Goessel, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Goessel is a city in Marion County
Marion County, Kansas
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 12,660. The county seat is Marion...

, 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...

. It was named after Captain Kurt von Goessel (1852–1895) who went down with his ship, the Elbe, in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 after it was rammed. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 539.

19th century

For millennia, the land that is currently Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans
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...

. In 1803, most of modern Kansas
History of Kansas
The history of Kansas, argued historian Carl L. Becker a century ago, reflects American ideals. He wrote: "The Kansas spirit is the American spirit double distilled. It is a new grafted product of American individualism, American idealism, American intolerance. Kansas is America in...

 was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

. In 1855, Marion County, Kansas
Marion County, Kansas
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 12,660. The county seat is Marion...

, where Goessel is located, was founded.

The year 1874 saw the first wave of an immigration of Russian Mennonites to south-central Kansas. The move was an attempt to preserve religious heritage and freedom. During the next decade, one-third of Mennonites in Russia moved to North America.

The village of Alexanderwohl was founded in 1874. Dr. Peter Richert was looking to establish a hospital. He decided to locate the hospital in what is now Goessel. He had read the story of Captain Kurt von Goessel, who went down with his steamship Elbe in the English Channel. Dr. Richert decided to submit the name Goessel to the U.S. Postal Department, and it was accepted on April 13, 1895. In 1910, the population was 100 people, and by 1952 it had grown to 260.

20th century

On March 13, 1990 an F5 tornado went through Goessel after merging with the Hesston
Hesston, Kansas
Hesston is a city in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,709. Hesston is home of Hesston College, which has approximately 450 students.-19th century:...

 tornado.

Geography

Goessel is located at 38.246972°N 97.348178°W (38.246972, -97.348178). 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 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²), all of it land. The county line is 1 mile west of Goessel.

Area events

  • Goessel Threshing Days, located at Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum. 37th annual in 2010. Old-fashioned threshing
    Threshing
    Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of cereal grain from the scaly, inedible chaff that surrounds it. It is the step in grain preparation after harvesting and before winnowing, which separates the loosened chaff from the grain...

     demonstration and show with more than 100 exhibitors from a 7-state area display and demonstrate antique equipment related to farming during the past century. Numerous antique tractors are displayed. Ethnic Mennonite
    Mennonite
    The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

     food is available.

  • Goessel Harvest Festival

Area attractions

  • Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum, 200 N Poplar St. The Mennonite Heritage Museum was dedicated in 1974. It is a museum of artifacts of the Mennonites that settled in the Goessel area. The museum has eight buildings that show the life of the immigrants that moved to Goessel.
  • Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church
    Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church
    The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church of Goessel, Kansas is a congregation affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The congregation has a continuous history dating from 16th century Europe.-Background:...

    , 1 mi north on K-15 Highway.
  • Kansas Historical Marker - The Mennonites In Kansas, 1 mi north on K-15 Highway.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 565 people, 203 households, and 142 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 1,870.3 people per square mile (727.2/km2). There were 221 housing units at an average density of 731.6 per square mile (284.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.70% White, 0.18% Native American, 0.18% from other races
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...

, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.

There were 203 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% 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, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 32.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 73.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,250, and the median income for a family was $42,727. Males had a median income of $30,313 versus $18,750 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 $14,106. About 2.2% of families and 14.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 39.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Goessel government consists of a mayor and five council members. The council meets the 3rd Monday of each month at 8PM.
  • City Hall, 101 S Cedar St.

Primary and secondary education

Goessel is part of Unified School District
Unified school district
A unified school district or unit school district is a school district which includes both primary school and high school under the same district control....

 411.
  • Goessel High School, 100 E Main St.
  • Goessel Junior High School, 100 E Main St.
  • Goessel Elementary School, 500 E Main St.

Sports

The Goessel High School mascot is a Bluebird. All high school athletic and non-athletic competition is overseen by the Kansas State High School Activities Association
Kansas State High School Activities Association
The Kansas State High School Activities Association is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the state of Kansas at the high school level. It oversees both athletic and non-athletic competition, and sponsors championships in several sports and activities.The KSHSAA was...

. For 2010/2011 seasons, the football team competes as Class 8 Man - Division I.

Past Championships:
  • 1988, 1st Place, Class 1A, High School Boys Basketball.

Library

Each USD 411 school has a library for student access.

The city is served by the Goessel City Library at 101 South Cedar Street. The library is a member of the North Central Kansas Libraries System, which provides an inter-library book loan service between its members.

Print

  • The Newton Kansan
    Newton Kansan
    The Newton Kansan is a newspaper that serves Newton and Harvey County, Kansas. The Kansan is published daily .The paper was founded as a weekly in 1872 and converted to a daily circulation in 1886...

    , regional newspaper in Newton
    Newton, Kansas
    Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 19,132. Newton is located north of Wichita and is included in the Wichita metropolitan statistical area...

    .
  • The Wichita Eagle
    The Wichita Eagle
    The Wichita Eagle is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas. It is owned by The McClatchy Company, which publishes 31 other newspapers, including The Kansas City Star.It is the largest newspaper in Wichita, Kansas and the surrounding area....

    , major regional newspaper in Wichita
    Wichita, Kansas
    Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

    .

Radio

Goessel is served by numerous radio stations of the Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

-Hutchinson
Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch"...

 listening market area, and satellite radio
Satellite radio
Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...

. See Media in Wichita, Kansas.

Television

Goessel is served by over-the-air ATSC
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....

 digital TV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...

 of the Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

-Hutchinson
Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch"...

 viewing market area, cable TV, and satellite TV
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...

. See Media in Wichita, Kansas.

Infrastructure

Utilities

  • Internet
    • Wireless is provided by Pixius Communications.
    • Satellite is provided by HughesNet, StarBand
      StarBand
      StarBand is a two-way satellite broadband Internet service available in the U.S.. StarBand Communications Inc. was initially a joint venture between Gilat Satellite Networks, EchoStar and Microsoft, and the StarBand service was launched in 2000. StarBand Communications filed for Chapter 11...

      , WildBlue.
  • TV
    • Satellite is provided by DirecTV
      DirecTV
      DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...

      , Dish Network
      Dish Network
      Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...

      .
    • Terrestrial is provided by regional digital TV
      Digital television
      Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...

       stations.
  • Water
    • City is provided by Marion County RWD #4, billed by City of Goessel.
    • Rural is provided by Marion County RWD #4.
  • Sewer is provided by City of Goessel.
  • Trash is provied by City of Goessel.

Notable people

  • Duane A. Goossen, (born 1955), Kansas House of Representatives
    Kansas House of Representatives
    The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kansas Legislature, the legislative body of the U.S. State of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafting and voting on...

    , Contractor
  • Shirley Knight
    Shirley Knight
    Shirley Enola Knight is an American stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in 1960 for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and in 1962 for Sweet Bird of Youth....

    , (born 1936), American stage
    Theatre
    Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

    , screen
    Film
    A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

    , and television
    Television
    Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

     actress. Academy Award nominated actress.
  • Duane D. Thiessen
    Duane D. Thiessen
    Duane D. Thiessen is a Lieutenant General in the United States Marine Corps, and is currently commanding the United States Marine Corps Forces Pacific, having assumed command on September 2, 2010.-Biography:...

    , (born 1951), Major General, United States Marine Corps
    United States Marine Corps
    The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

    .

See also

  • Goessel High School
  • Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church
    Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church
    The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church of Goessel, Kansas is a congregation affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The congregation has a continuous history dating from 16th century Europe.-Background:...

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Marion County, Kansas
    National Register of Historic Places listings in Marion County, Kansas
    This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Marion County, Kansas.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Kansas, United States...

  • Historical Maps of Marion County, Kansas
    Marion County, Kansas
    Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 12,660. The county seat is Marion...

  • Chisholm Trail
    Chisholm Trail
    The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The portion of the trail marked by Jesse Chisholm went from his southern trading post near the Red River, to his northern trading post near Kansas City, Kansas...

  • Threshing Stone
    Threshing stone
    A threshing stone is a roller-like tool used for the threshing of wheat. Similar to the use of threshing boards, the stone was pulled by horses over a circular pile of harvested wheat on a hardened dirt surface , and the rolling stone knocked the grain from the head of wheat. The straw was removed...


Further reading

Goessel
  • In Earlier Days - A History of Goessel, Kansas; Marjorie Jantzen; 1987.

Marion County
Kansas
  • Kansas: A Cyclopedia Of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 1912.
  • History Of The State of Kansas''; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883.

External links

City
Schools
  • USD 411, school district for Goessel, nearby rural areas of Marion
    Marion County, Kansas
    Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 12,660. The county seat is Marion...

     / McPherson
    McPherson County, Kansas
    McPherson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 29,180. The largest city and county seat is McPherson. The county is named for Civil War General James B. McPherson...

     / Harvey
    Harvey County, Kansas
    Harvey County is a county located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 34,684. Its county seat and most populous city is Newton. The county is a part of the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area which also includes Butler,...

    Counties

Historical
Maps
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