| Hutchinson, Kansas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
| Reno County Courthouse in Hutchinson | |||
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| Nickname(s): The Salt City, Hutch | |||
| Location of Hutchinson, Kansas | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Kansas | ||
| County | Reno | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 21.2 sq mi (54.9 km2) | ||
| • Land | 21.1 sq mi (54.7 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 1,535 ft (468 m) | ||
| Population (2010)[1] | |||
| • Total | 42,080 | ||
| • Density | 1,984.9/sq mi (766.4/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| Area code(s) | 620 | ||
| FIPS code | 20-33625[2] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0477947[3] | ||
| Website | www.HutchGov.com | ||
Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States,[4] 39 miles (63 km) 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". As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,080.[1]
Each year, Hutchinson hosts the Kansas State Fair, and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Basketball Tournament. It is the home of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center aerospace museum and Kansas Underground Salt Museum.
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The city of Hutchinson was founded in the year 1871, when Indian Agent Clinton "C.C." Hutchinson contracted with the Santa Fe Railway to make a town at the railroad's crossing over the Arkansas River. The community was known to be called "Temperance City".[5] Hutchinson was incorporated on August 15, 1872.
In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Herington through Hutchinson to Pratt.[6] In 1888, this line was extended to Liberal. Later, it was extended to Tucumcari, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. It foreclosed in 1891 and taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad, merged in 1988 with Missouri Pacific Railroad, merged in 1997 with Union Pacific Railroad. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".
In 1943, German and Italian prisoners of World War II were used in Kansas and other Midwest states as a means of solving the labor shortage caused by American men serving in the war effort. Large prisoner-of-war camps were established in Kansas: Camp Concordia, Camp Funston (at Fort Riley), Camp Phillips (at Salina under Fort Riley). Fort Riley established 12 smaller branch camps, including Hutchinson.[7][8]
On January 17, 2001, 143 million cubic feet (4,000,000 m3) of compressed natural gas leaked from the nearby Yaggy storage field.[9] It sank underground, then rose to the surface through old brine, or salt wells making around 15 gas blowholes. An explosion in the downtown area at 10:45 a.m. destroyed 2 businesses and damaged 26 others. An explosion the next day in a mobile-home park took the lives of two people. The Kansas National Guard was called in to help evacuate parts of the city because of the gas leaks, and a team of specialists looked over all the city for leaks after the event. These events were broadcast on nationally televised news stations across the country.[10][11][12]
The Hutchinson High School football team (the Salthawks) has had seven straight appearances, including six straight wins, in the 6A & 5A State Championship Game. They have moved down to 5A. In 2011-2012 school year, all Hutchinson High School athletics will become 6A.
Hutchinson is home to the Prairie Dunes Country Club, a golf course frequently ranked among the best golf courses in the U.S., and has hosted several United States Golf Association national championship tournaments. The club was founded by Emerson Carey and his four sons in the mid 1930s. The course was designed by Perry Maxwell, and the first nine holes opened on September 13, 1937. Twenty years later in 1957, a second 9 holes were opened, designed by Press Maxwell (Perry's son).
Hutchinson is located at (38.065503, -97.923519)[13] at an elevation of 1,535 feet (468 m).[3] It lies on the northeast side of the Arkansas River in the Great Bend Sand Prairie region of the Great Plains. Cow Creek, a tributary of the Arkansas, runs southeast through the city. Located in south-central Kansas at the intersection of U.S. Route 50, K-96, and K-61, Hutchinson is approximately 39 miles (63 km) northwest of Wichita and 200 miles (322 km) southwest of Kansas City.[14]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.9 square kilometers (21.2 sq mi). 54.7 km2 (21.1 sq mi) of it is land and 0.2 km2 (0.1 sq mi) of it (0.33%) is water.
Lying in the transition zone between North America's humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), Hutchinson experiences hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. The average temperature for the year is 56 °F (13 °C), and the average relative humidity is 65%. Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 65 days a year and drop below 32 °F (0 °C) an average of 121 days a year. On average, Hutchinson experiences 46 rainy days a year. Snowfall averages 14.1 inches (35 cm) per year.[15] Total precipitation averages 30.3 inches (770 mm) per year. On average, January is the coolest month, July is the warmest month, and May is the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Hutchinson was 111 °F (44 °C) in 1964; the coldest temperature recorded was -19 °F (-28 °C) in 1982.[16]
| Climate data for Hutchinson, Kansas, USA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79 (26) |
84 (29) |
89 (32) |
98 (37) |
102 (39) |
110 (43) |
110 (43) |
111 (44) |
108 (42) |
95 (35) |
88 (31) |
76 (24) |
112 (44) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 40 (4) |
47 (8) |
56 (13) |
66 (19) |
75 (24) |
87 (31) |
93 (34) |
91 (33) |
82 (28) |
70 (21) |
54 (12) |
43 (6) |
67 (19.4) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 17 (−8) |
22 (−6) |
32 (0) |
41 (5) |
52 (11) |
62 (17) |
67 (19) |
65 (18) |
56 (13) |
43 (6) |
31 (−1) |
21 (−6) |
42.4 (5.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −16 (−27) |
−19 (−28) |
−6 (−21) |
16 (−9) |
28 (−2) |
42 (6) |
46 (8) |
46 (8) |
29 (−2) |
12 (−11) |
1 (−17) |
−18 (−28) |
−19 (−28) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 0.70 (17.8) |
1.08 (27.4) |
2.70 (68.6) |
2.83 (71.9) |
4.36 (110.7) |
3.97 (100.8) |
3.70 (94) |
2.97 (75.4) |
3.02 (76.7) |
2.43 (61.7) |
1.56 (39.6) |
1.00 (25.4) |
30.32 (770.1) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 3.5 (8.9) |
2.9 (7.4) |
2.5 (6.4) |
0.6 (1.5) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1.6 (4.1) |
2.1 (5.3) |
13.2 (33.5) |
| Source: Weatherbase [15] | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 1,540 |
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| 1890 | 8,682 | 463.8% | |
| 1900 | 9,379 | 8.0% | |
| 1910 | 16,364 | 74.5% | |
| 1920 | 23,298 | 42.4% | |
| 1930 | 27,085 | 16.3% | |
| 1940 | 30,013 | 10.8% | |
| 1950 | 33,575 | 11.9% | |
| 1960 | 37,574 | 11.9% | |
| 1970 | 36,885 | −1.8% | |
| 1980 | 40,284 | 9.2% | |
| 1990 | 39,308 | −2.4% | |
| 2000 | 40,787 | 3.8% | |
| 2010 | 42,080 | 3.2% | |
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As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 40,787 people, 16,335 households, and 10,340 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,932.6 inhabitants per square mile (746.2 /km2). There were 17,693 housing units at an average density of 838.3 per square mile (323.7 /km2). The racial makeup of the city was 88.57% White, 4.28% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.65% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.67% of the population.
There were 16,335 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,645, and the median income for a family was $40,094. Males had a median income of $30,994 versus $21,190 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,964. About 9.8% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
Salt was discovered in Reno County by Benjamin Blanchard on September 26, 1887.[17] This gave rise to the first salt-processing plants west of the Mississippi River. Salt was originally extracted using the evaporation method by pumping water into brine wells. In 1923, the Carey Salt[18] Company opened the only salt mine in Hutchinson, which then produced rock salt. That mine is still in use today and is now operated by Hutchinson Salt Company. Cargill and Morton Salt also have evaporative salt plants in Hutchinson.
Excavated portions of the mine are used for archival storage of movie and television masters, data tapes, and permanent business records. Underground Vaults & Storage[19] currently houses the masters for The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939), and Star Wars, (1977) among many others.[20]
The world's longest grain elevator was built in Hutchinson in 1961.
Dillon's grocery stores was established in Hutchinson by J.S. Dillon in the 1920s (originated in Sterling, Kansas). Dillon's was bought out by The Kroger Co. in 1983. The company still operates a distribution center and headquarters for Dillons and Kwik Shop in town.
The Eaton Corporation operates a hydraulics plant in Hutchinson. On August 22, 2006, Eaton announced it would keep the Hutchinson plant open because of a $1 million economic incentive from the City of Hutchinson and a $2 million incentive from the State of Kansas. 155 assembly jobs were moved to the Reynosa, Mexico plant in June, 2007.[21]
On September 2, 2008, The Hutchinson Hospital changed its name to Promise Regional Medical Center.[22]
Lowen Corporation[23] was started in 1950 in a converted garage behind Mike Lowen's house in Hutchinson. Today Lowen Corporation has 2 operating divisions, Lowen Sign Company, the nation's largest manufacturer of signage for the real estate industry, and Lowen Color Graphics, the leading U.S. manufacturer of fleet, commercial, event and OEM graphics with manufacturing facilities in 3 states.
Collins Bus Corporation resides just outside Hutchinson, and is the leading small school bus manufacturer in North America.
StraightLine HDD, a leading directional drill tooling manufacturer, has a 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m2). manufacturing plant in Hutchinson.
In May 2009, Siemens announced it would open its American wind turbine nacelle assembly facility in Hutchinson. The facility will begin producing late in 2010 and create 400 jobs in Hutchinson.[24]
Hutchinson Public Schools (USD 308) operates twelve schools in the city:[25]
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Buhler USD 313 operates four schools in and around Hutchinson:[26]
USD 309 South Hutchinson operates one school just outside of Hutchinson, Reno Valley Middle School (7-8).[27]
There are also three private schools in Hutchinson:[28]
U.S. Route 50 runs east-west south of the city. K-96 approaches Hutchinson from the south, bypasses it to the west, and then turns northwest. Coming from the west, K-61 runs concurrently with U.S. 50, turns north and runs through the eastern part of the city, and then exits to the northeast.
Reno County Area Transit (RCAT) is responsible for public transportation in the city. The agency operates three bus routes colored Red, Blue, and Yellow.[29]
Hutchinson Municipal Airport is located on the eastern side of the city. The airport is primarily utilized for general aviation.
Three railroads serve Hutchinson. One is the La Junta Subdivision of the BNSF Railway which runs east-west through the city.[30] Amtrak uses the La Junta Subdivision to provide passenger rail service. Hutchinson is a stop on the Southwest Chief line. Another railroad serving Hutchinson is the Tucumcari Line of the Union Pacific Railroad which runs northeast-southwest through the city.[31] Lastly, Hutchinson is the terminus of two lines of the Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad: the Hutchinson Subdivision, which enters the city from the south, and the Great Bend Subdivision, which enters the city from the northwest.
In 2010, Greyhound Bus added a route through Hutchinson. It runs from Wichita to Pueblo with stops in Dodge City and Garden City.
The Hutchinson News is the city's daily newspaper with a circulation of more than 25,000 copies.[32]
Hutchinson is a center of broadcast media for south-central Kansas. One AM and 12 FM radio stations are licensed to and/or broadcast from the city.[33] Hutchinson is also the second principal city of the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market.[34] The market's primary CBS, MyNetworkTV, and PBS affiliates are licensed to the city, but all three stations broadcast from Wichita.[35][36][37]
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