Town file
Wellington, Kansas
Wellington, Kansas (Sumner County, Kansas) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 290, "Missing Heads & Water Beds" (9 June 2022). Michelle Tate was sixteen years old in December 1992, a high school junior living in Wellington, Kansas.
- Town
- Wellington
- County
- Sumner County
- State
- Kansas
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 290
- Approximate location
- 37.278, -97.407
Episode 290 / 9 June 2022 / 166 min / full
Missing Heads & Water Beds
"we're going to Wellington, Kansas; this is in Sumner County" about 0:05:12
The case: Murder of Michelle Tate (December 1992). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2022
- Population
- 7,550
- Median age
- 38
- Median household income
- $43,500
- Median home value
- $67,600
- Two-bedroom rent
- $695
- Cost of living
- 73
- Religious
- 61.2%
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ slightly below average
History, in brief
- Platted in 1871 and named after the Duke of Wellington. about 0:07:46
- Designated the Sumner County seat in 1872. about 0:08:15
- Cattle herders came up the Chisholm Trail, which helped build the early town's economy. about 0:08:23
- By around 1892 the town had 12,000 people and was steadily growing. about 0:08:37
- An estimated F4 tornado destroyed a hundred homes and many businesses, killed twelve townspeople and damaged a twenty-six block area. about 0:09:12
- The tornado stopped the town's growth momentum and many residents left. about 0:09:32
- A few years later a huge fire destroyed much of what was left of the town. about 0:09:51
- The actor David Carradine lived in Wellington for about a year in the 1980s while filming a movie called Americana. about 0:10:21
The reviews read out
4 stars
"Safety is not an issue; you have to be smart, but the community is safe and watches out for one another."about 0:11:20
3 stars
"A great community for a quiet, reserved life; the population is mainly elderly and middle-aged, there is little to do in summer except the pool, and druggies roam the streets but are not dangerous unless bothered."about 0:11:41
3 stars
"The only thing you can really do is fish; there is not much else outdoors."about 0:13:10
2 stars
"I do not like this town, I cannot wait to move, and there is not much to do here."about 0:13:17
2 stars
"Winter storms cause ice, spring storms bring tornadoes and summer is usually drought."about 0:13:56
1 star
"The worst of the worst, full of druggies or people out to scam you; stay away if you can."about 0:14:25
1 star
"Worse than terrible; a good place to be if you are homeless because you will feel right at home."about 0:14:58
"There is nothing to do here and everyone knows it; you will think you are living in a nightmare."about 0:15:25
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Arkansas City, Kansas25 miles
- Kingman, Kansas47 miles
- Newton, Kansas53 miles
- Hutchinson, Kansas61 miles
- Enid, Oklahoma65 miles
- Dewey, Oklahoma88 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.