Hutchinson, Kansas

Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat of Reno County, Kansas, 219 miles (353 km) west of Kansas City, Mo., on the Arkansas River. In 1900, 9,379 people lived in Hutchinson; in 1910, 16,364; in 1920, 23,398; and in 1940, 30,013. The population was 40,787 at the 2000 census. Hutchinson's nickname is The Salt City.

History

Hutchinson was incorporated on August 15, 1872.

On January 17, 2001, 143 million cubic feet of compressed natural gas leaked from the nearby Yaggy storage field. It migrated underground, then rose to the surface through old brine wells creating around 15 gas blowholes. An explosion in the downtown area at 10:45 a.m. destroyed two businesses and damaged 26 others. An explosion the next day in a mobile-home park killed two people. ^* ^* ^*

Geography

Hutchinson is located at (38.065503, -97.923519).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.9 km² (21.2 mi²). 54.7 km² (21.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.33%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,787 people, 16,335 households, and 10,340 families residing in the city. The population density was 746.0/km² (1,932.6/mi²). There were 17,693 housing units at an average density of 323.6/km² (838.3/mi²). 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.

Industry

Salt was discovered in Reno County by Benjamin Blanchard on September 26, 1887. 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 [http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1918ks/bioc/careye.html Carey Salt Company opened the first and only salt mine in Hutchinson, which then produced rock salt. That mine is still in use today and is now operated by Cargill.

Excavated portions of the mine are used for archival storage of movie and television masters and permanent business records. Underground Vaults & Storage currently houses the masters for The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939) and Star Wars (1977) among many others.^*

The world's largest and 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 in town.