El Dorado, Kansas – Butler County Seat

El Dorado, Kansas, the county seat of Butler County, is located in the central part of the county along the western bank of the Walnut River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,870, and its total area was 8.92 square miles, of which 8.86 square miles is land and 0.06 square miles is water.

William Hildebrand was the first white settler to arrive in El Dorado in May of 1857 and built a cabin 1.5 miles southwest of what is presently the intersection of Main and Central. By 1859, his place had become a sort of headquarters for horse thieves. At some point, his property was raided, and Hildebrand received a sound thrashing from the vigilantes. He was given 24 hours to escape from the county and disappeared. His cabin would later become the Connor Cabin and served as Butler County’s first courthouse and El Dorado’s post office.

A post office had been across the Walnut River, opposite the present city, for four or five years before old El Dorado was surveyed, and D. L. McCabe had been Postmaster. Daniel Stine, of Augusta, was the postmaster in the old town, though never performing the duties of the office. The officials were Henry Martin, H.D. Kellogg, Mrs. Long, Frank Frazier, and Alvah Sheldon.

El Dorado was first incorporated as the El Dorado Town Company on February 6, 1858, under an act by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Kansas. Soon, an election was held for city officers.

The El Dorado post office was established on November 14, 1860.

Following the Civil War, El Dorado established itself as the county seat.

As early as 1867, a log house was built in the eastern part of town, and the same summer, E.L. Lower put up a cabin. The third building on the town site was a frame store erected by Henry Martin. Just prior to the erection of this store, Elias Main put up a saw mill on the Walnut River.

El Dorado was platted and laid out by B. Frank Gordy and his associates on March 23, 1868. The name, of Spanish origin, means “golden land.” In partnership with Byron O. Carr, Samuel Langdon, and Henry Martin, they formed a town company, and the first lots were sold at $10 each. Several houses were erected before the close of the year. Elias Main established a sawmill on the Walnut River, and Henry Martin built the first frame house. As soon as it was completed, he put in a stock of goods—the first store. That year, many new industries were brought to the town. In the spring, D.M. Bronson opened a land office. Dr. Kellogg divided his time between this office and the practice of his profession. Mr. Handley established a blacksmith shop, and a man named Mat put up a wagon shop. Mr. Gearhart had a harness shop,  Mrs. Long opened a millinery store, and some minor branches of business were carried on. A saloon was also established. However, after being a sore spot in the community for some time, it was closed by the suit of Mrs. Thomas Tool for damages to her husband and ensuing litigation. To counteract the influence of the saloon element, which was thus early arrayed against the prohibition forces, the temperance people organized a lodge of the Sons and Daughters of Temperance. This order flourished for some time, but finally died out.

The first schoolhouse in El Dorado was a log cabin built by a subscription of the settlers. Here, Miss Jane Wentworth taught a class of about 15 students.

Situated at the crossing of the Fayetteville Emigrant Trail (sometimes called the California Road), soon outstripped its competitors. In 1869, Bronson & Sallee, who had entered extensively into real estate dealings, published the Emigrant’s Guide, calling attention to the advantages of Butler County and Eldorado in particular. This year saw the first social gathering of the people in the new settlement, and the first disaster, the drowning of the Johnson family in the June flood in the Walnut River.

The first hotel was a rough frame erected in 1869 and occupied by Thomas Bros. This very modest building was later made the rear portion of S. Langdon’s house. That year, Reverend James Saxby organized the Baptist Church.

In 1869-70, a $2,000 stone schoolhouse was erected, and regular school terms began. The first principal was E. Cowles.

With the rush of settlers in 1870 came the demand for more room within the town limits, and the specially suave and ready response to the demand by real estate men. Lower’s addition of eighty acres, now forming all of the town north of Central Avenue, was laid out in this year, as were the blocks of land belonging to Finley & Gordon, on Main Street, and that of Wilson on the west. These, together, made a little less than 320 acres.

In 1870, 51 petitioners, headed by D.M. Bronson, asked that the town be incorporated as a village. The Butler County probate court granted a 140-acre tract of land, and the first trustees were J.C. Lambdin, A.D. Knowlton, T.B. Murdock, T.B. Boswell, and C.M. Foulks.

That year, there was an influx of settlers, and the town was enlarged by several “additions.” On March 4, 1870, the first number of the Walnut Valley Times was issued, the El Dorado Mills were built by Wheeler & Burdett, and the town began to assume an appearance of permanency. The Presbyterian Church was organized in 1870 by Reverend James Gordon, and the Methodist Church was organized the same year by Reverend S.F.C. Garrison.

On June 22, 1871, a tornado accompanied by hail and rain struck El Dorado, inflicting significant damage. Houses were blown down or twisted off their foundations, windows were broken, trees were overturned, and crops were ruined, resulting in losses of at least $150,000. Still, the citizens began to rebuild immediately, and before another year, all traces of the event were obliterated, and business once more moved forward with a steady swing.

The growth continued, and on September 12, 1871, Eldorado was changed from a village to be incorporated as a city of the third class. J.C. Lambdin, who had been chairman of the board of trustees, was elected mayor. That year, two fire wardens were appointed.

Although the old stone schoolhouse was a large structure for those early days in the city’s history, it soon proved inadequate. On February 22, 1872, the cornerstone of a new building was laid. The fine stone so abundant in this part of the country was used, and the succeeding fall, the building was completed at a cost of $8,000.

A Methodist Church building was erected in 1873 for $1,500.

Reverend E.E. Harvey organized the Christian Church in February 1873. A church building was completed in 1875 for $3,400. It had a seating capacity of 250, and it soon grew to 165 members.

To accommodate the county’s growing needs, a wing and a jail were added in 1875.

The United Brethren Church began holding meetings at the Satchel schoolhouse in 1876 under Reverend George Gay.

In April 1876, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad proposed to build a road from Cedar Point on the main line down the Walnut Valley to El Dorado and ultimately to and beyond the south line of the county. The company’s proposal was for a cash bonus of $3,000 per mile, with no exchange of bonds or stock being asked for. While this proposition was being debated, the citizens of Florence were working hard to have their town made the initial point. It soon became evident that a road would be built to El Dorado from the main line under some conditions, and in February 1877, bonds aggregating $99,500 were voted to the El Dorado & Walnut Valley Road. Work began at once, and the track was completed to El Dorado at 6:27 p.m. on July 31, 1877. On September 4, an excursion train was run from Topeka, and the citizens of El Dorado were given a free trip to Florence and return. A grand celebration was held in the grove. Governor George Anthony was present and gave a brief speech, followed by many others.

The El Dorado Press was established on March 1, 1877, by J.M. Satterthwaite. The six-column newspaper was Republican in politics, with a weekly circulation of 800 copies, and was published on Thursdays.

That year, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado, which was extended to Douglass in 1881 and later to Arkansas City. The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway.

Neal Wilkie and S.L. Shotwell opened the private Exchange Bank on the northeast corner of Main Street and Central Avenue in 1877. A few years later, it changed its organization to that of a national bank. Its officers were A.L. Redden, President, and H.H. Gardner, Cashier. A Presbyterian Church building was completed that year for $3,500, and a parsonage was built in 1878 for $500.

In 1878, the city had a population of about 1,500. At that time, there was a daily stagecoach from Winfield, a telegraph, an express office, and mail was delivered daily to Mary J. Long, postmistress. It had two lumber dealers, two jewelers, four general stores, two grocers, three saloons, two meat markets, two hardware stores, Gardner & Tolle — the leading Dry Goods store, a furniture store, three drug stores, the Exchange Bank of El Dorado, two livery stables, a flour mill, and four hotels. Tradespeople included two shoemakers, a builder, four carpenters, two harnessmakers, two painters, two blacksmiths, a tailor, a milliner, and two wagonmakers. Professional services included a photographer, six physicians, two dentists, ten law firms, three realtors, a justice of the peace, a constable, a sheriff, an insurance agency, two newspapers, and a bank.

The Walnut Valley Elevator, built in 1878 at a cost of $10,000, had a capacity of 40,000 bushels and was not only an elevator but also a flouring mill. In December 1880, it was destroyed by fire.

In 1879, a significant addition was constructed to the school for $4,000.

El Dorado Mills, on the east bank of the Walnut River, was enlarged in 1879 and 1881 and was then 38 by 40 feet and two and a half stories in height. Power was obtained from the river through a 40-inch turbine wheel and a 40-horsepower steam engine. The mill had three wheat and one corn burr-stones and a capacity of 50 barrels of fine-grade flour per day.

A Baptist Sabbath school started in 1879. The Methodist church was enlarged in 1879 for $8,000.

In 1880, a Baptist Church building with a seating capacity of 250 was erected at a cost of $2,500.

The Butler County Democrat was established in July 1880 by T.P. Fulton and continued under the same management until sold to the company that started the Eagle in the spring of 1882. At that time, a stock company was formed, and the Democrat revived with Fulton Bros. as publishers. The paper was a six-column folio published on Thursdays with a circulation of 900.

On March 1, 1881, Alvah Sheldon purchased the Walnut Valley Times, which had a circulation of 1,320. The newspaper was continuously published on the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue.

Baldwin & Nicholson built the Walnut Valley Mills in the spring of 1881. It had three runs of buhrs—two for wheat and one for corn—and a capacity of 40 barrels per day. An engine of 25 horsepower provided power.

The Bank of El Dorado was opened for business on April 5, 1881, by Edward C. Ellett and N.F. Frazier. Its capital was $30,000, and its surplus was $16,000. The bank occupied a fine building on Main Street.

That year, the United Brethren Church building was erected for  $1,000, and it soon had 80 members.

The Butler County Bank was organized in January 1882 and opened its doors on February 1. It had a capital of $42,000 with the following officers: John Foutch, President; F.P. Gillespie, Cashier; and F.B. Ewing, Vice President. Business was transacted in a first-floor room in the Masonic Block.

By that time, the city had a population of 2,000 and was growing rapidly. Walnut Valley Mills changed hands in May 1882 to M.A. Asmey.

After years of citizens’ requests for a building to house meetings, church services, speakers, musicals, and dramas, Alfred Ellet, a Civil War Brigadier General, engineer, and self-described “capitalist,” constructed the Ellet Opera House in the 100 block of West Central. The grand opening was in December of 1884. The first floor was occupied by a “Carriage repository” and a clothing store.

In 1880, the city purchased a hand pump and in 1886 established its first real fire department.

On March 24, 1894, the post office name changed to Eldorado.

In 1895, another wing was added to the jail.

In 1897, the former Exchange Bank became the Farmers and Merchants National Bank.

On March 11, 1897, the El Dorado Free Library was established on the second floor of the city building. The library received a $75 annual allowance from the city and was open two hours a day, three days a week.

By 1899, the western half of the Opera House had been converted to a newspaper office and post office. The businesses on the first floor changed often, ranging from a pool hall to millinery to a hardware store.

By 1900, El Dorado was home to nearly 3,500  people.

In May 1907, residents petitioned for a new courthouse, and the County Commissioners approved the local appeal. Work began in 1908, and the cornerstone was laid on December 3. Construction was completed in 1909. The primary source of funding came from the Kafir Corn Carnival, an annual event held in El Dorado. The Kafir Corn Carnival was so successful that it often drew in excess of 20,000 people to the downtown area of El Dorado.

That year, the fire department acquired its first fire wagon. Prior to that, it had used two-wheel carts, and later dray teams.

In 1910, Eldorado had four banks, an electric lighting plant, waterworks, a fire department, fine public school buildings, two daily and three weekly newpsapers, good hotels, well kept streets, a number of first class mercantile houses, a telephone exchange, some manufacturing interests, an international money order postoffice with four rural routes, telegraph and express service, a number of fine churches, and a population of 3,129. The transportation and shipping facilities were excellent, including a line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe system that ran north and south through the city; a line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad ran east and west, and a branch of the same system ran from Eldorado to McPherson. With these lines radiating in five different directions, the city was in touch with markets and easily accessible.

In 1912, El Dorado had the first woman bailiff in Kansas and the United States, Eva Rider. Mrs. Rider assembled the first women’s jury of Kansas, which was composed entirely of El Dorado women and served in the District Court of Butler County in November 1912. The dispute was over real estate valuation, which a male jury had failed to resolve a year earlier.

The first public library opened its doors on December 2, 1912, thanks to a $10,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie.

El Dorado’s first hospital was established in 1914 by Dr. Frenn L. Preston.

In 1915, the El Dorado Oil Field was discovered, and the city’s population soared. On September 29, drilling contractors, Golden and Obins, began drilling on Stapleton #1. Oil was discovered on October 6, 1915, at a depth of 2,497 feet. It was the first well to be drilled using science and geology to pinpoint the location. Not only was oil found within the geologists’ recommended area, but it was also found on nearly every acre of that area, and almost none was found directly outside that area. The largest, formally organized industrial geological operation in history was launched. In addition to the location of wells, the geologists also recommended how deep to drill.

Within weeks of striking oil on the Stapleton, representatives of oil companies such as the Carter Oil Company, an affiliate of Standard Oil; Empire Oil, an affiliate of Cities Service; and Gypsy Oil, an affiliate of Gulf Oil; began flooding into El Dorado, looking for landowners who would lease lands for oil exploration.

In 1916, there was an anti-black race riot in El Dorado after an incident between a black shoe shiner and a white oil worker. Large numbers of black families removed their household goods and moved out of El Dorado.

The second floor of the Opera House continued as a performance venue through the early 20th Century, changing names to “McGinnis Opera House” between 1912 and 1917.

By 1917, oil developments expanded into western, eastern, and northwestern Butler County. By 1918, it was the largest single field producer in the United States and was responsible for 12.8% of national oil production and 9% of the world’s production. That year, with 28,807,680 barrels, worth about $63,000,000, the Eldorado field proclaimed itself the leading field not only in the Midcontinent region but in the entire United States. Some deemed it “the oil field that won World War I.” This historic field, covering 34 square miles, used scientific geology methods to pinpoint drilling locations. It became the largest producer among single fields in the United States. In 1918, the prolific El Dorado Field produced nearly 29 million barrels of oil.

In 1918, a new, larger, and modern depot, the Missouri Pacific Depot, was completed.

By that time, there were eight refineries near El Dorado and Augusta. The White Eagle Refinery was in Augusta, and the Vickers Refinery was in Potwin. El Dorado had two refineries: the El Dorado Refining Company, or “El Reco,” to the north of town, and what became the Skelly Refinery to the south.

In 1919, Dr. Preston enlarged the hospital to 50 beds by building a four-story facility, now known as the Smith building. The hospital was sold in 1921 to the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas and became known as St. Luke’s.

The oil discovery also spurred the aviation industry in Wichita with investment of oil field dollars. Jacob Melvin Moellendick, an oilman who had done well in the El Dorado field, is credited as being the father of aviation in Wichita. With a team of investors, he established the Laird Aircraft Company in Wichita in 1919. Laird employed other young aviation pioneers such as Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman, who broke off from Laird and joined with Clyde Cessna to form their own company. Although that company failed, Beech, Stearman, and Cessna went on to be instrumental in the development of the aircraft industry in Wichita and the world.

By 1920, Butler County’s population had nearly doubled from 23,000 in 1910 to 43,000 in 1920. Much of this population was located in the “oil company towns” of Midian and Oil Hill, northwest of El Dorado. To house its workers, Empire Gas & Fuel Company built Oil Hill, housing 8,000 residents. It was called the largest “company town” in the world. Many of the oil companies located their offices in El Dorado, and retail and service businesses did a brisk business.

By 1923, it was no longer identified as an opera house.

The El Dorado Arms Hotel was completed in 1921. The $500,000 project was financed in part with $150,000 in stock, purchased by 250 El Dorado citizens. It included a theater, designed by the Boller Brothers. Among the groups that met at the building were Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and Chamber of Commerce. Among the dignitaries who visited the hotel was Vice President and Kansas native Charles Curtis, who came on the eve of the 1932 election. The building was remodeled after World War II. In 1966, the hotel was closed. It was purchased in 1969 to convert it into apartments, but this took some time to come to fruition.

In the early 1920s, Derby built a refinery in Wichita. Several other smaller refineries were also developed, but they were short-lived.

St. Luke’s School of Nursing was established in 1922. It continued operations through 1933.

By the late 1920s, local businessman Frank Allen and others recognized the need for a modern hospital. Mr. Allen contributed the land where his mother’s house stood and $100,000 to construct a hospital to be named Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital in honor of his mother.

The hard times of the Great Depression forced Farmers and Merchants National Bank to close, and it was absorbed by Walnut Valley State Bank in 1936.

The discovery of oil fields in places like Russell and Hugoton shifted the focus of the Kansas oil industry. By the 1930s, production in the El Dorado oil field slowed to a more modest level as remaining companies and workers concentrated on other opportunities. Towns like those of Midian and Oil Hill shrank and vanished even as the refineries in El Dorado modernized and expanded. Today, the legacy of the Butler County oil boom lives on in the legion of pumps still dotting the landscape and in El Dorado’s Kansas Oil Museum.

On July 1, 1939, the spelling of the post office was changed back to El Dorado.

The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942. The original branch line connected Florence, Burns, De Graff, El Dorado, Augusta, Douglass, Rock, Akron, Winfield, and Arkansas City.

In 1943, German and Italian prisoners of World War II were brought to Kansas and other Midwest states as a means of solving the labor shortage caused by American men serving in the war effort. Large internment camps were established in Kansas, including Camp Concordia, Camp Funston at Fort Riley, and Camp Phillips at Salina.

In 1946, the second floor of the old Opera House was occupied by a dance hall. Over the years, the building hosted numerous productions and community events.

In June 1957, Ruth Bradford, a library trustee, donated $200,000 to erect a new public library building as a memorial to her husband, Robert Bradford II. In December 1996, renovation was completed, adding space and a new parking lot on the east side of the building. Learn more about the library’s history.

On June 10, 1958, a tornado hit El Dorado and killed 13 people.

The Ellet Opera House was renovated in 2014 and now houses apartments and commercial space.

The city’s population peaked at 13,021 in 2010.

Today, El Dorado’s economy is still primarily based on the petroleum industry, as shown by a multitude of oil service-related businesses still in existence. Recent decisions by companies such as Barton Solvents, BG Products, and Consolidated Oil Field Services have expanded their operations in El Dorado. The former Skelly Refinery, which became part of Getty and then Texaco, is now in operation as Frontier Oil and Refining. It is the largest refinery in Kansas and the only one of the eight original area refineries still in operation. Frontier purchased the plant in 1999 and has continually expanded and improved the facility. Today, the Refinery employs 400 workers and can process 120,000 barrels of crude oil and 15,000 barrels of natural gas liquids daily. In the face of increasing energy demands, the Frontier plant has grown in national significance.

The El Dorado USD 490 public school district, which has one high school, one middle school, and three grade schools, serves most of the community. The Circle USD 375 public school district, headquartered in Towanda, west of El Dorado, serves the west side of El Dorado. El Dorado is also home to Butler Community College.

El Dorado is situated southwest of El Dorado Lake, 30 miles east-northeast of Wichita at the junction of U.S. Routes 54 and 77 and K-254. Interstate 35 bypasses the city to the northwest.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated June 2025.

Also See:

Butler County, Kansas

Butler County Photo Gallery

Cities & Towns of Kansas

Kansas Destinations

Sources:

1878 Gazetteer and Business Directory, R.L. Polk Company
City of El Dorado
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Cutler, William G.; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.
Eldo Kansas
Kansas Sampler
Wikipedia