The Big Well is a large historic

water well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

Greensburg, Kansas Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the city was 740. It is home to the world's largest hand-dug well. On the evening of May 4, 2007, Gre ...

, United States. Visitors enter the well for a fee, descending an illuminated stairway to the bottom of the well.

History

It began construction in 1887 at a cost of $45,000 to provide water for the Santa Fe and Rock Island railroads and finished construction in 1888. It served as the municipal water supply until 1932.Big Well official homepage
/ref> It was designated a National Museum in 1972; in 1973 it was awarded an

American Water Landmark An American Water Landmark is a landmark within the United States, Canada, or Mexico that is a historic location and is associated in some way with water. The American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an interna ...

by the

American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an international non-profit, scientific and educational association founded to improve water quality and supply. Established in 1881, it is a lobbying organization representing a membership (as of 2024) o ...

. Under the name of "Greensburg Well", it has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP) since 1972. In 2008, the well was named one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.

Construction

The Big Well's construction in 1887 utilized many engineering techniques from the late 19th century. According to The Kansas Sampler Foundation, crews of 12-15 men utilized, pickaxes, shovels, ropes, pulleys, and barrels. The casing of the well was made from stones brought from the Medicine River roughly twelve miles south of Greensburg that were brought over via wagons. Slatted wagons were used to haul dirt away from the well. Whenever a low spot was reached in the wagon, the slats were opened, allowing level ground to be created around the area. As the well's construction continued, a wide shaft was cribbed and braced every twelve feet with two by twelve inch planks for safety reasons in concern of the workers. Utilizing these braces, soil was hoisted up in barrels to continue the digging. After the stones were fitted around them, the braces were sawed off. When the well had reached roughly 109 feet in depth, perforated pipe was driven horizontally into gravel containing water, which aided in bringing water into the basin.

Visitor center

The well had a visitor center detailing the history of the well's construction. On May 4, 2007, a tornado hit Greensburg, destroying the center. The well reopened on May 26, 2012. The new visitor center, also known as the Big Well Museum, contains a circular timeline of the city of Greensburg in three stages, including the beginnings of Greensburg, the Tornadic event, and the Eco-Friendly Rebuilding of Greensburg. The Big Well Museum contains information on the formation of tornadoes and explains the meteorological phenomenon that took place to spawn such an event. There are interactive pull-outs in the walls, as well as televisions, cards, and infographics depicting historical events, interviews, tragedies, model survival kits, and other tornado related items. Around the museum are elements of storm debris, including stop signs, street signs, clocks, and tornado sirens, including the remains of Greensburg's Federal Signal Thunderbolt siren destroyed by the tornado. A Sentry 10v was installed during the rebuilding to replace it. The visitor center also displayed a Brenham half-

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

(1,000 lb, 450 kg)

pallasite The pallasites are a Meteorite classification#Terminology, class of stony–iron meteorite. They are relatively rare, and can be distinguished by the presence of large olivine crystal inclusions in the ferro-nickel matrix. These crystals represe ...

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

recovered from the area. The meteorite was billed as the world's largest single-piece pallasite, but that title is held by other samples. It was reported that the Big Well visitor center was destroyed, and the meteorite was missing on May 7. The meteorite, which was insured for $1 million, was later located underneath a collapsed wall and was displayed temporarily at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in

Hays, Kansas Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 21,116. Hays ...

while the new building was being built.Greensburg's famed meteorite found under rubble
It has returned to the reconstructed museum site.

Gallery

Image:New_Big_Well_Museum.jpg, New Big Well Museum, as of June 2013. Image:Rebuilt_Big_Well.jpg, The new museum's well stairwell, as of June 2013. Image:Greensburg_Pallasite_Meteorite.jpg, "World's Largest Pallasite Meteorite"

References

External links