Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
“The Benjamin Franklin Smallwood House is a stone house located near Lehigh, Oklahoma. It was the home of Choctaw leader Benjamin Franklin Smallwood.”
Wikipedia article Benjamin Franklin Smallwood House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 5 National Register listings published here for Coal County · listed in 1982 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Benjamin Franklin Smallwood House between 1996 and 2017, burning about 546 acres in total. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 March 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 acres | Chickasaw Agency | WARDSCHURC |
| 9 February 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 285 acres | Talihina Agency | COAL 48 31 |
| 27 February 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.3 acres | Talihina Agency | COALGROUND |
| 19 February 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Chickasaw Agency | COALGATE1 |
| 25 November 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 25 January 2006 | Natural | 10 acres | Talihina Agency | COON CREEK |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Benjamin Franklin Smallwood House: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. 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.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Gravel Pits | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lehigh, the town this property stands in, in 42 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 19 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | $100,000 | Shingles were blown off many roofs. Some sheds and porches were damaged. Numerous trees were downed and some trees were blown onto homes. A few barns were also destroyed. Some power poles were snapped. A mobile home was also destroyed. The roof and one end of the mobile home was ripped off. The metal roof of a chicken pen was ripped off along with dog pens blown away. One of the roosters in the chicken pen was plucked of all feathers. |
| April 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | Lehigh | $75,000 | The roof of a home was damaged, a shed destroyed and numerous trees were damaged just west of the Coal-Atoka County line near E1770 Road. |
| May 2016 | Tornado (EF1) | Lehigh | $30,000 | Although the center line of this tornado did not move into Coal County from Atoka County until one-third of a mile west of US-75, the north edge of the tornado had expanded into Coal County producing tree damage 7 miles farther west, to the west of NS-376 Road. As the tornado approached US-75, the tornado produced slight roof damage to a house on Mockingbird Lane just north of the county line. The tornado damaged a radio station building at US-75 as the center line crossed into Coal County and began moving northeast. The tornado continued moving northeast through a rural area of southeastern Coal County before turning back to the east and moving into Atoka County near EW-177 Road. |
| May 2013 | Tornado (EF1) | Lehigh | $30,000 | Emergency management and spotters reported a tornado near Lehigh. Damage to trees and outbuildings occurred. Damages estimated. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | $10,000 | Roof damage, church in town had metal roof peeled off and hanging in power lines. Power lines downed and tree damage. |
| April 2019 | Tornado (EF1) | Lehigh | $5,000 | The Lehigh cooperative observer noted a 20-30 yard wide path of damage to Blackjack Oak trees southwest of Lehigh. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | $5,000 | Several tree limbs greater than six inches in diameter were blown down. Monetary damages were estimated. |
| October 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | $2,000 | A 36-inch diameter tree was blown down. Several smaller trees/limbs were blown down as well. Monetary damages were estimated. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | $500 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | $10 | Tree limbs were downed. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | - | Estimated wind gust. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | - | Several trees downed. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | - | Estimated severe wind gust. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | - | Some damage to trees and vegetation. No structural damage at this time. |
| May 2019 | Flash Flood | Lehigh | - | Localized flooding with water covering the roadway on SH 3 south of Lehigh. |
| May 2019 | Flash Flood | Lehigh | - | Localized flooding with water covering the roadway on SH 3 south of Lehigh. |
| December 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Lehigh | - | A brief tornado developed with an otherwise non-severe line of thunderstorms west of Lehigh. This tornado heavily damaged two buildings on a farm with some of the debris blown to the northwest at right angles to the storm motion. |
| May 2019 | Flash Flood | Lehigh | - | Localized flooding with water covering the roadway on SH 3 south of Lehigh. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | - | No damage reported. |
| July 2017 | Flash Flood | Lehigh | - | Water was over the road on city road 1760. |
| May 2016 | Flash Flood | Lehigh | - | A high Water rescue was reported on Hwy 3 just south of Lehigh. The highway was eventually closed between Coal and Atoka counties. |
| October 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | - | Co-op observer reported a gust to 80 mph 4 miles SW of Lehigh. |
| January 2002 | Hail | Lehigh | - | Hail was reported near Highway 75. |
| March 2024 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| March 2024 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| November 2024 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| October 2016 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| March 2009 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| April 1995 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| August 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
| April 1993 | Hail | Lehigh | - | no account filed |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchants National Bank Building | 2.9 miles | 2006 | |
| Coalgate School Gymnasium-Auditorium | 5.9 miles | 1988 | |
| United States Post Office Coalgate | 6.3 miles | 2009 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 82003676 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Coal County | All 5 listed properties in this county. |
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