Crete Downtown Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

From the record

One of 17 National Register listings published here for Saline County · listed in 2016 · category: District.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 53 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
Address. Centered on Main Ave. & 13th St., Crete, 68333
When was it listed? July 2016
Category. district
City. Crete city
National Register reference number. 16000482 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

78 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Crete Downtown Historic District between 2007 and 2020, burning about 236 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 2 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
Debris and open burning	41
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	18
Fireworks	5
Railroad operations and maintenance	4
Power generation/transmission/distribution	3
Arson/incendiarism	2
Smoking	2
Equipment and vehicle use	2
Natural	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
8 September 2011	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
6 September 2011	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
27 September 2008	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
5 August 2009	Smoking	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
4 July 2013	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
4 July 2013	Fireworks	1.0 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
4 July 2011	Fireworks	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
31 July 2010	Smoking	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named

Every fire recorded in Saline County

Storms near this property

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Crete, the town this property stands in, in 70 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 29 hail, 20 flood, 12 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 2015	Flood	Crete	$4,500,000	Heavy rainfall of 3 to 7 inches across the Big Blue River basin led to minor flooding along the river near Crete. The flooding was even more significant to the south of the river gauge near DeWitt where the entire town was inundated with flooding leading to evacuations. The Big Blue River created near Crete at 24.21 feet, or 3.21 feet above flood stage during the afternoon of the 7th.
March 2019	Flood	Crete	$325,000	Flooding occurred countywide along creeks and rivers. Notably, for flooding along the Big Blue River, the river gage at Crete, operated by the USGS, peaked at 30.68 feet at 6 pm on March 15th. Major flood stage is 29 feet. Preliminarily this peak is the highest on record. One home was confirmed impacted by the flooding. Several homes in the 20th and Main Street area had water in basements due to storm drains backing up. Flooding reported on the north side of Crete with numerous roads closed due to flooding. Swan Creek was out of its banks and inundated numerous roads across southern Saline county. Property loss amounts are for the entire county.
June 2015	Flood	Crete	$100,000	Several heavy rain events in early to mid June brought the the Big Blue River near Crete into flood. The combination of the repeated events allowed for each crest of the river to be a bit higher than the last, finally crested in moderate flood stage at 26.05 feet on June 12th. Besides significant agricultural flooding along both sides of the river, some areas on the east side of Crete near Tuxedo Park on the north side of Highway 33.
May 2007	Flood	Crete	$100,000	Rainfall of 4 to 6 inches fell over much of the Big Blue River basin in Saline county from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th. Wilber reported 6.3 inches and Crete measured 5.9 inches for two of the heaviest. The heavy rain caused the Big Blue River to flood with the gage near Crete reaching a 21.3 foot crest around 3 pm on May 6th. Flood stage is 18 feet. The river near Crete was above flood stage from around 9 am on May 6th until 430 am on the 7th.\|Due to flooding from the Big Blue River and Turkey Creek, 20 county roads were closed with 100 washouts reported. Agricultural bottomlands were also flooded. Besides washing out newly planted crops, some farm outbuildings and irrigation equipment were damaged by flood waters. Total damage from flooding from both the Big Blue River and Turkey Creek was estimated at $100,000.
June 2000	Flash Flood	Crete	$100,000	Heavy rain producing thunderstorms dropped 3 inches of rain on Crete in less than 1 hour with 3.75 inches falling in 3 hours. This caused flash flooding in the downtown Crete area with numerous businesses basements flooded. The flooding was in part due to a new storm drainage system that was not operating correctly according to newspaper reports.
July 1997	Lightning	Crete	$70,000	Lightning struck a police communications antenna causing significant damage to police radio equipment.
March 2010	Flood	Crete	$60,000	Melting snow combined with several periods of rain caused minor lowland flooding along the Big Blue River near Crete. The river at Crete remained above its 18 foot flood stage for about 5 days reaching a crest near 20.5 feet during the morning of March 12th. The flooding mainly affected agricultural lowlands but did encroach a few county roads. Over $60,000 worth of gravel was washed from county roads.
June 2015	Flash Flood	Crete	$50,000	Spotters reported water multiple roads near the town of Crete.
July 2008	Flood	Crete	$25,000	Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches fell across sections of the Blue River basin on July 15-16. This caused the Blue River to flood from near Crete to the confluence with Turkey Creek, which was also in flood. The stage of the Big Blue at Crete reached around 23 feet at 2am CDT on July 17, flood stage is 18 feet. Although the river dropped to around flood stage during the morning hours of July 18th, additional heavy rain that fell over part of the basin on the 17th brought a second crest to the river of around 22 feet during the afternoon of July 19th. The flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands but also flooded a few county roads.
June 2010	Flood	Crete	$15,000	Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches on 6/20 and 6/21 and additional rain the next few days caused the Blue River to flood in Saline County. The river at Crete crested at a little over 22.5 feet around noon CDT on the 26th, flood stage is 18 feet. The river at Crete was above flood stage from around midnight on the 22nd until the early morning of 6/29. Farmland and county roads near the river flooded.
October 2008	Flood	Crete	$10,000	Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches fell over much of the middle and upper sections of the Big Blue River basin on October 21 and October 22. The rain caused the Big Blue River to flood for a prolonged period from Crete downstream to near DeWitt. The river near Crete crested at 21.7 feet around 915pm CDT on 10/24, flood stage is 18 feet. The flooding affected agricultural farmland and also closed a few county roads in the area.
August 2014	Flood	Crete	$5,000	Repeated thunderstorms on the 27th and 28th of August caused heavy rainfall and the Big Blue River to go into flood. The river rose above flood stage on the afternoon of the 28th, the river created on the 31st, and fell below flood stage in early early September. The flooding was generally minor and confined to low-lying areas along the river.
October 2014	Flood	Crete	$5,000	Heavy rainfall at the end of September caused the Big Blue River to go into flood. The river rose above flood stage in the early morning on the 1st, crested that morning, and fell below flood stage in the afternoon. The river flooding was minor and mainly confined to low-lying areas along the river.
September 2014	Flood	Crete	$5,000	Flooding from late August continued into early September along the Big Blue River. The river crested in late August, but continued in minor flooding until the early morning on the 4th. The flooding was confined to low-lying areas along the river.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	$3,000	Law enforcement reported a power line down and a large tree that had fallen across a road.
June 2014	Flood	Crete	$2,000	A few days of heavy rain caused the Big Blue River near Crete to flood for a little over 24 hours. The river near Crete crested at 20.8 feet late in the evening of June 5th, flood stage is 18 feet. The flooding impacted mainly farmland along the river.
June 2011	Flood	Crete	$2,000	Rainfall of up to 4 inches fell in less than 12 hours across parts of the Big Blue River basin near Crete. The heavy rain caused the Big Blue River near Crete to flood on June 27th. The river at Crete crested a little under 19 feet during the afternoon of June 27th, flood stage is 18 feet. The flooding mainly affected farmland adjacent to the river along with a few county roads briefly affected as well.
October 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Public reported a 70 mph wind gust.
June 2019	Hail	Crete	-	The public reported 1 inch hail north of Crete.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	The public estimated 60 mph winds north of Crete.
October 2017	Hail	Crete	-	One inch hail was reported west of Crete.
May 2016	Flash Flood	Crete	-	Trained weather spotters reported that several streets in the city of Crete were flooded due to heavy rainfall.
May 2016	Flood	Crete	-	Flooding was generally confined to agricultural areas along the river. With a crest of 23.55 the river did start to flood part of Tuxedo Park near the city of Crete.
May 2013	Flood	Crete	-	Heavy rainfall of 3 to 6 inches within the Big Blue River basin over several days pushed the river into flood. The Big Blue River crested on the morning of the 30th with a river stage of 22.68 feet at the city of Crete. This created significant lowland flooding along the river and led to the closure of several rural roads.
June 2012	Heavy Rain	Crete	-	Rainfall of around 4 inches was reported north of Crete from thunderstorms from late afternoon of June 14th until the early morning hours of the 15th. The heavy rain caused the Big Blue River near Crete to get close to flood stage later on the 15th and early on the 16th.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 60 mph downed a few large tree limbs which blocked a few streets in Crete.
May 2010	Hail	Crete	-	Nickel to quarter-size hail fell for several minutes in the Crete area.
June 2010	Hail	Crete	-	Half dollar-size hail was reported in the Crete area.
June 2008	Flood	Crete	-	Heavy rain from thunderstorms early on June 24th caused the Big Blue River to flood in Saline county beginning around noon CDT on 6/24. Additional heavy rain producing thunderstorms later that afternoon added to the flooding and kept the Blue River around the Crete area above flood stage until just before midnight on the 26th. The river at Crete crested at 19.5 feet for about 24 hours centered near midnight on the 25th. Flood stage is 18 feet. The flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands, but also closed a few county roads in the area.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph knocked down numerous trees and caused power outages in the Crete area. The fallen trees caused scattered house and vehicle damage in town.
June 2008	Flood	Crete	-	Heavy rain producing thunderstorms that tracked across the Big Blue River basin on June 4th and 5th caused the Big Blue River to flood from near Surprise downstream through Saline county. Flash flooding was observed over sections of the county prior to the Big Blue River flooding, mainly along the Swan Creek basin. Flooding along the Big Blue River in Saline county began during the morning hours of June 5th with the river cresting at Crete at 25.1 feet around 745pm CDT on June 9th. Flood stage is 18 feet. The flooding along the Big Blue River lasted until the early morning hours of June 14th due to additional heavy rain producing thunderstorms on June 7th, 8th and 11th. Minor flooding was also observed along Turkey Creek for several hours on June 7th. The flooding along the Big Blue River closed many county roads and a few roads in Crete as well. Agricultural lowlands were also flooded. It was estimated that 1/3 of the county's 100 roads were affected by flooding.
August 2007	Flood	Crete	-	Heavy rain during the late afternoon and evening hours of August 28th caused some minor lowland flooding along the Big Blue River near Crete. The Big Blue River at Crete crested at 20.9 feet at 945 pm CDT on 8/30, flood stage is 18 feet. The river was above flood stage from around 1145 pm on the 29th until 5 pm on the 31st.\|\|The flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands.
March 2007	Hail	Crete	-	Hail up to half dollar size caused some vehicle damage near Crete.
April 2007	Flood	Crete	-	Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches on April 24th over parts of the Big Blue River basin in Saline county caused local flooding near Crete. Several county roads and agricultural lowlands were flooded. The Big Blue River at Crete crested at 21.5 feet at 4 pm CDT on April 26th. Flood stage is 18 feet. The river at Crete was above flood stage from around 6 pm on the 25th until 530 pm on the 27th.
March 2006	Hail	Crete	-	Covered the ground.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees in town. The winds were estimated at over 60 mph and caused some power outages.
August 2006	Flood	Crete	-	Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches fell over a large part of the upper reaches of the Big Blue River west through northwest of Crete and over the Turkey Creek basin near and west of Wilber during the evening and early morning hours of 8/16/06 and 08/17/06. The heavy rains caused the Big Blue River to go out of its banks near Crete during the overnight hours on the 18th and caused Turkey Creek to go out of its banks by late morning on the 19th. The Big Blue River at Crete remained above its 18 food flood stage until around 530 am cdt on 8/20/06, cresting at 20.68 feet at 830 am cdt on 8/19/06. Turkey Creek first reached its 11 foot flood stage around 1100 am cdt on the 19th, crested at 12.64 feet at 930 am on the 21st before falling below flood stage around 330 pm cdt on the 21st. The flooding along the Big Blue River and Turkey Creek affected mainly agricultural lowlands.
April 2005	Hail	Crete	-	Dime to nickel size hail on the northwest side of town.
June 2004	Flash Flood	Crete	-	Rainfall of around 2 inches in 1 to 2 hours caused flash flooding in and around the Crete area. Several roads were closed due to flood waters.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts of up to 60 mph were reported 5 miles southeast of Crete.
April 2002	Tornado (F1)	Crete	-	This tornado was the first of 5 tornadoes that touched down in eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa this afternoon, all of them under the classification of mini-supercells. This tornado was the longest lived, and was caught on video by storm chasers. It destroyed a barn, some fences, uprooted a few trees, overturned a few irrigation pivots and did minor house damage west of Crete.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Trees and power lines were downed near Crete by thunderstorm wind gusts.
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Damage to signs and tree limbs.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Thunderstorm gusts did some tree and crop damage.
June 1998	Hail	Crete	-	Car windshields broken.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Crete	-	Large trees downed and uprooted.
April 2017	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
June 2017	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
June 2014	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
April 2011	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
June 2011	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
June 2011	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
August 2009	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
June 2008	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
May 2007	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
March 2006	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
September 2006	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
April 2005	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed
April 2005	Hail	Crete	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Saline 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
Sokol, Telocvicna Jednota "T.J.", Hall	0.2 miles	2003
Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church	0.2 miles	1979
Jesse C. Bickle House	0.3 miles	1977
Frank J. Rademacher House	0.4 miles	1980
College Hill Historic District	0.4 miles	1983
Johnston-Muff House	0.5 miles	1977

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 16000482 in Record Group 79.
Saline County	All 17 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.