Cordell Carnegie Public Library

Built in 1911. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

From the record

“The Cordell Carnegie Public Library is a historic Carnegie library located at 105 E. The library was built in 1911 through a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie foundation; New Cordell's Commercial Club, which had opened a reading room the previous year, solicited the grant.”
Wikipedia article Cordell Carnegie Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 4 National Register listings published here for Washita County · listed in 1989 · category: Building · built in 1911.

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. 105 E. First St., Cordell, 73632
When was it listed? November 1989
Category. building
Census division. Central Washita
When was it built? 1911
National Register reference number. 89001966 - 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

2 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Cordell Carnegie Public Library between 2005 and 2011, burning about 6 acres 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
Debris and open burning	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
23 June 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Concho Field Office	WALK
14 January 2011	Debris and open burning	5.0 acres	Kickapoo Field Office	TIRE CREEK

Every fire recorded in Washita County

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Cordell Carnegie Public Library: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. 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 Shale Pit	Clay	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Washita County

Storms near this property

60 of 89 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cordell, the town this property stands in, in 89 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 57 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 7 flash flood, 6 tornado. The reports record 9 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
October 2001	Tornado (F3)	Cordell	9 hurt, $100,000,000	C1. This tornado developed on the southwest side of Cordell, where a mobile home and metal warehouse were blown into a farmhouse. The tornado then moved through south, east and northeast portions of Cordell, including a business district and a large residential area. Most damage south of Main Street was rated F0 or F1. North of Main Street, the damage path widened to approximately 500 yards, with the tornado then inflicting widespread F1 to F2 damage up to 12th Street. Hundreds of homes were damaged in this area. As the tornado began to exit the northeast side of Cordell, F3 damage was sustained to several homes on 9th Street, just west of Crider Road. An F4 rating was considered; however, the structural integrity of most structures was at or below average, and was taken into consideration. Another interesting note is that several eye-witnesses reported that the tornado was widest and contained the most violent-looking winds at this time. The tornado eventually exited Cordell and dissipated 3.5 miles northeast of town. The Oklahoma State Emergency Management Office estimated that 477 single-family homes were damaged, 132 considered uninhabitable. In addition, 40 businesses were damaged, 22 considered uninhabitable. Damage was estimated near 100 million dollars, and nine injuries were reported.
April 2024	Tornado (EF1)	Cordell	$250,000	The Cordell Tornado developed about a mile south of Cordell along County Road E1200 just west of US Highway 183. A couple of metal buildings were damaged along E1200 Road along with trees and power lines. Debris from these buildings were found about 300 yards north. The tornado moved north and northeast into Cordell near US-183 and Caddo Street and moving across the southern and eastern portions of Cordell causing roof damage for dozens of homes and a few businesses. The tornado dissipated soon after moving through a neighborhood on the northeast edge of Cordell.
May 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	$25,000	The roof was damaged at Cordell Airport.
October 2018	Flash Flood	Cordell	$10,000	A police car was flooded.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	$7,500	Power poles were downed. A barn roof was also blown off.
January 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	$6,000	The damage occurred along a path from two miles south of Cordell to two miles east of Cordell. Four power poles were downed.
September 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	$5,000	no account filed
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	$500	Power lines were blown down by severe thunderstorm winds.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	$500	Severe thunderstorm winds snapped power poles along Hwy 152.
June 2000	Lightning	Cordell	$300	Lightning struck a pine tree on East Normal Street, destroying it.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	$10	no account filed
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	-	An estimated wind gust from a broadcast media storm chaser. The location is approximate.
April 2024	Hail	Cordell	-	MPing report.
April 2024	Hail	Cordell	-	MPing report.
April 2024	Hail	Cordell	-	MPing report.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	-	Social media image showing large (1224-inch diameter) trees snapped. Time is radar estimated.
May 2019	Flash Flood	Cordell	-	Several roadways closed due to flash flooding, including Hwy 183 and Market.
May 2019	Tornado (EFU)	Cordell	-	While the Rocky tornado was moving north-northeast between Rocky and Cordell, spotters observed a second simultaneous tornado that was estimated to be about 5 miles south-southwest of Cordell. Darkness prevented observers from distinguishing rather this was a satellite tornado around the Rocky tornado or a tornado along a parallel path. No damage was observed.
April 2015	Hail	Cordell	-	No damage reported.
April 2015	Hail	Cordell	-	No damage reported.
May 2015	Flash Flood	Cordell	-	State highway 152 shut down west of Cordell due to water over the road.
February 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	-	A hangar at the Cordell airport was heavily damaged. The scoreboard at the Cordell Lady Blue Devils Softball field was knocked down. Monetary estimates were not available.
August 2007	Flash Flood	Cordell	-	Several roads in Cordell were barricaded off due to the rising water.
August 2007	Tornado (EF0)	Cordell	-	The tornado was reported by the Cordell fire chief. The tornado lasted approximately 10 minutes. No damage was reported.
June 2003	Heavy Rain	Cordell	-	Water was reported over county road.
May 2001	Tornado (F0)	Cordell	-	An off-duty National Weather Service meteorologist observed this brief tornado near Cordell. No damage was observed or reported.
May 2001	Tornado (F0)	Cordell	-	An off-duty National Weather Service meteorologist observed this tornado north of Cordell. Although the tornado lasted for approximately 4 minutes, no structures were affected.
May 2022	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
April 2017	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2017	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
April 2015	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
April 2015	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
March 2013	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2012	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
June 2012	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
August 2009	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
March 2009	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
April 2009	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	-	no account filed
July 2009	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	-	no account filed
March 2008	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
March 2008	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
March 2008	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	-	no account filed
June 2007	Heavy Rain	Cordell	-	no account filed
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cordell	-	no account filed
June 2005	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
September 2005	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
September 2005	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
June 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
June 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Cordell	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washita 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

2 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
	New Cordell Courthouse Square Historic District	under 500 feet	1999
	Washita County Courthouse	0.1 miles	1984

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 89001966 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Washita 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.
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.