Coffeyville

History

This settlement was founded in 1869 as an Indian trading post by Col. James A. Coffey, serving the population across the border in what was then the Indian Territory. The town was stimulated in 1871 by being made a stop on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad, which connected it to other markets and developments. With the arrival of the railroad, a young surveyor, Napoleon B. Blanton, was dispatched to lay out the town. The naming of the town was left to the toss of a coin between Col. Coffey and U.S. Army Captain Blanton. Coffey won the toss and the town was officially named Coffeyville. The city was incorporated in 1872, but the charter was voided as illegal, and the city was re-incorporated in March 1873. As a frontier settlement, Coffeyville had its share of violence. On October 5, 1892, four of the Dalton Gang were killed in a shootout during an attempted bank robbery; Emmett Dalton survived with 23 gunshot wounds and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, although he later asserted that he never fired a shot during the robbery. He served 14 years before being pardoned. The gang had been trying to rob the First National and Condon banks, located across the street from each other. Law enforcement personnel and civilians recognized them under their disguises of fake beards and attacked the gang members as they fled one of the banks. Three civilians and a local marshal, Charles T. Connelly, died defending the town. The town holds an annual celebration each October to commemorate the Dalton Raid. After the discovery of its resources of plentiful natural gas and abundant clay, Coffeyville enjoyed rapid growth from 1890 to 1910, as its population expanded sixfold. Many of the Coffeyville buildings now appearing in the…

Geography

Coffeyville is in the southeast corner of Kansas, about north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and west of Joplin, Missouri. The city is situated about one-half mile north of the Oklahoma state line along the west bank of the Verdigris River. The city is the location of the lowest point in the state of Kansas at above sea level. Coffeyville Municipal Airport is a few miles northeast of the city along US-169. Though Coffeyville is the largest city in Montgomery County, the county seat is Independence, northwest of the city. Coffeyville, specifically a spot just north of Coffeyville Country Club, is the default center starting point of Google Maps, being the accidental center point of the default starting map being displayed, which shows the 48 contiguous United States. (Lawrence, Kansas also claims to be the Google center as it has been the default midpoint of the interactive 3D map Google Earth). Other locations that are considered to be the geographic center of the contiguous United States are also in Kansas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Coffeyville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Coffeyville was on August 4, 2012, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 10, 2011.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  83
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  73
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  66
• Eastern Meadowlark

  Sturnella magna (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  61
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  59
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  58
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  45
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  45

Largest nearby schools

• Community Elementary
  Elementary · Coffeyville · 1,010 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Field Kindley High
  High · Coffeyville · 479 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Roosevelt Middle
  Middle · Coffeyville · 235 students · 19.6:1 ratio
• Coffeyville Virtual Program
  High · Coffeyville · 40 students

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-12-26
  5 km SSW of Peru, Kansas
• M 2.82 — 2024-03-23
  9 km SE of Foyil, Oklahoma
• M 2.7 — 2016-01-14
  7 km W of Talala, Oklahoma
• M 2.6 — 2015-09-03
  6 km WSW of Vera, Oklahoma
• M 3 — 2014-10-01
  9 km SSW of Galesburg, Kansas