GREENSBURG, KANSAS

'Greensburg' is a city in the central part of Kiowa County, located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. The population was estimated to be 1,452 in the year 2004. It is the county seat and most populous city of Kiowa County. Greensburg is also home to the world's largest hand-dug well.
On May 4, 2007, Greensburg was devastated by an EF5 ^[1] tornado that traveled rapidly through the area, destroying at least 95% of the city and killing ten people.^{[2] [3]}

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Attractions

Notable natives

History

May 2007 tornado

See also

References

External links

Geography

Greensburg is located at (37.604316, -99.293488).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 km² (1.5 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 1,574 people, 730 households, and 453 families residing in the city. The population density was 407.9/km² (1,055.9/mi²). There were 887 housing units at an average density of 229.8/km² (595.0/mi²). 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.

Attractions

Greensburg is home to the world's largest hand dug well. 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 deep and 32 feet in diameter. The well was used as the town'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 town. The Well was not destroyed, and the meteorite was found in the rubble of the museum and moved to a temporary home of Wichita before Greensburg could reclaim it. [1][2]
On October 16 2006, a related smaller meteorite measuring 154 pounds (70 kilograms) was dug up near Greensburg; the excavation proceedings showed that the Brenham meteor strikes occurred roughly 10,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch, rather than 20,000 years ago as previously thought.^[4]
A younger attraction was the Twilight Theatre, which first showed movies in 1915. There was also an old soda fountain in the downtown drugstore.

Notable natives

★ Manvel H. Davis - Lost to Harry S. Truman in 1940 Senatorial campaign

★ Galen Marshall - founder of Masterworks Chorale

History

May 2007 tornado

At 9:45 p.m.[3] CDT on May 4, 2007, Greensburg was hit by an EF5 tornado. The tornado was estimated to be 1.7 miles in width and traveled for nearly 22 miles. 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 mph. This was the first tornado to ever be rated EF5 since the update of the Fujita scale, and also is the first "5" classification since May 3, 1999, when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, as part of the Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak. Twelve fatalities were attributed to the tornado, ten of them residents of Greensburg.[4] Tornado sirens sounded in the city twenty minutes before the tornado struck, and a tornado emergency was issued, which undoubtedly saved many lives.[5]
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and President George W. Bush both declared Kiowa County a disaster area,^[5] which opened up the affected areas for national and international aid.

See also

References

1. Tornado was an EF-5; FEMA's help expected
2.
3. Tornado Destroys Kansas Town, Kills 9
4. Unusual meteorite found in Kansas
5. President Bush Declares Disaster in Kansas KAKE-TV

External links

'Official sites'

★ Greensburg, Kansas

★ The Big Well and Pallasite Meteorite

★ ''Kiowa County Signal'' (local newspaper)

★ ''Wichita Eagle tornado coverage (updates, stories, photos, etc.)''
'Additional information'

★ Aerials of Greensburg Tornado Damage

★ Interactive Map of Greensburg Tornado Damage

★ Photos of Greensburg Recovery Efforts