Dr. A. O. Thomas House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

From the record

“Thomas House is a historic house in Kearney, Nebraska. Thomas, the founding president of the Kearney State Normal School, later known as the University of Nebraska at Kearney, from 1905 to 1914.”
Wikipedia article Dr. A.O. Thomas House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 21 National Register listings published here for Buffalo County · listed in 1980 · 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. Thomas, Dr. A. O., House - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. 2222 9th Ave., Kearney, 68845
When was it listed? February 1980
Category. building
Precinct. Precinct 12
Architectural style. Neoclassical architecture
National Register reference number. 80002441 - 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

99 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 99 fires within 5 miles of Dr. A. O. Thomas House between 2007 and 2020, burning about 114 acres in total. 2 started naturally. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	35
Debris and open burning	31
Equipment and vehicle use	15
Fireworks	9
Power generation/transmission/distribution	4
Natural	2
Smoking	2
Railroad operations and maintenance	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
29 September 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
29 September 2010	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
27 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
24 September 2012	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
22 September 2012	Fireworks	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
21 September 2015	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
10 September 2012	Smoking	1.0 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
8 August 2018	Natural	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named

Every fire recorded in Buffalo County

Mines and quarries near this property

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Dr. A. O. Thomas House: 4 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Broadfoot Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Cook Sand and Gravel	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Johnson Sand and Gravel Co	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Kearney Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in Buffalo County

Storms near this property

60 of 156 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kearney, the town this property stands in, in 156 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 78 hail, 53 thunderstorm wind, 13 heavy rain, 4 flash flood. The reports record 15 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
June 2002	Hail	Kearney	15 hurt, $50,000,000	All injuries were minor
May 2008	Tornado (EF2)	Kearney	$11,000,000	This tornado was the most organized tornado that hit the city of Kearney this night and was the most persistent. It appeared to stay on the ground for the majority of its 22 mile path in Buffalo County. The tornado did exit Buffalo County and entered Hall County. The tornado started in the northwest part of the city of Kearney where it damaged an apartment complex. It took the roof off of part of the complex, blew out a wall and stacked a couple of cars in the parking lot. The tornado then moved east, damaging trees in Harmon Park and took a part of the roof off a building near the hospital. At the Buffalo County Fairgrounds, it caused a portion of the Expo Center building to collapse. Two people in this building were shook up but not injured. The tornado then continued east to the Kearney Airport where it destroyed a hanger and the cooperate jet housed inside. The tornado then continued on east and northeast through rural parts of Buffalo County. Several farmsteads were hit but damage was limited to shingles removed from roofs, outbuildings damaged and empty grain bins destroyed. There were multiple power poles and lines down by this storm.
May 2023	Hail	Kearney	$8,000,000	Hail up to the size of ping pong balls was reported across Kearney.
December 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$2,000,000	Wind gusts estimated to up to 80 MPH caused damage in the Kearney area. Around 10 pine trees were blown down, as were a few irrigation pivots. Construction trailers were blown over near Kearney High School and a barn lean-to was damaged on 46th Avenue.
May 2019	Hail	Kearney	$1,000,000	Hail ranging in size from 1 to 2 inches in diameter was reported across Kearney.
April 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$1,000,000	Considerable tree damage was reported, including trees blocking roadways. Winds destroyed a mobile home, damaged residence halls on the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus, and also blew part of the roof off the UNK library.
May 2005	Hail	Kearney	$1,000,000	Hail ranging in size from golf balls to baseballs pounded Kearney. Nine sheriff's deputy cars were damaged by the hail.
April 2003	Hail	Kearney	$500,000	no account filed
May 1998	Heavy Rain	Kearney	$500,000	no account filed
September 2015	Hail	Kearney	$400,000	Hail ranging in size from quarter to tennis ball size was reported in the area. Inside the city of Kearney itself, hail was quarter to golf ball size.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$350,000	no account filed
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$300,000	Wind gusts estimated to be near 70 MPH resulted in three flipped irrigation pivots.
September 2019	Hail	Kearney	$150,000	Most hail stones along and near this path were quarter to half dollar size, but hail up to 2 inches in diameter was reported north of Riverdale.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$125,000	Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH. A power line was knocked down, resulting in starting a house fire.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$100,000	Wind gusts were estimated at 70 MPH. A large tree was uprooted and a power pole was knocked down in Kearney.
June 2009	Hail	Kearney	$100,000	no account filed
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$80,000	no account filed
August 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$75,000	Wind gusts were estimated to be near 70 MPH. A trailer home was damaged when 3 trees were downed. Part of a tree knocked a hole through the roof, allowing water to get inside the home.
June 2008	Hail	Kearney	$75,000	no account filed
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$75,000	no account filed
June 2003	Lightning	Kearney	$73,000	Lightning struck a paint store and resulting fire caused $73,000 in damage.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Kearney	$70,000	Widespread flooding occured across southern Buffallo county when 2 to 5.5 inches of rain fell during the early morning hours. The most significant flooding was found in and around Gibbon where they saw 5.26 inches of rainfall.
June 2000	Hail	Kearney	$70,000	no account filed
August 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$50,000	Wind gusts were estimated to be near 70 MPH. Trees branches were downed, a pole barn was damaged and a trailer was tipped over.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$50,000	Widespread tree damage in town.
July 2023	Hail	Kearney	$50,000	no account filed
April 2007	Flash Flood	Kearney	$50,000	no account filed
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$40,000	no account filed
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$30,000	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Kearney	$30,000	no account filed
May 2012	Hail	Kearney	$25,000	Hail was accompanied by wind gusts estimated at 50 mph.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$25,000	Wind gusts were estimated at 65 to 70 mph.
August 2007	Flash Flood	Kearney	$25,000	Widespread street flooding in town. Some cars stalled in bumper deep water.
April 2013	Hail	Kearney	$25,000	no account filed
May 2012	Hail	Kearney	$25,000	no account filed
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$25,000	no account filed
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$25,000	no account filed
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$25,000	no account filed
June 2003	Lightning	Kearney	$22,000	Just minutes after one lightning ignited fire, the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department was called to another lightning started fire. This time the fire was at a detached garage and resulted in $22,000 in damage.
December 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$10,000	Local television station reported downed power lines on the southeast side of Kearney.
May 2008	Hail	Kearney	$10,000	Hail was accompanied by 45 MPH winds.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$10,000	Large tree limbs blown down by winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph.
June 2009	Hail	Kearney	$10,000	no account filed
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$10,000	no account filed
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$10,000	no account filed
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$6,000	no account filed
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$5,000	Peak wind gusts included: 62 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located one mile west-southwest of Kearney; 59 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located one mile west of Kearney; 58 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located three miles southwest of Kearney. Some minor tree damage was reported in the southwest part of Kearney.
June 2008	Hail	Kearney	$5,000	Hail accompanied by wind gusts estimated at 60 mph.
May 1998	Hail	Kearney	$5,000	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$5,000	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Kearney	$5,000	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Kearney	$5,000	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Kearney	$5,000	no account filed
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$3,000	Minor tree damage was reported in Kearney.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	$1,000	A line of thunderstorms moved southeast across central Nebraska producing wind gusts to 60 mph. A windshield was blown out of a car in Kearney.
April 2022	Hail	Kearney	-	Hail ranging in size from nickels to golf balls was reported in Kearney.
April 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	-	A wind gust of 63 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Kearney.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	-	A wind gust of 64 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Kearney.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	-	A wind gust of 59 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Kearney.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Kearney	-	A wind gust of 64 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located three miles southwest of Kearney.

Every storm recorded in Buffalo 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
Klehm House	under 500 feet	1999
Hanson-Downing House	0.1 miles	1980
Kearney Junior High School	0.4 miles	2000
Saint Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church	0.5 miles	1986
Harmon Park	0.6 miles	2010
Kearney Downtown Historic District	0.7 miles	2017

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 80002441 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Buffalo County	All 21 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.
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.