The Coffeyville Area Chamber of of Commerce is located in the beautiful, 1871 Perkins Building in the center of the Coffeyville, Kansas historic plaza. On October 5, 1892, the building was the site of the C. M. Condon Bank, one of two banks which the Dalton Gang attempted to rob simultaneously. The robbery had disastrous consequences for the gang and some of the community's defenders. The members of the Dalton Gang and two of the Dalton Defenders are buried in Coffeyville's Elmwood Cemetery. The Condon bank lobby has been preserved, and may be visited by stopping first at the Chamber office on week days. If time permits, one of the Chamber staff may share some of the story of that day and point out other nearby attractions. A popular photo opportunity is to pose behind the teller's window. You may also visit the Isham Hardware. across the street where the defenders of Coffeyville obtained weapons to foil the bank robbery. The other bank robbed that day, First National Bank, was then located just a few feet away, next to the Isham Hardware. After that building burned, the First National Bank occupied the Perkins building for some years. When you visit the Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center,
you are treated to a free ICEE. The ICEE was invented in 1958 by Omar Knedlik,
who had a Dairy Queen in Coffeyville, Kansas. When his pop machine broke
down, he was putting bottles in the freezer to chill them. Bottle of pop
stated turning to slush when opened and they were popular. The day I visited,
there was a choice of cherry or orange creme.
copyright 2006-2026 by Keith Stokes |
