Coffeyville, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Coffeyville is a city situated along the Verdigris River
Verdigris River
The Verdigris River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. It is about long...

 in the southeastern part of Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Kansas
Montgomery County is a county located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 35,471. Its county seat is Independence, and its most populous city is Coffeyville. The Coffeyville Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Montgomery...

, located in Southeast Kansas
Southeast Kansas
Southeast Kansas is a region of the U.S. state of Kansas. It can be roughly defined by Woodson County in the northwest, Bourbon County in the northeast, Cherokee County in the southeast, and Montgomery County in the southwest. Geographically it is dominated by a broad rolling landscape located...

, in the Central United States
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the Southern United States; the term is also sometimes used...

. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,295. It is the most populous city of Montgomery County and with its southeast Kansas location is located in the Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

 media market.

The city should not be confused with Coffey County
Coffey County, Kansas
Coffey County is a county located in East Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 8,601...

.

History

Founded in 1869 as an Indian trading post by Col. James A. Coffey, serving the population across the Oklahoma border in what was then the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

, the town was confirmed and expanded by the arrival of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad in 1871. With the arrival of the railroad, a young surveyor, Napoleon B. Blanton, was dispatched to lay out the town. The naming of the town was left to the toss of a coin between Col. Coffey and U.S. Army Captain Blanton. Blanton lost the toss and the town was officially named Coffeyville.

Incorporated in 1872, the charter was voided, and the city was re-incorporated in March 1873.

Coffeyville's most famous moment may have been the end of the Dalton Gang
Dalton Gang
The Dalton Gang, also known as The Dalton Brothers, was a family of both lawmen and outlaws in the American Old West during 1890-1892. They specialized in bank and train robberies. They were related to the Younger brothers, who rode with Jesse James, though they acted later and independently of...

: on October 5, 1892, four of the gang were killed while Emmett Dalton
Emmett Dalton
Emmett Dalton was an American outlaw, train robber and member of the Dalton Gang in the American Old West. Part of the ill-fated Dalton raid on two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas, he survived despite receiving 23 gunshot wounds...

 survived with 23 gunshot wounds and was imprisoned for 14 years before being pardoned. They had been attempting to rob two banks, First National Bank and Condon Bank, at once when the citizens recognized them under the fake beards they were wearing and fought them after coming out of one of the banks. The two banks at the time of the attempted robbery were directly across the street from one another. Four citizens, including a U.S. marshal, Marshal Charles T. Connelly, died in defense of the town. The town holds an annual celebration each October in remembrance of the Dalton Raid and the lives its citizens lost.

Coffeyville enjoyed rapid growth after the discovery of plentiful natural gas and abundant clay and was from the turn of the century to the 1930s one of the largest glass and brick manufacturing centers in the nation. During this same period the development of oil production in the area prompted the establishment of several oil field equipment manufacturers.

Coffeyville industrialist Douglas Brown founded Coffeyville Multiscope which produced components of the famous Norden bombsight
Norden bombsight
The Norden bombsight was a tachometric bombsight used by the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean and the Vietnam Wars to aid the crew of bomber aircraft in dropping bombs accurately...

 which played a determining role in the perfection of precision day light bombing during WWII as a result of the bombsight's advanced accuracy and drift correction capability.

In 1930 Coffeyville had an organized LDS Sunday School, one of only 11 places in Kansas to have such at that point.

Only July 1, 2007, there was a major flood in Coffeyville which crested 10 feet above flood stage and flooded approximately a third of the city. The flood topped the local refinery
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...

, Coffeyville Resources LLC
Coffeyville Resources LLC
Coffeyville Resources LLC, formerly known as the COOP Refinery, is a company which owns an oil refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas. The refinery is owned and operated by Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing, LLC, The refinery employs 415 people and produces approximately of gasoline per day, and...

 levees by 4 feet, which allowed oil to pollute the water. Approximately 71,000 gallons of crude oil mingled with the already contaminated flood waters. The EPA was reportedly on site trying to prevent the oil and flood water mix from continuing down river where it could damage the water in Oologah Lake near Oologah, Oklahoma
Oologah, Oklahoma
Oologah is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. Renowned humorist Will Rogers was born on a ranch two miles east of Oologah, though he usually claimed Claremore as his birthplace, "because nobody but an Indian can pronounce 'Oologah.'"...

. Many Oklahomans get their water from the Verdigris River or Oologah Lake. Last reports show a minimal amount of oil reached Oolagah Lake, but it did not pose a threat to the water supplies of other cities along the Verdigris River or from the lake. A number of animals have been found dead or injured in flood areas covered with oil. By July 2, 2007, areas east of Patterson Street in Coffeyville were off limits and a curfew was enacted in other areas of the city. July 3, 2007 the city lost its supply of potable water, but the water service had been restored and the order to boil water was rescinded on July 7. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...

 (FEMA) and the Red Cross were on hand and the area was declared a federal 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...

. Most displaced residents took shelter with family and friends, but many were sheltered in two area churches and a senior citizens' apartment complex. Some pets were rescued to a temporary animal shelter built for them at LeClere Park. The flooded area on the city's east side was reopened on July 11, 2007 for residents and business owners to begin assessing damage and to retrieve salvageable items.
In order to focus on the post-flood recovery and clean-up, the 2007 Inter-State Fair & Rodeo was canceled. The ongoing flood recovery included a wholesale environmental remediation of the flood effected eastern portion of the city ending in late 2008 to early 2009. Many of the flood damaged homes were purchased by Coffeyville Resources LLC as a part of their attempt to compensate the flood affected homeowners.

Geography

Coffeyville is located in the southeast corner of Kansas, about 75 miles north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and 60 miles west of Joplin, Missouri. The city is situated about one-half mile north of the Oklahoma state line at 37°2′16"N 95°37′35"W (37.037708, -95.626438). The city is situated along the west bank of the Verdigris River. The city is the location of the lowest point in the state of Kansas at 679 feet above sea level. Coffeyville Municipal Airport
Coffeyville Municipal Airport
Coffeyville Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four miles northeast of the central business district of Coffeyville, a city in Montgomery County, Kansas, United States.-History:...

 is only a few miles northeast of the city along US-169. Though Coffeyville is the largest city in Montgomery County, the county seat is Independence
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,483.-Geography:...

, located 16 miles northwest of the city.

Coffeyville, specifically a spot just north of Coffeyville Country Club, is the default center starting point of Google Maps
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...

, being the accidental center point of the default starting map being displayed, which shows the 48 contiguous United States
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....

. Other locations that are considered to be the geographic center of the contiguous United States
Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States
One of the locations claimed to be the Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States is pinpointed by a historical marker that is located within a small park near the town of Lebanon, Kansas. It is located at the intersection of AA Road and K-191, accessible by a turn-off from U.S...

 are also in Kansas.

According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 7.1 square miles (18.4 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Coffeyville has experienced a slow and steady population decline since around 1960 when its population peaked. As of 2006 the population was estimated to be in the year , .

As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 11,021 people, 4,691 households, and 2,847 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 1,562.1 people per square mile (602.7/km²). There were 5,550 housing units at an average density of 786.6 per square mile (303.5/km²). The racial makeup
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of the city was 75.76% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

, 12.12% Black or African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 4.97% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, 0.60% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

, 0.04% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...

, 1.63% from other races, and 4.87% from two or more races
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...

. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

 of any race were 3.82% of the population.

There were 4,691 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 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 $25,542, and the median income for a family was $33,180. Males had a median income of $29,199 versus $17,940 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 $15,182. About 10.9% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Coffeyville has a long history as a center of industry and manufacturing. Unlike the common perception of small midwestern communities, Coffeyville's dominant economic sector has never been agriculture, though the sector is significant.

Coffeyville is home to online retailer Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

's largest distribution center, leased in 1999. It was opened in a facility previously operated by Golden Books. Coffeyville is also home to John Deere
John Deere
John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...

 Corporation's Coffeyville Works which is a major manufacturer of off road equipment automatic transmissions for the construction, agriculture and mining industries.

CVR Energy, operates a 100,000 barrels per day refinery and a large nitrogen fertilizer plant using a unique Texaco process of ammonia extraction from coke by products produced in the refinery. Sherwin Williams Chemical Co. has operated a chemical plant in the community since 1909.

Southwire Corp. one of the largest makers of stranded and solid core wire acquired the Leviton Industries facility of American Insulated Wire in 2010. Other nearby in county employers include Cessna Aircraft Division of Textron
Textron
Textron is a conglomerate that includes Bell Helicopter, E-Z-GO, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Greenlee, among others. It was founded by Royal Little in 1923 as the Special Yarns Company, and is headquartered at the Textron Tower in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.With total revenues of...

 and privately owned Spears Manufacturing, a large producer of extruded PVC
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...

 pipe products.

Education

Public education is provided by the Coffeyville school district (USD 445). The district educates almost 2,000 students in three facilities. The district has one, large consolidated elementary school with four pods, one middle school and one high school.
  • Community Elementary School, grades PK–6.
  • Roosevelt Middle School, grades 7–8.
  • Field Kindley High School, grades 9–12, named after Field Kindley.
  • Holy Name School, grades PK-6, parochial private school operated by the Roman Catholic Church
    Roman Catholic Church
    The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

    .


Advanced education is provided by Coffeyville Community College
Coffeyville Community College
Coffeyville Community College is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923....

 at three campuses. The main campus and technical trades campus are each located in Coffeyville, while a third campus is located in Columbus, Kansas
Columbus, Kansas
Columbus is the second largest city and county seat of Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, 15 miles south-southwest of Pittsburg, Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,312.-History:...

. Four-year college degrees are offered by Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Oklahoma Wesleyan University is an evangelical Christian university of the Wesleyan Church located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.-History:Oklahoma Wesleyan University was founded by the Wesleyan Church to provide higher education within a Christian environment for Wesleyan youth...

, Friends University
Friends University
Friends University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas.Friends University was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University, but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends by James Davis, a St. Louis...

 and Sterling College
Sterling College
Sterling College may refer to:*Sterling College *Sterling College...

 at the main Coffeyville Community College campus. Coffeyville Community College has a long history of academic and athletic success.

Notable people

  • Phil Ehart
    Phil Ehart
    Phillip W. Ehart is the drummer in the rock band Kansas. He and Rich Williams are the only two members who have appeared on every Kansas album. He has also taken on the band's management responsibilities in recent years. Born in Coffeyville, Kansas on February 4, 1950, Phil took up the drums in...

    , drummer of the rock band "Kansas
    Kansas (band)
    Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...

    "
  • Ron Kenoly
    Ron Kenoly
    Ron Kenoly is an American Christian worship leader, singer, and songwriter whose expressed mission is "to create an environment for the manifest presence of God". His musical style is one of jubilant praise and individual excellence on musical instruments...

    , popular worship leader
  • Rudy May
    Rudy May
    Rudolph May, Jr. is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from to for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos...

    , former Major League pitcher
  • William Mueller, professional wrestler known under the names, "Trevor Murdoch" and "Jethro Holiday"
  • Gary S. Paxton
    Gary S. Paxton
    Gary S. Paxton, sometimes Pax , is an American record producer, and a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning songwriter and recording artist.-Biography:...

    , American record producer of 1962 novelty song "Monster Mash
    Monster Mash
    "Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes...

    "
  • Johnny Rutherford
    Johnny Rutherford
    For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Johnny Rutherford . For other people with a similar name, see John RutherfordJohn Sherman Rutherford III , better known as Johnny Rutherford, and also known as "Lone Star JR" is a former U.S...

    , automobile racer
  • Cynthia Sikes
    Cynthia Sikes
    Cynthia Sikes is an American actress known for her television roles. On JAG, she played the love interest of Adm. Albert Jethro 'A.J.' Chegwidden . Her breakthrough role was playing Dr. Annie Cavanero on the critically acclaimed series St. Elsewhere, which she appeared in for the first three...

    , actress
  • James Chapman Playwright, Producer, Director
  • Mildred "Micky" Axton
    Mildred "Micky" Axton
    Micky Axton was an American aviator who was a test pilot during World War II. Axton was "one of the first three Women Airforce Service Pilots to be trained as a test pilot" and was the first woman to fly a B-29....

    . aviator and educator
  • Denver David Hargis
    Denver David Hargis
    Denver David Hargis was a U.S. Representative from Kansas from 1959 to 1961....

    , Kansas politician
  • Walter Johnson
    Walter Johnson
    Walter Perry Johnson , nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Washington Senators...

    , Hall of Fame baseball player
  • Field Eugene Kindley, aviator
  • Omar Knedlik
    Omar Knedlik
    Omar Knedlik , was the inventor of the ICEE frozen drink. He was born and raised a poor farm boy in Barnes, Kansas in 1916. Knedlik was a World War II veteran who bought his first ice cream shop after the war. He owned several hotels before moving to Coffeyville, Kansas, where he became the...

    , inventor of the ICEE frozen drink
  • Lafayette "Reb" Russell
    Lafayette Russell
    Lafayette H. "Reb" Russell was an American football running back in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Nebraska and Northwestern University...

    , football player and western movie actor
  • Johnny Rutherford
    Johnny Rutherford
    For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Johnny Rutherford . For other people with a similar name, see John RutherfordJohn Sherman Rutherford III , better known as Johnny Rutherford, and also known as "Lone Star JR" is a former U.S...

    , race car driver
  • Wendell Wilkie, 1940 Republican presidential candidate

Popular culture

Coffeyville is a featured location in the 2009 video game Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Western themed first-person shooter video game set in the years of 1864-1866. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was announced on January 14, 2009 and uses the Chrome Engine 4, the fourth generation of Techland's game engine.Developed by Techland and published by...

.

In the 2002 movie, "Reign of Fire
Reign of Fire
Reign of Fire is an action fantasy film directed by Rob Bowman and starring Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Gerard Butler, and Izabella Scorupco...

" character Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...

) realizes when and how to kill the dragons in the movie. "It was in a wheat field just south of Coffeyville, Kansas. It was late November. It's a month of mist. And we were caught in the open. The sun was setting behind us. There was nowhere to run. Twice it came in on us, and twice it missed the heart of us. And that's when I had an epiphany. You see, they have great vision...in the day. And they have even better vision at night. But in the failing light, they can't focus. Magic hour."

Coffeyville is mentioned in the song Doolin–Dalton by The Eagles from their 1973 album, Desperado
Desperado
Desperado may refer to:* Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West- Amusement rides :* Desperado , a roller coaster at Buffalo Bill's casino in Primm, Nevada* Desperados , a collective amusement ride- Comics :...

.

Further reading

Kristine Crispel's horse farm outside Coffeyville has the distinction of being the center of the world—according to Google.

External links

City
Schools
Historical
Maps
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