Who Knew?
What do the Dalton Gang, the Icee, the best bricks in the United States, and the world’s largest hailstone have in common? They all helped make Coffeyville, Kansas famous.
Coffeyville was founded in 1869 by James A. Coffey as an Indian Trading post. What really put it on the road to distinction was becoming a stop on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad in 1871. In 1880 the population was 753 but ten years later it had grown to 2,282. The population continued to grow until its peak in 1960 at 17,382.When I was in high school in 1970, the population was 15,116. The population has continued to decline and in 2020 it was just 8,826.
The most famous event in Coffeyville’s history occurred on October 5, 1892. The Dalton Gang decided to rob two banks simultaneously. They disguised themselves in fake beards and mustaches, but law enforcement officers and the citizens of the town were not fooled and engaged the Dalton Gang in a shootout. Four members of the Dalton Gang were killed and one was severely injured. Unfortunately, four of the Coffeyville defenders were also killed and another three were wounded. Coffeyville has since been known as “the town that stopped the Dalton Gang.”
On a much happier note, the Icee was accidentally invented here in 1958 by Omar Knedlik in response to a broken soda machine. Oops! It immediately became very popular and Omar Knedlik received a patent for this trendy treat in 1960. (A bit of trivia: the first Icee machine was constructed out of a car air conditioning unit.)
Coffeyville also developed quite a reputation for its bricks.
According to coffeyville.com, “due to an abundance of natural resources, including large deposits of shale, limestone and building stone, Coffeyville was home to a number of brick plants in the late 1890s and early 1900s.” During its heyday, Coffeyville factories were turning out about 765,000 bricks every day. (And yes, I currently have one on my patio.) According to www.theoldhouselife.com, you can purchase a house made from Coffeyville brick around 1897 for just $155,000. “Let’s take a step back in time to 1897 when Coffeyville was on the edge of the industrial revolution. Natural gas was being discovered. The town grew overnight. Brick and glass factories emerged. C. M. Ball, owner of Coffeyville Vitrified Brick and Tile Company, located his family here and built this beautiful example of craftsmanship as his family home.” This is considered to be the first brick two-story home built in Coffeyville.
Today, Coffeyville bricks can be found all over the United States. A stunning example of using Coffeyville bricks in a commercial building is the Historic Homestake Opera in Lead, South Dakota. This opera house was built in 1914 using 850,000 of Coffeyville bricks.
A more recent event (at least for me) was the storm on September 3, 1970. As I wrote on my blog https://journeyingwithjacque.com/stormy-weather-week-45-of-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/ dated November 12, 2021, “This unprecedented storm produced unbelievably large hailstones and one was officially announced to be the absolute largest hailstone to ever fall in the world (and yes, it achieved Guinness World Record status).” While the world record breaking hailstone had a diameter of 5.7 inches, a circumference of 17.5 inches, and a weight of 1.67 pounds, those records have since been broken. However, Coffeyville still holds the record for fastest falling hailstone at 105 mph.
Several famous people also have had a connection with Coffeyville, Kansas:
- Walter Johnson was one of the first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his baseball years in the early 1900s, Walter and his wife lived on a farm outside of Coffeyville.
- Wendell Wilkie who was a presidential nominee in 1940 taught high school history in Coffeyville in 1914.
- Field Kindley was an aviator and WWI ace. The high school is named after him.
- Douglas Brown founded Coffeyville Multiscope which “played a determining role in the perfection of precision daylight bombing during WWII”.
- Wade Flemons, a former member of Earth, Wind, and Fire was born in Coffeyville on September 25, 1940.
- Rodney Lay was born in Coffeyville in 1940. He is a musician and has some acting credits. In addition to his own band, he worked with Roy Clark and was on Hee Haw for 13 years. (As an aside, Rodney’s brother went to church with us for awhile.)
- Phillip W. Ehart was born in Coffeyville on February 4, 1950. He was the drummer in the rock band, Kansas.
- The actor, Gary Busey, went to Coffeyville Community College before transferring to Pittsburg State University on a football scholarship. (I attended CCC for one year and received my first MS from Pittsburg State.)
- Donnie Miller , a rock and blues musician, was born in Coffeyville in 1958.
Coffeyville, Kansas was a good place to grow up. I’ve just covered some highlights of events and people that are part of Coffeyville’s history. What made your hometown special?
Sources
Bowers, Michelle, et al. “Wow! Has a Pool! Beautiful Stained Glass! Circa 1897 in Kansas. $155,000.” The Old House Life, 9 Mar. 2023, theoldhouselife.com/2023/03/09/wow-has-a-pool-beautiful-stained-glass-circa-1897-in-kansas-155000/.
Coble, Jacquelyn. “Stormy Weather – Week 45 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” Journeying with Jacque, 12 Nov. 2021, journeyingwithjacque.com/stormy-weather-week-45-of-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/.
“Coffeyville Bricks.” Coffeyville Bricks | Coffeyville, KS – Official Website, www.coffeyville.com/337/Coffeyville-Bricks. Accessed 20 May 2023.
“Coffeyville, Kansas: The Town That Stopped the Dalton Gang (Teaching with Historic Places) (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, www.nps.gov/articles/coffeyville-kansas-the-town-that-stopped-the-dalton-gang-teaching-with-historic-places.htm. Accessed 20 May 2023.
“Coffeyville, Kansas.” Wikipedia, 12 Mar. 2023, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeyville, Kansas.
“Exterior of 1914 Building, Built with 850,000 Bricks from Coffeyville, KS – Picture of Historic Homestake Opera House, Lead.” Tripadvisor, www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g54680-d3368191-i48697900-Historic_Homestake_Opera_House-Lead_South_Dakota.html. Accessed 20 May 2023.
“The Icee Company.” Wikipedia, 18 May 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Icee_Company.