Garden City General Information

Location

Garden City is located in Southwest Kansas and is the county seat of Finney County. The city is 206 miles west of Wichita, 330 miles southwest of Topeka, and 325 miles southeast of Denver, Colorado. (map - 60K)

Climate

Average annual temperature is 55 degrees (January 29, July 80)
Average annual precipitation is 19", average annual snowfall is 23"
Approximate elevation is 2900'

Population

Residents        1960    1970    1980    1990    1994   90-94   80-94
Finney County  16,093  19,029  23,825  33,070  34,850   +5.4%  +38.8%
Garden City    11,811  14,790  18,256  24,097  24,900   +3.4%  +35.7%
Holcomb           N/A     272     816   1,400     N/A    N/A     N/A

Ethnic Makeup    White    Black    Asian    Hispanic   Other
Finney County    67.2%    1.3%      3.6%      26.5%     0.6%
Garden City      68.1%    1.1%      3.1%      27.9%     0.7%

Age              0-9   10-19   20-29   30-39   40-54   55-74    75+
Finney County  19.9%   16.1%   16.6%   17.4%   14.3%   10.6%   4.4%
Garden City    21.2%   16.4%   16.6%   17.5%   14.9%    9.9%   3.6%

Median Age: 27.2

Government

                                       GARDEN CITY           HOLCOMB
                          County          Manager             Mayor/
                       Commission       Commission           Council
Comprehensive Plan                          Yes                Yes
Fire Class                                   5
Fire Department                         17 FT, 13PPC       1 FT, 8 PPC
Police Department                            64                 2
Sheriff Department          63
Private Security            Yes             Yes                Yes

Education

                                      GARDEN CITY        HOLCOMB
Number of Public Elementary                12                 1
Number of Intermediate Centers				2				  0
Number of Public Middle Schools             2                 1
Number of Public Senior Highs               1                 1
 Total Enrollment FTE                    8273               710
Number of Private Elementary                4                 0
 Total Enrollment                         267                 0
Community Colleges                          1                 0
 Enrollment                              4400                 0

Community Services

                                      GARDEN CITY        HOLCOMB
Number of Hospitals                        1                 0
 Number of Beds                           132                0
Number of M.D.'s                          46                 0
Number of Dentists                        14                 0
Religious
 Number of Protestant Churches            35                 2
 Number of Catholic Churches               2                 0
 Other                                     4                 0
Recreation
 Number of Tennis Courts                  16                 2
 Number of Country Clubs                   1                 0
 Number of Swimming Pools
   lndoor                                  1                 1
   Outdoor                                 1                 1
 Number of Golf Courses                    3                 0
 Zoo                                       1                 0
Motels
 Number of Rooms                         660                 0
Banquet Rooms                              8                 0
 Capacity                            40-1500                 0
Number of Restaurants                     55                 2
Number of Banks                            10                1
 Deposits - $505,000,000 (Finney County Average Deposits)
Number of Credit Unions                    2                 0
Communications
 Number of Newspapers                      2                 0
   Daily - English                         1                 0
   Weekly - Spanish                        1                 0
Number of Local Radio Stations
 AM                                        3                 0
 FM                                        7                 0
 Public FM                                 1                 0

Finney County Employment

19,685
2.5% Unemployment (Based on Kansas Job Employment Service)

Major Industrial Employer Listing

NAME                                        PRODUCT                      EMPLOYMENT
Iowa Beef Processors, Inc.                  Beef Products                   2900
Monfort, Inc.                               Beef Products                   2000
Unified School District No. 457             Public School System            1100
St. Catherine Hospital                      Hospital                         567
Dillons Stores (East & West)                Grocery                          320
WaI-Mart                                    Retail Shopping Center           400
Finney County                               County Government                300
City of Garden City                         City Government                  260
Wheat Lands Corp.                           Motels & Restaurants             151
Brookover, Inc.                             Feedyards & Country Club         180
Southwest Developmental Services, Inc.      Developmental Services           136
Sunflower Electric Power Corp.              Electricity                      168
Garden City Community College               Community College                200
Garden Valley Retirement Village            Nursing & Assisted Living        165
Garden Medical Clinic                       Family Medical Services          135
Target Store                                Retail Shopping Center           123
Unified School District No. 363 (Holcomb)   Public School System             193
Social Rehabilitation Services              Social Services                  136
McDonald's Restaurants                      Fast Food                        100
Garden City Co-op                           Agri Products & Services          92
United Building Supply                      Building Supplies                 86
Sarden City Plaza Inn                       Hotel & Restaurant                85
Heyco/Oswalt Livestock Systems              Equipment Manufacturer            89
Inland Container Corporation                Shipping Containers               91
Palmer Manufacturing                        Tank Manufacturer                 97
Terrace Garden Care Center                  Nursing Home                      81
Golden Corral                               Family Dining                     90
Fidelity State Bank                         Banking Services                  60
Western Uniforms & Towel                    Commercial Cleaning               70
Garden City Telegram                        Newspaper                         65
J.C. Penney Company                         Clothing retailer                 85
Nations Bank                                Banking Services                  37
Northern Natural Gas Company                Natural Gas Producer              55
United States Post Qffice                   Postal Services                   54
Burtis Motor Company                        Auto Sales                        53
Acra Plant                                  Equipment Manufacturer            45
Gibson's Discount Center                    Retail                            52

History

Garden City was founded in 1878 by James R. and William D Fulton
Adjoining land was bought by John Stevens (1878) and C.J. Jones (1879)
Incorporated as a third class city January 13, 1883
Population in 1883 was 300
Named "Garden City" because of the beautiful garden of Mrs. W. D. Fulton
First telegraph lines - 1879
First newspaper - 1879
First bank - (Garden City Bank) - 1884
First calaboose (jail) - 1885
First school year - 1885. First school building - 1886 - 8 teachers
First water works system - 1886
First National Bank organized - 1886
Incorporated as a first class city - 1887
Population was 1,544 in the year 1900
Garden City Western Railroad built in 1915
World's largest free swimming pool built in 1922

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