El Dorado, Kansas

El Dorado is a city situated along the Walnut River in the central part of Butler County, located in south-central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Butler County. El Dorado is included in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado, in 1881 it was extended to Douglass, and later to Arkansas City. The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The line from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942. The original branch line connected Florence, Burns, De Graff, El Dorado, Augusta, Douglass, Rock, Akron, Winfield, Arkansas City.

In 1943, German and Italian prisoners of World War II were brought to Kansas and other Midwest states as a means of solving the labor shortage caused by American men serving in the war effort. Large internment 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 El Dorado. Prisoners commonly volunteered to help work on local farms; this enabled them to spend time outside of the camp, socialize and eat better food than that provided by prison guards. In some cases, smaller structures constructed by the work details still stand.

On June 10, 1958, a tornado hit El Dorado.

Geography
El Dorado is located at 37.82111°N, -96.85833°W (37.821117, -96.858281). The city is situated along the western bank of the Walnut River, southwest of El Dorado Lake. It is located 30 mi east-northeast of Wichita at the junction of U.S. Routes 54 and 77 and K-254. The Kansas Turnpike, designated as Interstate 35, bypasses northwest of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 square miles (16.6 km²), of which 6.4 square miles (16.5 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.93%, is water.

Demographics
As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 12,057 people, 5,068 households, and 3,182 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,894.1 people per square mile (730.8/km²). There were 5,460 housing units at an average density of 857.7 per square mile (330.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.32% White, 1.37% Black or African American, 1.07% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.06% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.93% of the population.

There were 5,068 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,098, and the median income for a family was $40,461. Males had a median income of $31,648 versus $21,806 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,458. About 10.4% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Industry
A large oil refinery, which is currently owned and operated by Frontier Oil, is situated on the southwest edge of El Dorado. It was constructed and originally owned by what would later become Skelly Oil. Later, the refinery changed hands and was rebranded after Skelly was purchased by Getty Oil and then rebranded again after Texaco attempted to purchase Getty.

The El Dorado Frontier oil refinery is one of the largest in the Plains States and in the Rocky Mountain region. Capacity is 110000 oilbbl/d, with production split up into gasoline (55% of production); diesel and jet fuel (34% of production); and asphalt, chemicals and other refined petroleum products (11% percent of production).

Education
El Dorado is home to Butler Community College, as well as one high school, one middle school, and 5 grade schools.

Sports
Butler Community College fields teams in both men's (mascot: Grizzlies) and women's (mascot: Lady Grizzlies) sports. Butler competes in the NJCAA's Jayhawk Conference, and its teams have won numerous league and national accolades. Butler's football team has won five NJCAA national championships (1981, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2008), and also played in the NJCAA championship game in 1998 and 2004. The 1985 squad also finished the season ranked #1 nationally. The program has produced numerous NFL players, most notably Rudi Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals. Butler's men's basketball program also has a rich tradition, including a national championship in 1953, NJCAA national tournament runners-up in 1992 and 1993, a national tournament third-place finish in 1996, seven Jayhawk Conference championships since 1990, four NJCAA players of the year, ten NJCAA All-Americans, and three NBA draft picks. Notable former Grizzlies currently playing in the NBA include Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, Tony Allen of the Boston Celtics, and Kasib Powell of the Miami Heat. Butler's men's and women's track and cross-country teams also have won numerous conference, regional, and national accolades.

The El Dorado Broncos are a summer amateur baseball team composed primarily of college players. The team competes within the Jayhawk League as part of the National Baseball Congress, or NBC. The Broncos have won three NBC World Series in 1996, 1998 and 2009. Several former Broncos players currently play in Major League Baseball, including Nate Robertson of the Detroit Tigers.

Notable people

 * William Bartee, former NFL football player Kansas City Chiefs
 * Tom Borland, former major league baseball pitcher Boston Red Sox
 * Beals Becker, major league baseball player
 * Steve Brodie, actor
 * Stanley Dunham, the maternal grandfather of Barack Obama
 * Alfred W. Ellet, Brigadier General in the U.S. Civil War
 * Maude Fulton, stage actress, Hollywood screenwriter.
 * Ralph Graham, college football coach and pioneer of racial integration in college sports
 * Larry Hartshorn former NFL football player Chicago Cardinals
 * Stephen Jackson, basketball player
 * Rudi Johnson, current NFL football player Cincinnati Bengals
 * Marion Koogler McNay, artist, philanthropist, founder of McNay Art Museum
 * Dennis Rader, convicted serial killer (in prison)
 * Robert L. Rodgers, US Congressman
 * Emily Sander, murder victim
 * Almon Brown Strowger, inventor
 * Mort Walker, cartoonist
 * William Allen White, journalist
 * Gerald Burton Winrod, activist

Culture
In April 2010, the Hot Rod Cafe (formerly the El Dorado theater on Main St.) was filmed for the documentary reality television series American Pickers episode "Easy Riders" which aired July 26, 2010.