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Chapman, Nebraska

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Chapman Township. It lies in ZIP code area 68827. The Survey maps it on the Chapman quadrangle. 260 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,765 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Chapman within Merrick County

On record in Chapman

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Chapman fell from 287 to 260 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
2010287
2020260-27 (-9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 13 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.

In the county-history sources

1,425 words on this township

A History of Merrick County, Nebraska: From "the Beginning" to 1895, published 1898 names this settlement in its chapter on Chapman Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

When the Union Pacific, in 1866, staked out its towns eleven miles apart along its road, the future station of Chapman had least reason of all the stations along th.e road to claim for itself the name of "town." Shoemaker's Point was abandoned, and yet the truth is hardly told when we say that it was abandoned that the village of Chapman might come into existence. From Central City to Grand Island was practically a townless tract, and even the need of a town between them was at that time unfelt.

Passage source: A History of Merrick County, Nebraska: From "the Beginning" to 1895, published 1898.

But the deciee of the railroad, that there should be a station here, could not long be disobeyed, and in 1871 the first business building of Chapman was erected by Messrs. L. Reed and C. A. Leake and occu¬ pied by them for a general trading store. The first real store was opened in 1873 by Mr. J. I. Walker and sold by him to Mr. W. H. Morris in 1877. The real importance of the town dates from 1878, when the Chapman bridge across the Platte was completed, opening up the trade of the northern part of Hamilton County for the benefit of the new town. During this year the town attained to almost its present size, and would probably be today a fair rival of tb#* county seat had not the coming of the Burlington branch into Hamilton County a short time after taken away a large portion of the new territory after which it was reaching.

Passage source: A History of Merrick County, Nebraska: From "the Beginning" to 1895, published 1898.

Aside from t^e educational line, Chapman has comparatively little history. Two or three diminutive newspapers have flourished for a month or two, but have not found nourishment enough to continue their existence. Religiously, Chapman has grown from no church accommodation to a representation by two denomination - Methodist and Baptist. The educational history of Chapman began with a school taught by Mrs. Aurand at her residence in 1871. I11 1872 a school building was erected, and progress since then has been steady and rapid. Of the four earliest Merrick County towns - Lone Tree, ClaTks, Silver Creek and Chapman - the latter two, at opposite ends of the county, have most nearly retained their old-time dimensions and com¬ mercial importance, although their existence is by no means to be denominated an useless one.

Passage source: A History of Merrick County, Nebraska: From "the Beginning" to 1895, published 1898.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Chapman Township - it names this place 2 more 2 times.

Fires near this place

32 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 32 fires within 5 miles of Chapman between 2001 and 2018, burning about 52 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 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
Railroad operations and maintenance11
Debris and open burning8
Equipment and vehicle use5
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Arson/incendiarism1
Smoking1
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
8 September 2007Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
8 September 2007Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
22 September 2014Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
3 August 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 June 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
11 June 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
8 May 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named
1 May 2001Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Merrick County

Storms near this place

60 of 64 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chapman in 64 storm reports between 1994 and 2022: 42 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 flood. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2020Thunderstorm WindChapman$500,000Emergency management reported several pivots were flipped over and mangled north of Chapman. At a convenience store in Chapman, a metal light pole was blown down, and a large metal ice chest was moved away from the main building into the parking lot.
July 2022Tornado (EF1)Chapman$250,000This EF1 tornado tracked nearly 10 miles through rural portions of far east central Hall and far southwestern Merrick counties during the very early morning hours of Monday, July 4th. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be 110 MPH, based on the combination of damage to trees, some buildings and homes, and power poles. The tornado was estimated to be 200 yards wide at its widest point.||This tornado first touched down in a rural area four miles south of downtown Grand Island and quickly gained strength. It entered Merrick County around 12:56 a.m. CDT near the intersection of Gunbarrel and Stolley Park Roads, persisting for nearly six more miles before lifting at 1:10 a.m. CDT approximately five miles southwest of Chapman (near the intersection of 5th and D Roads). Along its total path, it damaged over a half-dozen homes, including blown out windows, shingle and siding damage, and at least one home had part of its roof decking torn off (fortunately no injuries were reported). Other outbuildings and grain bins were damaged or destroyed, including a barn in Merrick County that was over 100 years old. Several power poles were snapped, along with trees and damage to crops. The damage pattern evident in corn fields had a distinct herringbone pattern...consistent with a tornadic wind field. ||This tornado formed in a trailing area of stratiform rainfall not usually conducive for tornadic development. The combination of a very moist, unstable airmass and very favorable wind shear for the time of day were key in the formation of the low-topped supercell which spawned the tornado.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindChapman$250,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 70 MPH resulted in some irrigation pivot damage in the area. Wind was accompanied by half dollar size hail.
May 2003HailChapman$150,000no account filed
August 2020HailChapman$125,000no account filed
June 2008Flash FloodChapman$100,000A pickup was swept off of worms road in western Merrick County. Most of the residents in Archer woke to significant flooding around 0300CST June 8th and began sandbagging. Cars were floating in Archer. Numerous roads were washed out across western Merrick County.
April 2005HailChapman$100,000no account filed
June 2022HailChapman$50,000no account filed
July 2014HailChapman$50,000no account filed
June 2014HailChapman$50,000no account filed
June 2008HailChapman$30,000no account filed
September 1997HailChapman$30,000no account filed
July 2015Thunderstorm WindChapman$25,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 60 MPH resulted in some tree damage and a flag pole being snapped.
October 2001Tornado (F1)Chapman$25,000Tornado entered Merrick County from Hamilton County.
May 2019HailChapman$25,000no account filed
May 2005HailChapman$25,000no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindChapman$25,000no account filed
July 2003HailChapman$25,000no account filed
June 2003HailChapman$25,000no account filed
September 2006HailChapman$20,000no account filed
May 1998HailChapman$20,000no account filed
July 2012HailChapman$15,000no account filed
May 2001HailChapman$10,000no account filed
May 2009HailChapman$5,000no account filed
July 1996HailChapman$5,000no account filed
July 2021Thunderstorm WindChapman-A wind gust of 66 MPH was recorded by a mesonet station located two miles southwest of Chapman.
May 2016HailChapman-Hail was accompanied by 60 MPH wind gusts.
July 2016HailChapman-Penny to quarter size hail was reported on the Hall and Merrick County line.
June 2015FloodChapman-Water covered parts of Bismarck Road, near the Hall county line.
April 2013HailChapman-Quarter size hail covered the ground.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindChapman-Wind gusts were estimated at 65 MPH.
June 2008HailChapman-Pea to nickel size hail and heavy rain was reported.
May 1994HailChapman-Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees south of Chapman. Golf ball-size hail was also reported.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindChapman-Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees south of Chapman. Golf ball-size hail was also reported.
June 2020HailChapman-no account filed
September 2019HailChapman-no account filed
March 2017Thunderstorm WindChapman-no account filed
May 2017Thunderstorm WindChapman-no account filed
July 2016HailChapman-no account filed
July 2015HailChapman-no account filed
July 2014HailChapman-no account filed
April 2014HailChapman-no account filed
September 2013FloodChapman-no account filed
May 2011HailChapman-no account filed
August 2011HailChapman-no account filed
July 2011HailChapman-no account filed
June 2010HailChapman-no account filed
June 2009HailChapman-no account filed
June 2009HailChapman-no account filed
June 2008HailChapman-no account filed
April 2007Thunderstorm WindChapman-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindChapman-no account filed
May 2005Thunderstorm WindChapman-no account filed
August 2005HailChapman-no account filed
May 2004HailChapman-no account filed
June 2003HailChapman-no account filed
May 2003HailChapman-no account filed
May 2003HailChapman-no account filed
May 2002Thunderstorm WindChapman-no account filed
August 1999Thunderstorm WindChapman-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Merrick 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
Lockwood5.9 miles12
Paddock6.6 miles14
Worms7.7 miles13
Archer9.8 miles13
Hord10.0 miles14
Central City10.5 miles14
Riverside Park11.1 miles14
Heber11.5 miles14

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 ChapmanAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3287927The 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 828096. 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.