart | $200,000 | An intermittent line of wind damage was observed along and north of Highway 20 in Holt County. The wind damage which began in Rock County continued from the Rock County line about 7 miles northwest of Stuart and ended about 3 miles east northeast of Stuart in Holt County. Peak wind gusts of 118 mph were estimated, where wooden power poles were snapped. Wind damage included large trees downed in Stuart, several buildings and tall poles downed at the Stuart Race Track, downed power lines, and several center pivot irrigation systems overturned. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Amelia | $200,000 | Thunderstorms with prolonged heavy rain falling on already saturated ground caused widespread flooding. Water was flowing over Highway 20 at Inman, Highway 281 south of O'Neill, and the intersection of Highways 95 and 11 west of Chambers. The approach to the bridge over the south fork of the Elkhorn River near Ewing was washed away. Numerous secondary roads were under water or washed out. A cooperative observer 7 miles southwest of Amelia reported 4.28 inches of rain. |
| April 2000 | Tornado (F1) | Atkinson | $200,000 | Tornado was intermittently on the ground for six miles and destroyed or damaged several farm buildings, knocked down power lines, fences, and trees. Four center pivot systems were also damaged or destroyed. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Page | $200,000 | Downburst thunderstorm winds struck 5 farmsteads east and northeast of Page damaging or destroying several out buildings. Five center pivot irrigation systems were damaged. Hail accompanying the winds produced extensive crop damage. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF2) | Stuart | $150,000 | A supercell tornado touched down just north-northeast of Rose in Rock County and entered Holt County approximately 13 miles south-southwest of Stuart and continued for another 10 miles before dissipating 3 miles south-southeast of Stuart. In Holt County, the multiple vortex tornado broke off power poles, destroyed outbuildings, overturned several center pivot irrigation systems, snapped and uprooted numerous large trees, damaged roofs, and moved vehicles. The tornado maintained the EF2 rating in both Rock and Holt Counties. The average path width in Holt County was 30 yards with the maximum width of 50 yards. |
| May 2008 | Flash Flood | Ewing | $150,000 | Thunderstorms produced heavy rain with 4 inches of rain falling on already saturated ground. The heavy rain led to flash flooding with numerous roads under water. Roads inundated with water include gravel roads throughout Holt County, Old County Road 108 east of O'Neill, Highway 281 south of O'Neill, and County Road S45A north of Page. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Atkinson | $120,000 | Law enforcement reported six grain bins blown over 7 miles north of Atkinson. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Atkinson | $100,000 | Roads 877 and 876 are closed due to water over the roadway. Flooding also reported at the Golf Course. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Atkinson | $100,000 | Flooding was reported by the public in Atkinson after four inches of rainfall flooded the town lumberyard, outlying areas, and produced minor flooding in town. Numerous rainfall reports of three to four inches were received in the area. |
| July 2010 | Flash Flood | Stuart | $100,000 | Thunderstorms passing over the same area produced six to nine inches of rainfall in northern Holt and central Boyd counties. Several roads were closed due to water flowing across the roads to include Highway 12 between Bristow and Lynch, while numerous roads were washed out 9 to 12 miles north of Stuart. Spencer Dam authorities announced that the dam had reached capacity resulting in high releases of water downstream of the dam. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Atkinson | $100,000 | Atkinson law enforcement reported baseball size hail. The large hail broke windows at the Atkinson Country Club, damaged roofs, broke windows, severely damaged vehicles, and destroyed corn crops. |
| August 2007 | Hail | O Neill | $100,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Stuart | $75,000 | The large hail damaged numerous vehicles and destroyed corn crops. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | O Neill | $75,000 | Thunderstorm winds damaged several farms. A large barn was destroyed, center pivot irrigation system destroyed. Extensive tree and crop damage. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stuart | $60,000 | Spotters reported power poles and lines down along with grain bins blown over. Fields were stripped by damaging winds and hail. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ewing | $55,000 | Power lines and poles were blown down. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Emmet | $55,000 | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Atkinson | $50,000 | Irrigation pivot turned over and power lines reported down. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | O Neill | $50,000 | Thunderstorm downburst winds blew several large trees onto homes and vehicles. Several small buildings were damaged. |
| October 1998 | Tornado (F2) | Atkinson | $50,000 | Tornado touched down on the northeast edge of Atkinson and remained on the ground for nearly 1 mile. The tornado destroyed a pole barn. It also carried a metal shed 100 yards and damaged trees and feed bunks. The tornado touched down two more times, once 1 mile north of Atkinson, just east of Highway 11, and again 2 miles north of Atkinson, just west of Highway 11, doing minor tree damage. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | O Neill | $50,000 | An unfinished lumber yard structure was destroyed by strong thunderstorm winds at O Neill and power lines were downed at Page. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Atkinson | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F1) | Amelia | $45,000 | The tornado took down power poles and uprooted numerous trees south of state highway 95 and then hit a farmstead as it crossed the highway about 3 miles south of Amelia ripping off the roof of a metal outbuilding and depositing it on the road. As it moved east-northeast, it overturned a center pivot irrigation system and uprooted more trees. |
| May 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Atkinson | $40,000 | At 225 PM CST a landspout tornado briefly touched down 1 mile north of Atkinson that produced minor damage to a tractor's wind shield and small garage before lifting while moving into an alfalfa field. The tornado was rated an EF-0 with highest winds estimated at 70 mph. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stuart | $40,000 | The public reported an estimated wind gusts at 60 mph or higher that caused a 30 foot flexhead to be pushed over and a large dumpster to be moved over 100 feet. Hail to quarter size was also reported. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Stuart | $40,000 | Large hail and strong winds broke out windows on the north side of a house and destroyed corn and hay crops. The wind driven hail also severely damaged a center pivot irrigation system. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Page | $40,000 | Thunderstorm winds knocked over a center pivot irrigation system, moved a storage shed off of the foundation, and broke tree limbs up to a foot in diameter. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Emmet | $35,000 | The winds overturned center pivot irrigation systems. |
| July 2004 | Tornado (F1) | Page | $35,000 | The tornado touched down in a cornfield and overturned a center pivot irrigation system as it moved southeast. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ewing | $35,000 | Strong winds destroyed a barn and grain bin and damaged a machine shed. Over 100 trees were damaged while over 25 trees were uprooted. Some trees fell and blocked the road. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Amelia | $35,000 | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Emmet | $30,000 | Damage to a grain bin, top caved in. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stuart | $30,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew over a center pivot irriation system. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Amelia | $30,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stuart | $25,000 | Large hail broke out all windows on north side of a nursing home in Stuart. |
Mines and quarries
2 recordedThe Survey's mineral resources record lists 2 workings inside this county. All of them still produce. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 2 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frickel Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Funks Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Every populated place in the county
26Named 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.
-
Anncar
Coleman township · 68777 · On Turkey Creek · Spencer South quadrangle
10 sheets, 1952 to 1989
-
Cleveland
Cleveland township · 68780 · Dustin quadrangle
10 sheets, 1951 to 1989
No longer a settlement
-
Ewing
Ewing township · 68735 · On South Fork Elkhorn River · Ewing quadrangle
10 sheets, 1955 to 1989
-
Wilson Ranch
Stuart township · 68780 · On Conway Branch · Stuart NE quadrangle
9 sheets, 1954 to 1989
The vanished settlements of Holt 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.