El Dorado
[key]. <1> City (2020 pop. 17,756), seat of Union co., S
central Ark; inc. 1845. The discovery of oil in 1921 made it the oil center
of the state. The city has oil refineries, chemical plants, and
poultry-packing houses, as well as diverse manufactures. <2>
City (2020 pop. 12,870), seat of Butler co., SE Kansas; inc. 1870.
Located on the Walnut River, considerable growth came to the area after the
discovery of a major oil reserve there in 1915, which quickly became the
largest oil field in the U.S. However, in 1916, an altercation between a
Black shoe shiner and a white oil worker lead to large race riots, and many
Blacks fled the city. During World War II, a number of German and Italian
POWs were housed in a camp in the city. In 1958, a tornado swept through
town; fifty years later, the city opened a Memorial Park in honor of the 13
people who died then.
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