Greensburg, Kansas

Greensburg is a city in Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. The population is 1,574 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kiowa CountyTemplate:GR. Greensburg is also home to the World's Largest Hand-Dug Well.

On May 4, 2007, Greensburg was devastated by a large tornado that travelled rapidly through the area, destroying at least 90% of the city and killing eight people.

Geography

Location of Greensburg, Kansas

Greensburg is located at 37°36′16″N 99°17′37″W (37.604316, -99.293488)Template:GR.

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 censusTemplate:GR of 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 displays a 1000-pound pallasite meteorite.

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.

A younger attraction is the Twilight Theatre, which first showed movies in 1915. There is also an old soda fountain in the downtown drugstore.

May 2007 Tornado

Main article: Greensburg, Kansas Tornado

File:Keyframe04.jpg

The tornado just before hitting Greensburg.

Around 9:40 p.m. CDT on May 4 2007, a powerful ¾-mile wide tornado travelled through Greensburg, leaving at least 90% of the town in ruins, including most of the downtown and the high school. The deaths of eight Kiowa County residents were confirmed.

Shelters were established in nearby Haviland at its high school and Barclay College, and at the Odd Fellows Lodge in Macksville.

As part of its response to this disaster, the American Red Cross created a registry of "Safe and Well" families at their disasters website, disastersafe.redcross.org.

File:Greensburg Tornado Radar.gif

Radar loop of the Greenburg supercell at the time it hit the town