Greensburg, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat
of Kiowa County
, Kansas
, United States
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 777. Greensburg is also home to the world's largest hand-dug well
.
In the evening of May 4, 2007, Greensburg was devastated by an EF5
tornado
that traveled rapidly through the area, leveling at least 95 percent of the city and killing eleven people between the ages of 46 and 84.
At 9:45 p.m. CDT
on May 4, 2007, Greensburg was hit by an EF5
tornado. The tornado was estimated to be 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in width — wider than the city itself — and traveled for nearly 22 miles (35.4 km). Ninety-five percent of the city was confirmed to be destroyed, with the other five percent being severely damaged. The National Weather Service
estimated winds of the tornado to reach 205 mi/h. This was the first tornado to be rated EF5 since the update of the Fujita scale
and the first "5" classification since May 3, 1999, when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore
, Oklahoma
, as part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. Tornado sirens sounded in the city twenty minutes before the tornado struck, and a tornado emergency
was issued, which undoubtedly saved many lives.
Kansas Governor
Kathleen Sebelius
and President
George W. Bush
both declared Kiowa County a disaster area
, which opened up the affected areas for national and international aid. While some rebuilding was done, the population by 2010 was 50% of what it was in 2000.
- platinum standards, making it the first city in the nation to do so. Greensburg is rebuilding as a "green" town, with the help of Greensburg GreenTown, a non-profit organization created to help the residents learn about and implement the green living initiative.
The city's power is supplied by ten 1.25 MW wind-turbines. Carbon offsets generated from the turbines are being managed by NativeEnergy, and have been purchased by charter supporters including Ben & Jerry's
, Clif Bar
, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
, and Stonyfield Farm
.
, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 1,574 people, 730 households, and 453 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,055.9 people per square mile (407.9/km2). There were 887 housing units at an average density of 595.0 per square mile (229.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.01% White, 0.83% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 1.02% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population.
There were 730 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples
living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 26.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The median income for a household
in the city was $28,438, and the median income for a family was $39,188. Males had a median income of $28,426 versus $20,875 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,054. About 8.4% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
. Work had begun on the well in 1887 to provide water for the steam engines of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
. When the well was completed in 1888 it was 109 feet (33.2 m) deep and 32 feet (9.8 m) in diameter. The well was used as the city's water supply until 1932. In 1939 it was opened as a tourist attraction allowing visitors to descend to the bottom of the well. The adjacent museum displayed a 1000-pound pallasite
meteorite
until the museum fell down around the meteorite during a 2007 tornado that destroyed the city. The Well was not destroyed, and the meteorite was found in the rubble of the museum and moved to a temporary home in Hays before Greensburg could reclaim it. As of January 2011 the meteorite is back in Greensburg on display in the new City Hall until the new Big Well Museum is built.
On October 16, 2006, a related smaller meteorite measuring 154 pounds (70 kilograms) was dug up near Greensburg (5 miles (8 km)) and Haviland (4 miles (6.4 km)). The only scientific publication discussing time of impact suggests a terrestrial age of 20,000 years. It was once thought that its age was closer to 10,000 years.
Prior to the 2007 tornado, there once stood Twilight Theatre, which first showed movies in 1915; and Hunter Drug, which featured an old soda fountain
. Both of these were later destroyed in the tornado.
Greensburg serves as a time station for the annual Race Across America
, a 3000 miles (4,828 km) transcontinental bicycle race.
' town. A documentary
on its reconstruction, called Greensburg, aired on Planet Green, a sister network of Discovery Channel
.
Another documentary, Earth 2100
, drew attention to Greensburg as "the green town" that was built after the devastating 2007 tornado. The ABC
film suggested a fictionalized, future Greensburg as a model showing how American towns can successfully implement green technology, and become a beacon for hope on a planet doomed to destruction from climate change and overpopulation.
Newspaper
Schools
2007 Tornado Damage
2007 Tornado Recovery
Maps
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Kiowa County
Kiowa County, Kansas
Kiowa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 2,553...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 777. Greensburg is also home to the world's largest hand-dug well
Big Well (Kansas)
The Big Well, in Greensburg, Kansas, USA, is a water well that was designed to provide water for the Santa Fe and Rock Island railroads. It was built in 1887 at a cost of $45,000, and served as the municipal water supply until 1932....
.
In the evening of May 4, 2007, Greensburg was devastated by an EF5
Enhanced Fujita Scale
The Enhanced Fujita Scale rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States based on the damage they cause.Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971 by Ted Fujita, it began operational use on February 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale:...
tornado
May 2007 Tornado Outbreak
The May 2007 Tornado Outbreak was an extended tornado outbreak that started on May 4, 2007, affecting portions of the Central United States. The most destructive tornado in the outbreak occurred on the evening of May 4 in western Kansas, where about 95% of the city of Greensburg in Kiowa County was...
that traveled rapidly through the area, leveling at least 95 percent of the city and killing eleven people between the ages of 46 and 84.
History
Greensburg was named for D. R. "Cannonball" Green, who owned a stagecoach company and who helped to form the city.May 2007 tornado
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
on May 4, 2007, Greensburg was hit by an EF5
Enhanced Fujita Scale
The Enhanced Fujita Scale rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States based on the damage they cause.Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971 by Ted Fujita, it began operational use on February 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale:...
tornado. The tornado was estimated to be 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in width — wider than the city itself — and traveled for nearly 22 miles (35.4 km). Ninety-five percent of the city was confirmed to be destroyed, with the other five percent being severely damaged. The National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
estimated winds of the tornado to reach 205 mi/h. This was the first tornado to be rated EF5 since the update of the Fujita scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
and the first "5" classification since May 3, 1999, when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore
Moore, Oklahoma
Moore is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 55,081 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, as part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. Tornado sirens sounded in the city twenty minutes before the tornado struck, and a tornado emergency
Tornado emergency
A Tornado Emergency is enhanced wording of tornado warnings used by the National Weather Service in the United States during significant tornado occurrences in highly populated areas...
was issued, which undoubtedly saved many lives.
Kansas Governor
Governor of Kansas
The Governor of the State of Kansas is the head of state for the State of Kansas, United States. Under the Kansas Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Kansas executive branch, of the government of Kansas. The Governor is the...
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...
and President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
both declared Kiowa County a disaster area
Disaster area
A disaster area is a region or a locale heavily damaged by either natural hazards, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, technological hazards including nuclear and radiation accidents, or sociological hazards like riots, terrorism or war. The population living there often...
, which opened up the affected areas for national and international aid. While some rebuilding was done, the population by 2010 was 50% of what it was in 2000.
Green city
After the tornado, the city council passed a resolution stating that all city buildings would be built to LEEDLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
- platinum standards, making it the first city in the nation to do so. Greensburg is rebuilding as a "green" town, with the help of Greensburg GreenTown, a non-profit organization created to help the residents learn about and implement the green living initiative.
The city's power is supplied by ten 1.25 MW wind-turbines. Carbon offsets generated from the turbines are being managed by NativeEnergy, and have been purchased by charter supporters including Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, a division of the British-Dutch Unilever conglomerate, that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream novelty products, manufactured by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc., headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, United...
, Clif Bar
Clif Bar
Clif Bar & Company is an American company that produces organic foods and drinks marketed towards active people. Their flagship product, CLIF BAR, was created in 1992 by owner Gary Erickson. The company's headquarters are in Emeryville, California....
, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is a publicly-traded brand of coffee based at Waterbury in the U.S. state of Vermont. The brand specializes in organic, fair trade, and specialty gourmet coffees. Keurig is a wholly owned subsidiary of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., and sells many of their...
, and Stonyfield Farm
Stonyfield Farm
Stonyfield Farm, also simply called Stonyfield, is an organic yogurt maker located in Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA. Stonyfield Farm was founded by Samuel Kaymen in 1983, in Wilton, New Hampshire, as an organic farming school...
.
Geography
Greensburg is located at 37.604316°N 99.293488°W (37.604316, -99.293488). According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusUnited States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
of 2000, there were 1,574 people, 730 households, and 453 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,055.9 people per square mile (407.9/km2). There were 887 housing units at an average density of 595.0 per square mile (229.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.01% White, 0.83% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 1.02% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population.
There were 730 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 26.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The median income for a household
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
in the city was $28,438, and the median income for a family was $39,188. Males had a median income of $28,426 versus $20,875 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,054. About 8.4% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
Attractions
Greensburg is home to the world's largest hand dug wellBig Well (Kansas)
The Big Well, in Greensburg, Kansas, USA, is a water well that was designed to provide water for the Santa Fe and Rock Island railroads. It was built in 1887 at a cost of $45,000, and served as the municipal water supply until 1932....
. Work had begun on the well in 1887 to provide water for the steam engines of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
. When the well was completed in 1888 it was 109 feet (33.2 m) deep and 32 feet (9.8 m) in diameter. The well was used as the city's water supply until 1932. In 1939 it was opened as a tourist attraction allowing visitors to descend to the bottom of the well. The adjacent museum displayed a 1000-pound pallasite
Pallasite
A pallasite is a type of stony–iron meteorite.-Structure and composition:It consists of cm-sized olivine crystals of peridot quality in an iron-nickel matrix. Coarser metal areas develop Widmanstätten patterns upon etching...
meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
until the museum fell down around the meteorite during a 2007 tornado that destroyed the city. The Well was not destroyed, and the meteorite was found in the rubble of the museum and moved to a temporary home in Hays before Greensburg could reclaim it. As of January 2011 the meteorite is back in Greensburg on display in the new City Hall until the new Big Well Museum is built.
On October 16, 2006, a related smaller meteorite measuring 154 pounds (70 kilograms) was dug up near Greensburg (5 miles (8 km)) and Haviland (4 miles (6.4 km)). The only scientific publication discussing time of impact suggests a terrestrial age of 20,000 years. It was once thought that its age was closer to 10,000 years.
Prior to the 2007 tornado, there once stood Twilight Theatre, which first showed movies in 1915; and Hunter Drug, which featured an old soda fountain
Soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
. Both of these were later destroyed in the tornado.
Greensburg serves as a time station for the annual Race Across America
Race Across America
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race....
, a 3000 miles (4,828 km) transcontinental bicycle race.
Transportation
- U.S. Route 54U.S. Route 54U.S. Route 54 is an east–west United States highway that runs northeast-southwest for 1,197 miles from western Illinois to El Paso, Texas. It enters and leaves Texas twice...
- U.S. Route 183U.S. Route 183U.S. Route 183 is a north–south United States highway. U.S. 183 was the last US route to be completely paved. The 20 mile segment in Loup County, Nebraska, north of Taylor, was unpaved until 1967. The highway's northern terminus is in Presho, South Dakota, at an intersection with...
- U.S. Route 400U.S. Route 400U.S. Route 400 is a mostly east–west U.S. Highway, commissioned in 1994. Its route number is a "violation" of the usual AASHTO numbering scheme, as there is no US 0 or US 100....
- Paul Windle Municipal AirportPaul Windle Municipal AirportPaul Windle Municipal Airport is a public use airport located east of the central business district of Greensburg, a city in Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. The airport is owned by the City of Greensburg and named in honor of Capt. Paul R...
Television
Several television networks have drawn an interest in Greensburg as a subject for reality shows as a result of the Greensburg City Council's decision to make the city a 'greenGreen politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
' town. A documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on its reconstruction, called Greensburg, aired on Planet Green, a sister network of Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
.
Another documentary, Earth 2100
Earth 2100
Earth 2100 is a television program that was presented by the American Broadcasting Company network on June 2, 2009 and was aired on the History channel in January 2010 and will continue to be shown through 2010...
, drew attention to Greensburg as "the green town" that was built after the devastating 2007 tornado. The ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
film suggested a fictionalized, future Greensburg as a model showing how American towns can successfully implement green technology, and become a beacon for hope on a planet doomed to destruction from climate change and overpopulation.
Notable people
- Manvel H. DavisManvel H. DavisManvel Humphrey Davis was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri State Senate. Davis, a Republican, challenged Harry S...
, lost to Harry S. TrumanHarry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
in 1940 senatorial campaign - Dennis McKinneyDennis McKinneyDennis McKinney is a former Kansas State Treasurer and formerly a state representative in the American state of Kansas, where he represented the 116th House District...
, Kansas State TreasurerKansas State TreasurerThe State Treasurer of Kansas is the chief custodian of Kansas’s cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets...
Further reading
- History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
- Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)
External links
Official sitesNewspaper
Schools
- USD 422, local school district
2007 Tornado Damage
- Wichita Eagle tornado coverage
- Aerials of Greensburg Tornado Damage
- Interactive Map of Greensburg Tornado Damage
2007 Tornado Recovery
- Photos of Greensburg Recovery Efforts
- Sustainable Master Plan.
- Greensburg GreenTown, official site of the Green Initiative
- Greensburg featured on NPR's State of the Re:UnionState of the Re:UnionState of the Re:Union is a nationally aired Public Radio show created and hosted by playwright and performance artist Al Letson. With a journalistic, documentary-style approach, the hour-long program focuses exclusively on one city or town in the scope of an episode featuring interviews,...
- Greensburg theater breaks ground
Maps
- Greensburg City Map, KDOT
- Kiowa County Map, KDOT