Built in 1899. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
“The Benton Stone Water Tower is located in Benton, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.”
Wikipedia article Benton Stone Water Tower, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 13 National Register listings published here for Lafayette County · listed in 1999 · category: Structure · built in 1899.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Benton Stone Water Tower between 2018 and 2020, 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 April 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 202013 |
| 24 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2018006 |
| 4 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 201808 |
| 15 March 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 201804 |
| 8 October 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 20109 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 255 workings within 5 miles of Benton Stone Water Tower: 128 past producers, 124 unknowns, 2 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Zinc, Lead, Lead, Zinc, Zinc, Lead. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etna Mine | Lead, Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Farrey Mine | Iron, Zinc | Past Producer | 1940 | |
| Raisbeck Mine | Zinc, Barium-Barite, Lead | Unknown | Barite | |
| Doc Schampers Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Johns Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Bear Hole Mill | Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | ||
| Byrnes Mine | Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | 1927, 1928 | |
| Crawford Mine | Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | 1931, 1932 | |
| Ernest and Meyers Level | Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | 1850 | |
| Ewing and Cook Mine | Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | 1941, 1942 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Benton, the town this property stands in, in 27 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 4 flash flood, 2 flood. The reports record 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1998 | Tornado (F2) | Benton | 11 hurt, $1,700,000 | A supercell thunderstorm, after dropping a couple tornadoes in northeast Iowa, eventually moved northeast into Lafayette county, creating another tornado. This tornado touched down just southwest of Benton and hopped/skipped northeast for 20 miles. It caused moderate to severe damage to 40 different farms and their outbuildings, and homes. Numerous power lines were downed. Eleven people were injured: 2 children near Cuba city, 3 children southwest of Truman, and 6 adults in a vehicle on Highway 81 south of Benton. Several farm fields sustained damage. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Benton | $500,000 | A 5-mile wide hail swath damaged crops (corn, soy beans, wheat, and alflafa), vehicles (dents and broken windows), and at least 25 homes (roofs, windows, and siding). This swath merged with another hail swath from an ealier storm that traveled from Northwest Lafayette County to southeast of Shullsburg. Some farm fiels were stripped to nothing by the hail stones.||Newspaper accounts indicated that the two hail swaths resulted in damage to 20,000 acres of corn and 10,000 acres of soybeans in Lafayette County. Using an avarge of 135 bushes of corn per acre with a price of $3.45 per bushels yields a corn loss of $9.315 M. Using an average of 38 bushels of soybeans per acre, and a price of $9.25 per bushel yields a soybean loss of $3.515 M. These loss estimates were divided by two and assigned to the two hail swaths equally. |
| May 2004 | Flash Flood | Benton | $100,000 | Several reports of houses flooded, people evacuated, mudslides destroyed freshly planted crops. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | $40,000 | Numerous trees and power lines down. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Benton | $12,000 | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Flash Flood | Benton | $10,000 | Heavy rains of 2 to 3 inches within 1 to 1.5 hours resulted in flash flooding in and around Benton as water depths reached 3 feet on some roads. Some gravel shoulder washouts were noted. |
| May 2000 | Hail | Benton | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Flash Flood | Benton | $5,000 | Water flowing over a portion of highway 126 near Belmont. Portions of roads flooded in or near Benton, Shullsburg, Darlington, South Wayne and Gratiot. A culvert washed out near Benton. |
| September 2019 | Flash Flood | Benton | $5,000 | Flash flooding of roads in Darlington and other townships throughout the county. Numerous road closures were needed due to the high water. |
| February 2018 | Flood | Benton | $5,000 | Widespread flooding of lowland and agricultural land including some roads. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | $5,000 | Several large trees were toppled and a power pole was bent by powerful thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | $5,000 | Pontoon boat overturned. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | $2,000 | Branches down and a shed blown over. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | $2,000 | Several trees down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | - | Wind gusts in the mid to upper 60 mph range were measured on a home weather station. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | - | Powerful thunderstorm winds toppled dozens of trees. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Benton | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Benton | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Benton | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Flood | Benton | - | no account filed |
| September 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Benton | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Benton | - | no account filed |
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Benton | - | no account filed |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | St. Augustine Church | 3.6 miles | 1972 |
 | Water Street Commercial Historic District | 7.4 miles | 1990 |
 | Gratiot House | 7.8 miles | 1980 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 98001598 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Lafayette County | All 13 listed properties in this county. |
Block