Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

A National Historic Landmark. Built in 1996. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

From the record

“Washita Battlefield National Historic Site protects and interprets the site of the Southern Cheyenne village of Chief Black Kettle where the Battle of Washita occurred. The site is located about 150 miles (241 km) west of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, near Cheyenne, Oklahoma.”
Wikipedia article Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 4 National Register listings published here for Roger Mills County · listed in 1966 · category: Site · built in 1996 · a National Historic Landmark.

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

The listing

Address. NW of Cheyenne on U.S. 283, Cheyenne, 73628
When was it listed? October 1966
Category. site
Census division. Cheyenne
When was it built? 1996
National Register reference number. 66000633 - 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

34 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 34 fires within 5 miles of Washita Battlefield National Historic Site between 2002 and 2020, burning about 437 acres in total. 4 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	12
Equipment and vehicle use	11
Natural	4
Power generation/transmission/distribution	3
Smoking	2
Arson/incendiarism	1
Debris and open burning	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
13 September 2002	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Cibola National Forest	BEAVINS
8 August 2011	Natural	under an acre	Cibola National Forest	MERRICK
7 August 2011	Natural	under an acre	Cibola National Forest	UNIT 103
6 August 2011	Natural	under an acre	Cibola National Forest	33
22 August 2011	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.4 acres	Cibola National Forest	UNIT 102
17 August 2007	Natural	2.0 acres	Cibola National Forest	ISABELLA
8 July 2009	Power generation/transmission/distribution	under an acre	Cibola National Forest	CHURCH
9 June 2020	Power generation/transmission/distribution	1.1 acres	Cibola National Forest	SCOTT

Every fire recorded in Roger Mills County

Storms near this property

60 of 109 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cheyenne, the town this property stands in, in 109 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 57 thunderstorm wind, 47 hail, 2 heavy rain, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 death and 3 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
February 2023	Tornado (EF2)	Cheyenne	1 killed, 3 hurt, $250,000	A tornado touched down just south of State Highway 47 and just southwest of the Cheyenne cemetery. The tornado initially moved east-southeast, then turned northeast moving through the northwestern portion of Cheyenne including a portion of the Washita Battlefield. A number of mobile homes were destroyed both west of Cheyenne and also along US-283 north of Cheyenne. Other homes were also damaged along the path. One fatality occurred in a mobile home that was destroyed. The tornado continued moving northeast damaging trees, power poles and at least one outbuilding southwest of and immediately west of Strong City before dissipating. A photograph from one of the destroyed mobile homes near Cheyenne was recovered near Lambert, OK in Alfalfa County, about 100 miles northeast of Cheyenne.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$54,100	no account filed
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$50,000	Strong straight-line winds from a developing bow echo caused damage across the Cheyenne area. Several outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. A grain silo had the top ripped off. Several homes sustained shingle and roof damage, especially in southwest sections of town. The Cheyenne airport, Mignon Laird Municipal Airport, had several buildings destroyed or damaged along with six airplanes heavily damaged. The Cheyenne High School also sustained some roof damage.
December 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$50,000	no account filed
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$10,000	Power lines and large trees were downed near the junction of US Highway 283 and State Highway 33. Monetary damages were estimated.
May 2002	Lightning	Cheyenne	$4,000	Lightning struck a tree, then traveled along a metal fence, into a water line, and damaged numerous appliances and a computer in a home.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$2,500	no account filed
March 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$2,000	Outbuildings were destroyed.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$2,000	no account filed
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$500	Two large doors blown in on a county barn.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$500	Two to three inch diameter tree limbs were downed.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	$200	no account filed
March 2026	Hail	Cheyenne	-	The location is approximate.
March 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation. This event was caused by a probable heat burst.
March 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation. This event was caused by a probable heat burst.
March 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation. This event was caused by a probable heat burst.
April 2026	Hail	Cheyenne	-	The location is approximate, and the event time is estimated based on radar observations.
April 2026	Hail	Cheyenne	-	The location is approximate.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	An estimated wind gust. The location is approximate.
April 2024	Hail	Cheyenne	-	MPing report.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Cheyenne (CHEY) Mesonet observation.
June 2022	Hail	Cheyenne	-	Time estimated from radar.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Estimated severe wind gust.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Also reported tree damage on the south side of town, and power flashes on the north side of town.
September 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	No damage reported.
April 2015	Hail	Cheyenne	-	No known damage.
April 2015	Hail	Cheyenne	-	No known damage.
April 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	No known damage.
April 2015	Hail	Cheyenne	-	No damage reports.
April 2015	Hail	Cheyenne	-	No damage reports.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	No damage occurred with the wind gust.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	No damage occurred with the wind gust.
May 2010	Flash Flood	Cheyenne	-	Two county roads were closed between Cheyenne and Sweetwater due to very heavy rainfall. Widespread rainfall totals mostly ranged from three to four inches, with isolated totals near five inches.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Another gust to 59 mph was measured at 2125 CDT.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Another wind gust of 59 mph was measured at 2205 CDT.
September 2008	Heavy Rain	Cheyenne	-	The measured rainfall was 3.69 inches, much of it falling in a six to eight hour period.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
April 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Wind was measured by the Oklahoma mesonet.
April 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Wind was measured by Oklahoma mesonet.
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	measured at the Oklahoma Mesonet site
March 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	measured at the Oklahoma Mesonet site
September 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	Severe thunderstorms across northwest Oklahoma produced winds over 60 mph and blew tree limbs down 3 miles east of Rosston.
May 1993	Hail	Cheyenne	-	An isolated thunderstorm dumped quarter-size hail five miles south of Cheyenne during the afternoon of the 29th.
June 2022	Hail	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
June 2022	Hail	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
June 2022	Hail	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
June 2022	Hail	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
May 2019	Hail	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
June 2019	Hail	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheyenne	-	no account filed
May 2012	Hail	Cheyenne	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Roger Mills 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.

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 66000633 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Roger Mills County	All 4 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.