BlockFrom the record
One of 159 National Register listings published here for Spokane County · listed in 1976 · category: Structure.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Italian Rock Ovens
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 2 structuress as contributing to the listing.
- Address. S of Cheney, Cheney, 99004
- When was it listed? September 1976
- Category. structure
- Census division. Amber-Cheney South
- National Register reference number. 76001914 - 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
140 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 140 fires within 5 miles of Italian Rock Ovens between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,281 acres in total. 45 started naturally. 11 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 45 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 23 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17 |
| Debris and open burning | 15 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 10 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1995 | Natural | 3.0 acres | Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge | CROSS |
| 5 September 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge | NORTH BOUNDARY |
| 4 September 2013 | Natural | 3.4 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | AMBER STRIKE |
| 30 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 27 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 26 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | CAMERON ROAD |
| 25 September 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 24 September 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge | HARMONY RD. |
Mines and quarries near this property
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Italian Rock Ovens: 5 past producers, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Fire Clay (Refractory). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheney Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Wellsandt | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Occurrence | ||
| Cramer Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Redmon Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this property
9 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cheney, the town this property stands in, in 9 storm reports between 1997 and 2020: 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 lightning, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Cheney | 4 hurt, $4,000,000 | A wet microburst brought sustained winds of 35 to 50 mph with gusts 60 to 70 mph across Spokane County. The winds descended near Cheney and peaked while passing through Airway Heights, Northwestern Spokane, and Deer Park. Hundreds of Ponderosa Pines were snapped and downed from Northwestern Spokane to Deer Park. Downed trees led to widespread structural damage, blocked roads, power outages, and injuries. Significant damage was observed at the Riverside Village Mobile Home Park from trees falling on mobile homes prompting a search and rescue. One woman was trapped but was not injured. At least 40 mobile homes and cars in the park were severely damaged. Forty eight trees were knocked down at a resort on Lake Eloika. Trees fell on six RVs and the resort's oldest cabin forcing the owners to close their doors for a short period of time. One person was injured when a tree landed on his vehicle while driving along Lakeside Dr near Reflection Lake in Elk, WA. A tree branch flew through his windshield and drove him off the road severing his arm and impaling his hip. He eventually lost his arm in the accident. Three other people were injured near the Spokane Courthouse by falling tree branches. Over 30,000 people lost power during the event. Because of the extent of damage, some residents and businesses remained in the dark for up to four days. Downed power poles and lightning strikes sparked several new wildfires which quickly grew due to the strong winds. The winds completely damaged a airport hanger and caused between ten to twelve thousand dollars worth of damage to planes. |
| January 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cheney | $20,000 | Downed tree on to car |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Cheney | $10,000 | A utility company reported approximately 45,000 customers without power, mainly in the Cheney and southwest Spokane area, due to branches falling on the power lines. |
| March 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cheney | $5,000 | A forty-foot tree fell on a house from winds behind the squall line. Damage costs were estimated. |
| March 2016 | Funnel Cloud | Cheney | - | Numerous individuals observed a cold core funnel cloud near Cheney, WA near 2:45 PM PDT. A local weather reported posted photos of the funnel cloud to his social media accounts. |
| April 2001 | Lightning | Cheney | - | An unusual thunderstorm with frequent lightning moved across Spokane. Cloud-to-ground lightning hit two electric substations on the north side of Spokane, knocking out power to 15,000 residences for up to two hours. |
| July 1997 | Hail | Cheney | - | 1 inch hail reported by a spotter |
| May 1997 | Hail | Cheney | - | 3/4 inch hail |
| April 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cheney | - | no account filed |
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 milesOther 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Sutton Barn | 4.8 miles | 1975 |
 | Cheney Odd Fellows Hall | 5.1 miles | 1990 |
 | David Lowe House | 5.1 miles | 1983 |
 | Cheney Interurban Depot | 5.2 miles | 1979 |
| City of Cheney Historic District | 5.2 miles | 2001 | |
| Washington State Normal School at Cheney Historic District | 5.3 miles | 1992 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 76001914 in Record Group 79. |
| Spokane County | All 159 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.