Wind Cave National Park Administrative and Utility Area Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

From the record

“The Wind Cave National Park Administrative and Utility Area Historic District comprises the central portion of Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. The district centers on the historic entrance to Wind Cave, which is surrounded by park administrative and interpretive structures, most of which were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.”
Wikipedia article Wind Cave National Park Administrative and Utility Area Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 35 National Register listings published here for Custer County · listed in 1984 · category: District.

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

The listing

Address. E of Custer off US 385, Custer, 57747
When was it listed? July 1984
Category. district
Also known as. Wind Cave National Park MPS (AD); Wind Cave National Park MPS
Unorganized territory. East Custer
Architectural style. National Park Service rustic
National Register reference number. 84003259 - 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

102 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 102 fires within 5 miles of Wind Cave National Park Administrative and Utility Area Historic District between 1992 and 2020, burning about 21,083 acres in total. 65 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
Natural	65
Debris and open burning	15
Equipment and vehicle use	7
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	6
Recreation and ceremony	4
Power generation/transmission/distribution	2
Misuse of fire by a minor	1
Arson/incendiarism	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 2000	Natural	under an acre	Wind Cave National Park	WIND RIDGE
5 September 2000	Natural	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	SANSON 2
5 September 2000	Natural	under an acre	Wind Cave National Park	KEYHOLE
5 September 1996	Natural	1.0 acres	Wind Cave National Park	WILDCAT
4 September 2008	Natural	under an acre	Wind Cave National Park	MIXUP
4 September 2008	Natural	under an acre	Wind Cave National Park	BEAVER CREEK
29 September 2008	Debris and open burning	93 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	not named
25 September 2010	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	BALE

Every fire recorded in Custer County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 19 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Wind Cave National Park Administrative and Utility Area Historic District: 11 past producers, 4 occurrences, 4 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Mica, Feldspar, Beryllium, Mica, Sand and Gravel, Industrial. 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	Recorded
Apex Claim	Mica, Beryllium	Past Producer	Beryl, Muscovite
Black Hills Lime Company Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
La Rue Mine	Beryllium, Mica	Past Producer	Beryl, Mica
Larue Mine	Mica, Beryllium	Prospect
Shirttail Canyon Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Industrial	Past Producer
Sky-High Lode	Mica, Feldspar	Occurrence	Feldspar, Mica
Antler Mine	Mica, Feldspar	Past Producer
Bald No 4 Lode	Feldspar	Prospect
Bald No. 4 Lode	Feldspar	Occurrence	Feldspar
Fanny Mcadam Ranch Mine	Feldspar	Occurrence

Every working recorded in Custer County

Storms near this property

60 of 217 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Custer, the town this property stands in, in 217 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 181 hail, 21 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 3 tornado. 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
September 2013	Hail	Custer	$2,000,000	Hail damaged vehicles and property.
August 2019	Flash Flood	Custer	$1,000,000	Significant flooding occurred on French Creek from the Custer Limestone area downstream to Stockade Lake, including the City of Custer. Several smaller tributaries into French Creek, including Ruby Creek, also flooded. Flash flooding inundated Custer Limestone Road just east of the intersection of Forest Service 284 and Forest Service 285, French Creek Road at Hoover Court, Highway 16, Highway 16A, Highway 89, Custer Street, South 4th Street, French Creek Drive, Gordon Street, 7th Street, 8th Street, Washington Street, Sidney Park, Granite Valley Drive, and Iron Creek Road. Several homes and businesses were also flooded.
August 2001	Lightning	Custer	$500,000	no account filed
July 2011	Hail	Custer	$250,000	no account filed
June 2012	Hail	Custer	$100,000	Hail to golf ball size covered the ground.
July 2015	Hail	Custer	$100,000	no account filed
September 2013	Hail	Custer	$100,000	no account filed
August 2013	Hail	Custer	$100,000	no account filed
August 2013	Hail	Custer	$75,000	no account filed
July 2010	Hail	Custer	$50,000	Ping-pong ball sized hail damaged vehicles in downtown Custer.
June 2003	Hail	Custer	$50,000	Hail damage to cars in and near Custer.
September 2013	Hail	Custer	$50,000	no account filed
August 2013	Hail	Custer	$50,000	no account filed
August 2013	Hail	Custer	$50,000	no account filed
August 2013	Hail	Custer	$25,000	Hail covered the ground around Sanator. Snowplows had to clear the hail from U.S. Highway 385.
August 2013	Hail	Custer	$15,000	no account filed
June 2015	Hail	Custer	$10,000	Hail cracked a truck windshield caused minor damage to other vehicles.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	$10,000	Strong winds damaged the roof of a home.
June 1994	Tornado (F0)	Custer	$5,000	A tornado destroyed a chicken coup, chain link fence, and flipped a 1500 pound trailer upside down. The tornado also reportedly held 8 x 10 foot shed in the air for 10 minutes. A witness reported the tornado was not connected to a cloud and appeared to form from nearly clear skies. Perhaps this could better be defined as a land spout.
July 2009	Hail	Custer	$5,000	no account filed
May 2016	Flash Flood	Custer	$2,000	Iron Creek overflowed its banks at Needles Highway (SD Highway 87), with three to four inches of water covering the highway. All water crossings on Iron Creek Trail 15 were either damaged or destroyed, making the trail impassible for several weeks.
July 2015	Hail	Custer	$1,000	Hail damaged a camper.
June 2025	Hail	Custer	-	Largest hail about the size of a quarter. Most hail was smaller, pea to nickel.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Wind gusts were estimated at near 60 mph.
April 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Wind gusts were estimated at near 60 mph.
September 2023	Flood	Custer	-	Runoff from heavy rain caused flash flooding in Ghost Canyon and Box Canyon, west of Hermosa. Ghost Canyon Road and Battle Creek Road were flooded with water and debris. Battle Creek and Grace Coolidge Creek overflowed their banks in several areas. Water and debris filled the ditches along Highway 40 and Highway 36. The Battle Creek at Hermosa river gage crested at 8.86 feet and 846 cfs at 915 PM MST.
May 2021	Tornado (EF1)	Custer	-	A tornado touched down just northeast of Custer and tracked to the east-northeast for over five miles. This tornado snapped several trees along Willow Creek Road.
June 2020	Hail	Custer	-	Hail was mostly to quarter size, with a few near golf ball size, and accumulated to six inches deep, with a few piles larger than two feet.
June 2020	Flash Flood	Custer	-	Runoff from heavy rain and copious amounts of hail combined to produce street flooding in Custer. The excessive runoff overwhelmed culverts and caused flooding along French Creek upstream of Stockade Lake.
August 2019	Flood	Custer	-	Runoff from heavy rainfall continued to cause flooding in the Custer area.
August 2019	Heavy Rain	Custer	-	The RAWS recorded a rainfall total of 5.35 inches.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2018	Hail	Custer	-	Quarter sized hail was reported at the Custer State Park Headquarters office.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Part of the YMCA building's roof was torn off, a large sign was blown down, and trees were toppled by strong winds in Custer.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Many pine trees were bent and several trees were snapped by the wind.
June 2016	Hail	Custer	-	Ping pong ball sized hail fell at the Custer State Park headquarters.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Numerous large pine trees were snapped and uprooted in an area about 100 yards wide.
June 2016	Hail	Custer	-	Golf ball sized hail fell at Beaver Lake Campground.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	A pine tree was snapped in half.
May 2016	Hail	Custer	-	Hail to the size of ping pong balls was reported at the Center Lake Campground in Custer State Park.
May 2016	Hail	Custer	-	The ground was covered with hail.
May 2016	Flood	Custer	-	Iron Creek overflowed its banks upstream and downstream from Lakota Lake, causing minor flooding. Iron Creek covered the Needles Highway (SD Highway 87) with at least three to four inches of water. A road downstream from Lakota Lake was covered by water when an eight foot diameter culvert wasn't able to keep up with the flood waters.
July 2016	Hail	Custer	-	Time estimated--check on radar.
July 2016	Hail	Custer	-	Baseball sized hail was reported at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park.
July 2016	Hail	Custer	-	Ping pong ball sized hail fell at the Custer State Park headquarters.
July 2016	Hail	Custer	-	The Mount Coolidge Communications Center reported quarter sized hail.
July 2015	Hail	Custer	-	Ping pong ball sized hail was reported at Sylvan Lake.
June 2015	Hail	Custer	-	Wind gusts to 50 mph also accompanied the storm.
July 2014	Hail	Custer	-	Half dollar to golf ball size hail fell in Custer State Park from the Grace Coolidge Campground to the State Game Lodge.
June 2012	Hail	Custer	-	Nickel sized hail and heavy rain fell at Outlaw Ranch near Bismark Lake in Custer State Park.
June 2012	Hail	Custer	-	Quarter sized hail fell at Mount Coolidge.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2010	Hail	Custer	-	Nickel to quarter sized hail covered the ground.
August 2008	Hail	Custer	-	Hail covered the deck of a house.
August 2007	Flash Flood	Custer	-	Nearly stationary thunderstorms dropped two to four inches of rain in less than two hours in the Custer area. Flooding was reported throughout much of the City of Custer, with many streets from downtown to areas south and east of town covered by water. No significant damage was reported.
August 2003	Hail	Custer	-	A severe thunderstorm dropped hail to the size of golf balls for 30 minutes in Custer.
August 2001	Flash Flood	Custer	-	Flash flooding occurred through Buck Springs & Gillette Canyons. Normally dry creek beds had water flowing from 18 inches to 4 feet deep and from 6 feet to 20 feet wide. Excessive run-off from scorched earth of the Jasper fire of 2000 contributed more to the flooding than did heavy rainfall.
July 2001	Hail	Custer	-	Golfball sized hail fell for 10 minutes.
July 1998	Lightning	Custer	-	LIGHTNING CAUSED .5 ACRE FIRE IN PINE TREES AND GRASS, IN CUSTER STATE PARK.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Custer	-	Winds were estimated at 70 mph.

Every storm recorded in Custer 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

4 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
Beaver Creek Bridge	2.0 miles	1984
Pig Tail Bridge	3.2 miles	1995
Norman B. Streeter Homestead	4.8 miles	1995
Cold Springs Schoolhouse	4.9 miles	1973

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 84003259 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Custer County	All 35 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.