Ralston Opera House

Built in 1902. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

From the record

“The Ralston Opera House occupies the second floor of the building located at 501-503 Main St. in the town of Ralston, Pawnee County, Oklahoma, an arrangement that was typical in smaller-town opera houses in Oklahoma. The building was constructed in 1902 out of native sandstone, and the first floor remained commercial space.”
Wikipedia article Ralston Opera House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 13 National Register listings published here for Pawnee County · listed in 1987 · category: Building · built in 1902.

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.
Address. 501--503 Main St., Ralston, 74650
When was it listed? July 1987
Category. building
Census division. Pawnee
When was it built? 1902
National Register reference number. 87001257 - 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

58 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 58 fires within 5 miles of Ralston Opera House between 1999 and 2020, burning about 5,252 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 5 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	19
Equipment and vehicle use	14
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	8
Natural	6
Arson/incendiarism	5
Other causes	2
Power generation/transmission/distribution	2
Railroad operations and maintenance	1
Fireworks	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
5 September 2019	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Osage Agency	BOWMAN
31 August 2009	Other causes	under an acre	Osage Agency	MICHAEL'S
9 July 2013	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Osage Agency	DRAINAGE
9 July 2013	Equipment and vehicle use	1.3 acres	Osage Agency	HORSE
4 July 2014	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Osage Agency	ROUND MOUND
4 July 2012	Natural	under an acre	Osage Agency	NURSE
3 July 2009	Fireworks	under an acre	Osage Agency	8TH FAIR
3 July 2003	Power generation/transmission/distribution	under an acre	Osage Agency	WEBSTER

Every fire recorded in Pawnee County

Mines and quarries near this property

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Ralston Opera House: 7 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Ralston Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Renfro Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Pawnee Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unknown Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unknown Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unknown Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unknown Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unknown Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unknown Limestone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Pawnee County

Storms near this property

44 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ralston, the town this property stands in, in 44 storm reports between 1995 and 2019: 18 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 4 flash flood, 3 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 2007	Flash Flood	Ralston	$350,000	The City of Pawnee received 3.25 inches of rain during the 24 hours ending 7 am CDT. This excessive rainfall caused substantial flooding of county roads, which resulted in major damage to several of them. Three bridges were also washed out.
April 2012	Hail	Ralston	$5,000	no account filed
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs and downed power lines.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	$2,000	Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs and blew shingles off of roofs.
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	$100	Large tree limbs were blown down.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	$100	no account filed
June 2019	Flood	Ralston	-	The Arkansas River near Ralston rose above its flood stage of 16 feet at 10:45 pm CDT on May 20th. The river crested at 19.26 feet at 4:00 pm CDT on the 21st, resulting in moderate flooding. The river crested a second time at 22.14 feet at 6:00 am CDT on the 23rd, resulting in major flooding. This crest was the seventh highest stage on record. The river crested a third time at 21.99 feet at 6:30 am CDT on the 25th, and a fourth time at 22.03 feet at 7:15 am CDT on the 26th, both of which resulted in major flooding. Severe agricultural flooding occurred, and county roads were flooded. Monetary damage from this flood is unknown. The river remained above flood stage through the end of May, and finally fell below flood stage at 2:00 am CDT on June 1st.
May 2019	Flood	Ralston	-	The Arkansas river near Ralston rose above its flood stage of 16 feet at 3:45 pm CDT on May 10th. The river crested at 17.93 feet at 5:00 am CDT on the 12th, resulting in moderate flooding. Agricultural land was flooded. The river fell below flood stage at 2:00 pm CDT on the 14th.
May 2019	Flood	Ralston	-	The Arkansas River near Ralston rose above its flood stage of 16 feet at 10:45 pm CDT on May 20th. The river crested at 19.26 feet at 4:00 pm CDT on the 21st, resulting in moderate flooding. The river crested a second time at 22.14 feet at 6:00 am CDT on the 23rd, resulting in major flooding. This crest was the seventh highest stage on record. The river crested a third time at 21.99 feet at 6:30 am CDT on the 25th, and a fourth time at 22.03 feet at 7:15 am CDT on the 26th, both of which resulted in major flooding. Severe agricultural flooding occurred, and county roads were flooded. Monetary damage from this flood is unknown. The river remained above flood stage through the end of May, and finally fell below flood stage at 2:00 am CDT on June 1st.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Strong thunderstorm wind snapped several large tree limbs.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
April 2012	Flash Flood	Ralston	-	Several county roads were briefly flooded near and just east of Ralston.
May 2012	Flash Flood	Ralston	-	Several county roads were briefly flooded near and just east of Ralston.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down numerous large tree limbs.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down a few large tree limbs.
June 2007	Flash Flood	Ralston	-	Heavy rains caused flooding which required a few city streets to be barricaded.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down numerous large tree limbs.
April 2003	Tornado (F0)	Ralston	-	An off duty National Weather Service employee reported a brief tornado touchdown northwest of Ralston. No damage was reported.
September 1997	Tornado (F0)	Ralston	-	An isolated severe thunderstorm developed in western Osage County during the afternoon of September 8th and moved south into Pawnee County. The storm produced 2 brief tornadoes in open country. The tornadoes touched down at 1545CST 5 miles north of Fairfax and at 1620CST 2 miles northwest of Ralston. No structural damage occurred with the tornadoes, and both tornadoes were rated F0 in intensity.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	A severe thunderstorm produced 60 mile an hour winds in Ralston.
September 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	Isolated severe thunderstorms moved across northeast Oklahoma during the late evening of September 11th. Strong thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs 10 miles west southwest of Burbank, and several large tree limbs up to four inches in diameter were blown down in Ralston.
April 2008	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
June 2008	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	no account filed
March 2008	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
March 2008	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
April 2006	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
April 2006	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	no account filed
August 2005	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	no account filed
March 2002	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
May 2002	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
April 2000	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
May 2000	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
May 2000	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
May 2000	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
February 1999	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
May 1998	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
May 1997	Hail	Ralston	-	no account filed
June 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	no account filed
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Ralston	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pawnee 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 87001257 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Pawnee County	All 13 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.