ROADTRIP: Coffeyville tour of flood and repair

Coffeyville, Kansas was the town most affected by the regional flood this past summer, 2007. While other towns in the area, including Erie, Neodesha, and Independence did have major damage and were without water in some instances for days afterwards; Coffeyville received the greatest amount of damage to the widest area of their town. Businesses, including the only oil refinery within 100 miles, homes, and city infrastructure were all affected.

Today, I will travel to Coffeyville to view how the cleanup is coming along and take a tour of of the oil refinery Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing.

Coffeyville is a town, steeped in the history of the taming of the West. They celebrate Dalton Days and the the Inter-State Fair and Rodeo. The Dalton Brothers and their outlaw gang were stopped in Coffeyville, Kansas by ordinary citizens who made a stand to protect their town. There is a museum and a re-enactment day celebration. There are other excellent museums like the Brown Mansion. This museum provides an historical reference point for the late Victorian Era on the Great Plains, which may be of interest to the traveler who loves to learn about the Old West.

This refinery was renovated during the 1990's, and it makes use of most of the leftover product from the refining process to make fertilizer. This sustainable use of waste helps make their refining effort more helpful to area farmers, so they don't have to use fertilizer that is imported from other countries.

Later, there will be pictures of the area for future postings.