Photograph of Saint Leonard Catholic Church — Photograph by Ammodramus, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

St. Leonard's Catholic Church

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

From the record

“Saint Leonard Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Madison, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. Built in 1913, it has been described as "an outstanding example of the Romanesque Revival style of architecture."”
Wikipedia article Saint Leonard Catholic Church (Madison, Nebraska), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 12 National Register listings published here for Madison County · listed in 1989 · category: Building.

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

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
Address. 502--504 S. Nebraska St., Madison, 68748
When was it listed? November 1989
Category. building
City. Madison city
Architectural style. Romanesque Revival architecture, Neoclassical architecture
National Register reference number. 89002038 - 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

9 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of St. Leonard's Catholic Church between 2007 and 2020, burning about 23 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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
Arson/incendiarism	3
Debris and open burning	2
Equipment and vehicle use	1
Power generation/transmission/distribution	1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1
Smoking	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
6 July 2007	Arson/incendiarism	1.0 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
6 July 2007	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
27 June 2007	Arson/incendiarism	15 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
28 May 2015	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
23 April 2020	Smoking	2.0 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
6 March 2015	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
19 March 2015	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named
13 March 2008	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Nebraska Forest Service	not named

Every fire recorded in Madison County

Storms near this property

56 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Madison, the town this property stands in, in 56 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 26 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 5 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
June 1999	Flash Flood	Madison	$300,000	Around 5 inches of rain fell in the Madison area causing flash flooding along Union Creek which forced some residents along the creek to be evacuated to the auditorium. The heavy rain also ripped up around a block of asphalt covering a brick street and washed out a half-mile section of railroad track near town.
July 2001	Tornado (F1)	Madison	$75,000	Law enforcement reported a tornado west of Madison which downed power lines and destroyed a few grain bins. The tornado also demolished a garage and car as well overturning a center pivot irrigation system.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	$50,000	A few trees and numerous large limbs were blown down by strong winds. A tin roof of a bowling alley was also damaged.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	$40,000	Thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated over 75 mph, caused tree and structual damage in town. At least 35 trees were downed and at least 2 roofs were substantially damaged, as reported by law enforcement. Much of the town was without power for about 3 hours after the storm hit.
June 2010	Flood	Madison	$30,000	Heavy rain producing thunderstorms from around June 7th through the 14th brought high water and a prolonged period of flooding along the Union Creek near Madison. Union Creek near Madison crested at 22.9 feet during the evening of June 11th, flood stage is 20 feet. The creek near Madison was above flood stage for much of the period from the morning hours of June 10th through the early morning hours of June 13th. Flooding affected mostly county roads and farm fields near the stream, although flood waters did cross Highway 81 for a while prompting its closure.
August 2007	Flash Flood	Madison	$20,000	Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches fell in the morning into the afternoon hours of August 22nd. Norfolk reported 2.62 inches through 400 pm that day. The heavy rain caused flooding along numerous county roads in the area, mainly in low lying areas. A few culverts were washed out by the flooding. Agricultural lowlands were also flooded.
June 2010	Flash Flood	Madison	$10,000	Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in an hour or so brought flash flooding along Union Creek and its tributaries near Madison. The rain fell on saturated soils due to rains that fell earlier in the week and most of the damage from this flood was confined to gravel washed off of county roads and some crop damage.
June 1999	Tornado (F0)	Madison	$8,000	Brief apparent touchdown took the roof off of a chicken house plus damaged a metal shed.
June 2024	Tornado (EFU)	Madison	-	Trained spotter, law enforcement, and storm chaser accounts indicate that a tornado developed in this approximate location, moved a short distance, and lasted for approximately 2 minutes before dissipating. No damage was reported along the track.
June 2024	Hail	Madison	-	This is a continuation of the hail swath from Platte County reported to the office from the public. Golf ball sized hail was the largest observed hail size from this event.
July 2023	Hail	Madison	-	Broadcast media relayed report of 2-inch hail.
June 2021	Hail	Madison	-	Trained spotter reported 1 inch hail.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Public reported several large trees down.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Public reported several large trees down.
May 2021	Hail	Madison	-	Public reported 1 inch hail.
October 2020	Hail	Madison	-	Public reported baseball sized hail that broke their windshield while on Highway 81.
May 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Public personal weather station reported 74 MPH wind.
June 2018	Tornado (EF0)	Madison	-	A brief touchdown was reported.
June 2017	Hail	Madison	-	Hail large than half dollars was reported in Madison.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Storms spotters estimated a 65 mph wind gust south of Madison.
June 2017	Tornado (EF0)	Madison	-	A short-lived tornado was verified by photo and video evidence. This tornado broke large tree limbs and was very narrow.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Local law enforcement reported that some trees were downed in town and the power is also out.
April 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	The public estimated gusts of 50 to 60 mph associated with the thunderstorm.
April 2013	Hail	Madison	-	Hail up to nickel size fell from southwest Madison into Madison for about 10 minutes with a few stones eventually reaching quarter-size at 3 pm CDT. The hail fell from thunderstorms that were occurring with temperatures below freezing, thus they were accompanied by freezing rain and sleet.
April 2013	Hail	Madison	-	Hail up to nickel size fell from southwest Madison into Madison for about 10 minutes with a few stones eventually reaching quarter-size at 3 pm CDT. The hail fell from thunderstorms that were occurring with temperatures below freezing, thus they were accompanied by freezing rain and sleet.
May 2012	Tornado (EF0)	Madison	-	A tornado was on the ground for a few minutes near Highways 121 and 32. The tornado was caught on video by a storm chaser.
June 2011	Hail	Madison	-	Golf ball-size hail fell from a thunderstorm that trailed the supercell that brought wind gusts of over 60 mph to the region.
May 2008	Flood	Madison	-	Heavy rainfall during the evening and overnight hours of May 29th and 30th caused Union Creek to flood from northeast of Newman Grove to around the Madison area. The creek near Madison reached a 20.8 foot crest around 815pm CDT on May 30th, flood stage is 20 feet. The flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands, but also crossed a county road or two in the area for a time.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 60 mph caused damage in the Norfolk area due to uprooted trees which damaged several homes and vehicles. A few trees and large limbs were also downed in the Madison area to the south of Norfolk. Wet ground due to heavy rain over the few days prior to this event may have contributed to how easily the trees were uprooted.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated around 60 mph downed numerous branches in Madison, knocked over a large tree and blew a trampoline across a street causing moderate damage.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph downed several tree limbs and large branches in Madison, one of which blocked a road in town for a while. The winds also destroyed a small building when it was carried over a fence and broke a gas line as it crashed into a trailer. Other scattered damage to patio furniture, lawn ornaments, trash cans and shingles was noted across the town.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Tree limbs 4 inches in diameter were blown down with a sudden gust of wind estimated at 60 mph. Pea size hail was also reported.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 to 70 mph downed at least 6 large trees in Madison. The fallen trees caused damage to fences, lawn furniture and roofs and also blocked several streets in town.
May 2000	Tornado (F0)	Madison	-	Numerous public reports of a small tornado that frequently touched down, but caused no damage, around 9 miles southwest of Madison.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Thunderstorm winds over 60 mph downed several large trees in Madison.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated at nearly 70 mph by several people, downed numerous large branches in Madison.
July 2000	Flash Flood	Madison	-	Heavy rain caused a brief 10 minute flood of highway 32.
July 2000	Flash Flood	Madison	-	Heavy rain fell during the afternoon of July 5 and again that night with rainfall estimated by radar to be in the 4 to 6 inch range. This heavy rainfall caused Taylor Creek east of Madison to flood which closed highway 32. Other than the highway, flooding was mainly confined to agricultural lowlands.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Madison	-	At junction of highways 81 and 32.
April 2015	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
April 2014	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
June 2014	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
June 2014	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
August 2013	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
August 2010	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
August 2010	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
April 2006	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
September 2006	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
May 2005	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
April 2004	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
April 2004	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
July 2003	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
August 2002	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
October 2001	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
September 2001	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed
August 1998	Hail	Madison	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Madison 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

1 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.

Photograph	Property	Distance	Listed
	First United Presbyterian Church	0.1 miles	2008

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 89002038 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Madison County	All 12 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.