J. Schmuck Block

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

From the record

“Schmuck Block is a historic three-story commercial and residential building in Beatrice, Nebraska, United States. It was built in 1887 for John Schmuck, a German immigrant and cobbler, who used the basement as a tavern and rented the first floor to dry goods stores and the second floor to tenants.”
Wikipedia article J. Schmuck Block, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 30 National Register listings published here for Gage County · listed in 2008 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Listed as. Schmuck, J., Block - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. 113 N. 5th St, Beatrice, 68310
When was it listed? July 2008
Category. building
City. Beatrice city
National Register reference number. 08000598 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

88 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 88 fires within 5 miles of J. Schmuck Block between 2000 and 2020, burning about 414 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 4 were 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/undetermined	33
Debris and open burning	28
Equipment and vehicle use	7
Fireworks	5
Arson/incendiarism	4
Natural	3
Power generation/transmission/distribution	3
Recreation and ceremony	2
Smoking	2
Misuse of fire by a minor	1

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
27 August 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	SW75 AND SCOTT RD
27 August 2011	Power generation/transmission/distribution	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
22 August 2007	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
15 August 2008	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
13 August 2009	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
5 July 2009	Fireworks	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
4 July 2007	Fireworks	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
3 July 2014	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named

Every fire recorded in Gage County

Storms near this property

60 of 121 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Beatrice, the town this property stands in, in 121 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 52 hail, 42 thunderstorm wind, 10 flash flood, 5 heavy rain. The reports record 1 death and 18 injuries. 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
April 2006	Lightning	Beatrice	1 killed, 3 hurt	Lightning struck and killed a 14 year-old female during a pick-up soccer game. Three others were injured, one seriously.
May 1996	Tornado (F2)	Beatrice	15 hurt, $12,000,000	no account filed
May 2007	Flood	Beatrice	$650,000	Rainfall of 4 to 5 inches fell over much of the Big Blue River basin in Gage county from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th, with 4.26 inches reported in Beatrice. The heavy rain caused the Big Blue River to flood with both the gage in Beatrice and near Barneston reporting above flood stage readings for a few days. In Beatrice the Big Blue River reached a 23.9 foot crest around 230 pm CDT on May 7th, flood stage 16 feet. The river first crossed flood stage in Beatrice around 815 am on May 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until 730 am on the 9th.\|At Barneston the Big Blue River reached a 24.5 foot crest around 345 pm CDT on May 7th, flood stage is 20 feet. The river near Barneston was above flood stage from around 1000 pm CDT May 6th until 315 am on the 9th.\|The river flooded agricultural farmland and county roads in the region. Seven county roads were flooded from Beatrice toward Blue Springs and Wymore. Highway 136 was also closed late May 6th through May 7th around the Beatrice area because of high water that also flooded a park and some streets in town causing around $135,000 worth of damage to the park and ballfields. Two businesses had to be evacuated in Beatrice. The flood waters also prompted 5000 sandbags to be placed around a historical museum to keep flood waters from damaging historic items. Also a grain elevator near Holmesville, several miles southeast of Beatrice, was also sandbagged to protect from the rising waters. Total damage from the storms that hit Gage county on May 5th and 6th amounted to around $650,000, most of which was due to flooding.
April 2001	Hail	Beatrice	$20,000	Hail up to 1 inch in diameter damaged some windows in Beatrice including the marquee at the Cinema Centre on Court St. in Beatrice.
July 1997	Flash Flood	Beatrice	$8,000	Heavy rains enveloped a grain elevator and washed out a section of railroad tracks next to it.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph destroyed a machine shed south of Beatrice.
May 1995	Tornado (F0)	Beatrice	$5,000	An off duty police officer had truck thrown off the road into a ditch. The liner was ripped out of his vehicle.
April 1998	Lightning	Beatrice	$4,000	no account filed
May 1996	Lightning	Beatrice	$1,000	no account filed
April 2026	Hail	Beatrice	-	Trained spotter report of hail measured up to 1 inch in diameter in Beatrice, NE.
April 2026	Hail	Beatrice	-	Trained spotter report of hail measured up to 1.50 inches in diameter in Beatrice, NE.
April 2026	Hail	Beatrice	-	Trained spotter report of hail measured up to 1.50 inch in diameter in Beatrice, NE.
July 2025	Heavy Rain	Beatrice	-	Rainfall report received via social media of 2.50 inches of rain on the north side of Beatrice, NE.
July 2025	Heavy Rain	Beatrice	-	Personal weather station report of 2.25 inches of rain.
July 2025	Heavy Rain	Beatrice	-	Personal weather station report of 3.14 inches of rain.
April 2024	Hail	Beatrice	-	The office received a delayed report from the public of hail ranging from 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	A 62 miles per hour wind gust was recorded by a personal weather station.
May 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	A trained spotter reported a measured peak wind gust of 62 mph.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Emergency manger reported multiple large trees down.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Trained spotter reported multiple large trees down in Beatrice.
August 2023	Hail	Beatrice	-	Fire Department reported wind driven 1-inch hail that stripped crops.
June 2022	Hail	Beatrice	-	Trained spotter reported 1.5 inch hail.
June 2022	Hail	Beatrice	-	Public reported 1.75 inch hail via mPing.
June 2022	Hail	Beatrice	-	Emergency manager reported 1-inch hail.
June 2022	Hail	Beatrice	-	Broadcast media received report and photo of 5 inch hail.
June 2022	Hail	Beatrice	-	Public reported grapefruit sized hail.
June 2022	Hail	Beatrice	-	Public reported via mPing 3.25 inch hail.
December 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Beatrice AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 86 mph.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Public reported a large tree split due to severe storms.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Beatrice Airport AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Public via social media reported a large tree down on power lines with additional trees down in Beatrice.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Beatrice ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 51 knots.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Public estimated 60 mph winds in Beatrice and reported lights flickering in town.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Public reported a 66 mph wind.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Public reported tree damage and limbs down.
June 2020	Heavy Rain	Beatrice	-	Mesonet station recorded 24-hour rain total of 5.58 inches.
June 2020	Flood	Beatrice	-	River gage operated by Department of Natural Resources was above flood stage for approximately 30 hours.
April 2019	Hail	Beatrice	-	The public reported 1.25 hail.
April 2019	Hail	Beatrice	-	The public reported nickel size hail.
March 2019	Flood	Beatrice	-	Highway 136 bridge over the Big Blue River is being closed.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Law enforcement reported a tree was blown down in Beatrice.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Numerous trees and large limbs blown down in Beatrice. Some homes had small holes in their roofs.
September 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Large tree branches were broken.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Trees and power lines were blown down by damaging winds on the west part of Beatrice. A professional building lost a small portion of it's roof.
September 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	In addition to the penny size hail, the emergency manager reported winds to near 60 mph as well.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	The wind gust caused significant damage in and near Beatrice. Included in the damage were trees blowing into structures, at least two buildings destroyed just east of highway 77 on the north side of Beatrice, and transmission lines blown down.
October 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	A wind gust to 61 mph was recorded at the Beatrice Airport. Local law enforcement indicated only a few small branches to around 1 inch in diameter were downed in town.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	The public reported winds gusts to near 60 mph in the city of Beatrice. This resulted in downed tree branches in the city of Beatrice.
May 2013	Tornado (EF0)	Beatrice	-	A NWS storm survey revealed a weak tornado developed about 2 miles southwest of Beatrice and traveled northeast for just over a mile before dissipating. The tornado was weak producing damage consistent with EF0 consisting of broken hardwood tree branches and minor damage to outbuildings.
May 2013	Flash Flood	Beatrice	-	Heavy thunderstorm rains of 2 to 3 inches fell across the city of Beatrice. This led to several intersections in the city to become flooded.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph downed large tree branches and damaged a barn in the area.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 60 mph caused scattered tree damage in the Beatrice area.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Thunderstorm winds measured at 60 to 70 mph downed a few trees and numerous large tree limbs in town.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 60 mph blew a tree onto a house in town causing damage.
July 2008	Heavy Rain	Beatrice	-	Around 4.5 inches of rain was reported in a few hours time south of Beatrice.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Beatrice	-	A bow echo that moved across the Beatrice area brought a thunderstorm wind gust that was measured at 61 mph at the Beatrice airport Awos. The strong winds caused scattered tree damage around town. However, the bow echo brought more substantial damage in two paths, one from a tornado on the north end of the cell north through northeast of town, and the other from straight line winds south through east of town.
October 2007	Hail	Beatrice	-	Nickel size hail was reported by a spotter on the southwest part of town.
March 2007	Hail	Beatrice	-	Hail up to nickel size was reported for around 5 minutes near Beatrice.
May 2007	Flash Flood	Beatrice	-	Heavy rainfall of an inch or two in an hour or so produced extensive street flooding in Beatrice.
May 2007	Hail	Beatrice	-	Accompanied by winds around 60 mph.

Every storm recorded in Gage County

Map coverage status

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.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Beatrice Downtown Historic District	under 500 feet	2016
Paddock Hotel	under 500 feet	1987
Beatrice City Library	under 500 feet	1976
Beatrice Municipal Auditorium	under 500 feet	2005
Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church	0.1 miles	2023
Burlington Northern Depot	0.2 miles	1975

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 08000598 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Gage County	All 30 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
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.