Tonkawa Armory

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

From the record

One of 60 National Register listings published here for Kay County · listed in 1988 · category: Building.

Sources: 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. Third and North Sts., Tonkawa, 74653
When was it listed? September 1988
Category. building
Also known as. WPA Public Bldgs., Recreational Facilities and Water Quality Improvements in Northwestern Oklahoma, 1935-1943 TR
Census division. Tonkawa
Architectural style. Romanesque Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 88001363 - 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

1 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Tonkawa Armory in 2006, burning under an acre in total. None 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	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
10 February 2006	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Pawnee Agency	60 WEST

Every fire recorded in Kay County

Mines and quarries near this property

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Tonkawa Armory: 8 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. 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
Unknown Shale Pit	Clay	Past Producer
Unknown Shale Pit	Clay	Past Producer
Unknown Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown Sand Pits	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Kay County

Storms near this property

60 of 90 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tonkawa, the town this property stands in, in 90 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 51 hail, 24 thunderstorm wind, 9 flash flood, 5 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	1 hurt, $20,000	Two semi-trailers were blown over. One injury was reported.
May 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$35,000	The roof of a trailer home was blown off, and pontoon boats were blown over.
June 1997	Hail	Tonkawa	$25,000	A combination of hail as large as golf balls and strong winds caused widespread damage in Tonkawa, particularly over an 11-block area on the north side of town. Roofs were severely damaged and windows were broken in both vehicles and houses. Large tree limbs were downed and trees were uprooted by winds estimated at up to 70 mph.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$5,000	no account filed
May 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$5,000	no account filed
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$2,500	Four power poles were downed.
September 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$1,000	A shed was blown over.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$500	A tree was downed.
September 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$500	Highway signs were blown down on Interstate 35.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$500	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$500	no account filed
September 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	$10	Tree limbs were blown down on Highway 60.
April 2026	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Hailfall near the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 60. The report was relayed by emergency management.
April 2026	Hail	Tonkawa	-	The report was relayed through mPING.
April 2025	Hail	Tonkawa	-	The report was relayed through mPING.
May 2025	Hail	Tonkawa	-	The report was relayed through mPING.
June 2025	Hail	Tonkawa	-	The report was relayed through mPING.
April 2024	Hail	Tonkawa	-	MPing report. Time is radar estimated.
April 2024	Hail	Tonkawa	-	MPing report.
April 2024	Flash Flood	Tonkawa	-	Flooding across all lanes of Interstate 35 near mile marker 217. Event time is approximate.
June 2024	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Social media image.
May 2024	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Hail was noted to be slightly smaller than golf ball size.
February 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	-	Reports of widespread power outages in Tonkawa. Time estimated via radar.
May 2023	Tornado (EF0)	Tonkawa	-	A number of spotters and chasers observed this tornado estimated to be about 2 miles southwest of Tonkawa. Some light tree damage was reported.
April 2020	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Ping pong sized hail at Bird Creek Rd, 3 miles south on HWY 77.
May 2019	Flash Flood	Tonkawa	-	OHP closed US Hwy 77 from Tonkawa south to Noble county line due to flash flooding.
August 2015	Flash Flood	Tonkawa	-	Roads were flooded with water 3 to 4 feet deep around Tonkawa. Emergency manager measured 5.25 inches of rain.
August 2015	Flash Flood	Tonkawa	-	County roads flooded resulting in travel difficulties.
November 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	-	No damage reported.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	-	Reported on I-35.
February 2012	Hail	Tonkawa	-	The hail report was relayed via Twitter.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	-	Several power poles and associated lines were blown down.
April 2011	Hail	Tonkawa	-	The hail occurred on Highway 60 at the Chikaskia River.
May 2010	Hail	Tonkawa	-	The hail occurred near the intersection of 10th Street and Rence Avenue.
May 2009	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Quarter- to half-dollar-size hail was reported.
September 2008	Tornado (EF0)	Tonkawa	-	A brief tornado developed on the east side of Tonkawa. The most significant damage occurred to an open air carport that was destroyed and thrown 200 yards from the residence it was attached to. Other minor damage was reported to trees and a couple of roofs. Monetary damages were unavailable.
April 2006	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Hail was observed on Highway 60.
June 2005	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Hail was reported on Interstate 35.
May 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Tonkawa	-	Wind was reported near Highway 60 and Interstate 35.
April 1999	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Hail was reported on Interstate 35 on the Kay/Noble County line.
July 1998	Flash Flood	Tonkawa	-	Numerous thunderstorms developed over Kay County during the early morning of the 1st resulting in water flowing over many roadways in Tonkawa, Blackwell, Ponca City, and Newkirk. The water department in Blackwell measured 3.5 inches of rain for a 5 hour period before flooding started.
July 1997	Flash Flood	Tonkawa	-	Due to high water, 13th Street was closed near Stink Creek.
June 1997	Hail	Tonkawa	-	Golfball-sized hail covered the ground.
July 1997	Flash Flood	Tonkawa	-	Water to a depth of up to three feet covered parts of town.
June 2024	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
June 2024	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
May 2024	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
May 2023	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
May 2023	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
April 2020	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
April 2020	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
May 2016	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
November 2011	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
May 2010	Funnel Cloud	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
April 2009	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
April 2009	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
May 2009	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
June 2009	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
April 2006	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Tonkawa	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kay 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
Mahoney House and Garage	0.7 miles	1984
First Presbyterian Church of Tonkawa	0.8 miles	1994
Tonkawa Lodge No. 157 A.F. & A.M.	0.8 miles	2007
Huston Elementary School	6.7 miles	2009
Washington Elementary School	7.7 miles	2009
Parkside Elementary School	7.7 miles	2009

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 88001363 in Record Group 79.
Kay County	All 60 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.