Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, 39 miles (63 km) northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. Hutchinson's nickname is The Salt City but is referred to locally as Hutch. The population was 40,787 at the 2000 census. Every September Hutchinson hosts the Kansas State Fair, and in March it hosts the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Basketball Tournament. Hutchinson is also the home of the noted Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center aerospace museum, near the state fairgrounds.

History

The city of Hutchinson was founded in the year 1871, when Indian Agent 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."

Hutchinson was incorporated on August 15, 1872.

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 just been moved down to 5A.

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).

Geography

Hutchinson is located at 38°3′56″N 97°55′25″W / 38.06556°N 97.92361°W / 38.06556; -97.92361 (38.065503, -97.923519).

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.

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 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.

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 Carey Salt 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 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 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.

The Eaton Corporation operates a hydraulics plant in Hutchinson. On August 22, 2006, Eaton announced they 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.

On September 2, 2008, The Hutchinson Hospital changed their name to Promise Regional Medical Center.

Mike Lowen started Lowen Corporation in 1950 in a converted garage behind his 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. 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.

Transportation

Mass Transportation

Reno County Area Transit (RCAT) is responsible for public transportation in the city. The agency operates three bus routes colored Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Airports

Hutchinson Municipal Airport (KHUT) is located on the eastern side of the city. There are no commercial airline flights. The nearest major commercial airport is Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT) in Wichita, Kansas.

Rail

The Hutchinson Amtrak Station serves Amtrak's Southwest Chief service once daily in each direction.

Education

In all there are 5 high schools in the area, 3 public high schools and 2 private high schools. The largest is 5A Hutchinson High School, or USD 308, with an enrollment of around 1400. The Salthawk football team has won six consecutive Kansas State High School Activities Association state football championships from 2004 through 2009. The first four titles were in Class 6A, the state's largest class; the 2008 and 2009 titles came after Hutchinson High dropped to 5A. Buhler High School with 691 students (USD 313), also draws some students from Hutchinson. Nickerson High School (USD 309), 11 miles northwest of Hutchinson along K-96, also has Hutchinson residents. Trinity Catholic High School and Central Christian High School are the city's two small private schools.

There are numerous Middle Schools in the area including Hutchinson Middle School-7, Hutchinson Middle School-8, Prairie Hills Middle School, Trinity Middle School, Reno Valley Middle School, and Central Christian Schools.

Hutchinson Community College serves as the Hutchinson's only post-secondary school system, and offers many programs in vocational technologies, arts, science, as well as in other fields.

Media

Print

Hutchinson has a daily newspaper, The Hutchinson News, and a weekly newspaper, The Hutchinson Record.^[15][16]

Radio

The following radio stations are licensed to Hutchinson:

AM

FM

Television

The following television stations are licensed to Hutchinson:

Points of interest

• Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center
• Kansas State Fair
• Kansas Underground Salt Museum
• Hutchinson Correctional Facility, state prison
• Prairie Dunes Country Club, host of the 2002 U.S. Women's Open and 2006 U.S. Senior Open golf championships.
• Fox Theater (Hutchinson, Kansas)
• Hutchinson High School
• Carey Park

Notable natives

• Dale L. Boger, Scripps Research Institute organic and medicinal chemist
• Jack M. Campbell, former Governor of the State of New Mexico (1963–1967)
• Jamie Carey, basketball star
• Aneta Corsaut, late actress best known as Helen Crump on The Andy Griffith Show
• Lucinda Dickey, dancer and actress, appearing in Grease 2, Breakin', Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo and Master of Dance
• David Dillon, CEO of Kroger Co.
• Glori-Anne Gilbert, actress
• Scott Heim, novelist for 2004 film Mysterious Skin
• William Stafford, poet
• Steven Stucky, 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner in music
• Howard Robert Swearer, president of Carleton College and Brown University
• Delos V. Smith, Jr., film actor appearing in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• Richard Thorpe, film director
• Bruce Vaughan, winner of the 2008 Senior British Open
• Murry Wilson, the father of the Wilson brothers of the Beach Boys

Elected Officials

• Mike O'Neal, Republican, State Representative - 104th District
• Terry Bruce, Republican, State Senator - 34th District

In popular culture

• Mysterious Skin, a 2004 film directed by Gregg Araki based on a 1996 book of the same name by Scott Heim, are set in Hutchinson.
• Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist William Mark Simmons (Wm. Mark Simmons) currently makes his home in Hutchinson.
• Mike Rowe filmed a Dirty Jobs episode in Hutchinson, focusing on mining salt.
• Samuel "Squid" Dullard from the Nickelodeon show, Rocket Power, is said to have moved from Hutchinson to Ocean Shores, California.
• The grain elevator scenes of Picnic directed by Joshua Logan in 1955 were shot in Hutchinson.
• Sprout, a 2009 novel by Dale Peck, is set in Hutchinson and surrounding areas.