Portal:Kansas

The Kansas Portal

Kansas (/ˈkænzəs/ ^ⓘ KAN-zəss) is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region and the centermost state of mainland United States. Part of the Great Plains, it borders Nebraska to the north, Colorado to the west, Oklahoma to the south, and Missouri to the east. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, in turn named after the Kansa people. Its capital is Topeka, and its most populous city is Wichita; however, the largest urban area is the bi-state Kansas City metropolitan area surrounding Kansas City, Missouri, which straddles the border of Kansas and Missouri.

For thousands of years, what is now known as Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Indigenous tribes. The first settlement of non-Indigenous people in Kansas occurred in 1827 at Fort Leavenworth. The pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery debate. When it was officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854 with the Kansas–Nebraska Act, conflict between abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri broke out over the question of whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state, in a period known as Bleeding Kansas. On January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state, hence the unofficial nickname "The Free State". Passage of the Homestead Acts in 1862 brought a further influx of settlers, and the booming cattle trade of the 1870s attracted some of the Wild West's most iconic figures to western Kansas.

As of 2015, Kansas was among the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans. In addition to its traditional strength in agriculture, Kansas possesses an extensive aerospace industry. Kansas, which has an area of 82,278 square miles (213,100 square kilometers) is the 15th-largest state by area, the 36th most-populous of the 50 states, with a population of 2,940,865 according to the 2020 census, and the 10th least densely populated. Residents of Kansas are called Kansans or Jayhawkers. Mount Sunflower is Kansas's highest point at 4,039 feet (1,231 meters). (Full article...)

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K-104 is a 2.275-mile-long (3.661 km) state highway in Saline County in the U.S. State of Kansas. It is signed east–west even though the majority of the route runs north–south. The route begins at a junction with Interstate 135 (I-135) and U.S. Route 81 (US-81), at I-135 exit 86, to a junction with K-4. It has an annual average daily traffic of between 1000 and 1300 and is paved with composite pavement. The highway is not a part of the National Highway System. The route was established around 1967, and has not been changed since. (Full article...)

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Credit: Kevin Zollman
Riley County Courthouse in Manhattan, Kansas.

Important dates in Kansas' history

July–August 1541: Coronado explores Kansas
April 30, 1803: Louisiana Purchase Treaty signed
May 30, 1854: Kansas Territory organized
July 29, 1859: Constitution adopted by convention
January 29, 1861: Kansas becomes 34th state
August 21, 1863: Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence
Spring 1879: Exodusters
February 19, 1881: First state to Constitutionally prohibit alcohol
1890s: Populist Revolt
July 1951: Great Flood of 1951
May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

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State facts

Nickname: The Sunflower State
Capital: Topeka
Largest city: Wichita
Governor: Laura Kelly (D)
Total area: 213,096 square kilometers (82,277 square miles)
Population (2000 census): 2,688,418
Date admitted to the Union: January 29, 1861
Senators: Jerry Moran (R), Roger Marshall (R)
Representatives: Tracey Mann (R), Jake LaTurner (R), Ron Estes (R), Sharice Davids (D)

State symbols:

Amphibian: Barred tiger salamander
Fish: Channel catfish
Bird: Western meadowlark
Flower: Sunflower
Insect: European honey bee
Mammal: Bison
Motto: Ad astra per aspera, or "To the stars through difficulties"
Reptile: Ornate Box turtle
Song: "Home on the Range"
Tree: Populus angustifolia

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Kansas State Guard insignia.

The Kansas State Guard was the official state defense force of the state of Kansas during each of the world wars. The unit was first created during World War I, and was later reactivated during World War II. When the Kansas National Guard was federalized and deployed during each of the world wars, the state of Kansas was forced to raise and maintain its own military force in order to protect against saboteurs, quell riots, and perform other duties which would normally fall to the National Guard. Unlike the National Guard, which could be federalized and deployed abroad, the State Guard was funded and equipped solely by the state and as such was immune to deployment. The Kansas State Guard is authorized under Kansas law. In 2007, the Kansas Legislature considered a bill which would create a modern Kansas State Defense Force. The bill did not pass. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Kansas-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Rio Theatre, Overland Park (from Kansas)
Image 2The Kansas Statehouse (from Kansas)
Image 3Map of Kansas and Missouri with Kansas City metro counties (from Kansas)
Image 4Standard Kansas license plate, 2018–2024 (from Kansas)
Image 5Largest alone or in any combination ethnic origin by county in Kansas, per the 2020 census (from Kansas)
Image 6Kansas welcome sign on K-96 (from Kansas)
Image 7The Orpheum, a historic movie theater in Wichita (from Kansas)
Image 8The Kansas Pacific main line shown on an 1869 map (from History of Kansas)
Image 9Charles Curtis (R) was born near Topeka and served as a State Legislator, Congressman and Senator, before becoming Vice President (1929–33). He is the only Native American elected to the Executive Branch (he was born into the Kaw Nation). (from Kansas)
Image 10George Armstrong Custer led U.S. troops against Native Americans in western Kansas. (from History of Kansas)
Image 11The Cosmosphere, the world-renowned space museum in Hutchinson (from Kansas)
Image 12Sunflower field outside of Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 13Boeing B-29 Superfortress production in Wichita in 1944 (from History of Kansas)
Image 14Frank Bond's illustration of the Louisiana Purchase (from History of Kansas)
Image 15Kansas's Monument Rocks at night
Image 16Chippewa named "One-Called-From-A-Distance" (from History of Kansas)
Image 171855 Free-State poster (from History of Kansas)
Image 18Albert Bierstadt, Western Kansas, 1875 (from Kansas)
Image 19The chalk rock badlands and cliffs in western Kansas, near Dighton (from Kansas)
Image 20Kansas highway map (from Kansas)
Image 21The Great Seal of the State of Kansas was established by the legislature on May 25, 1861. The design was submitted by Senator John James Ingalls. He also proposed the state motto, "Ad astra per aspera", which means "to the stars through difficulty". (from History of Kansas)
Image 22Rev. Richard Cordley, the first graduate of the University of Kansas, and nicknamed "The Abolition Preacher", due to his strong views against slavery, and his influence on Kansas's founding as a free state (from Kansas)
Image 23Ethnic origins in Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 24The Plaza Cinema in Ottawa is the oldest operating movie theater in the world. (from Kansas)

Map of counties in Kansas by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census

Legend

Non-Hispanic White

30–40%

50–60%

60–70%

70–80%

80–90%

90%+

Hispanic or Latino

50–60%

60–70%

(from Kansas)

Image 26An example of a custom Kansas rear license plate. Kansas allows residents to purchase license plates with college and university logos on them for an extra fee. (from Kansas)
Image 27Population density map of Kansas in 2020 (from Kansas)
Image 28The Great Plains of Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 29Köppen climate types of Kansas, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Kansas)
Image 30Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 31Downtown Wichita in the winter (from Kansas)
Image 32David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is the oldest football stadium west of the Mississippi River, and one of the oldest standing football stadiums in the country. Built in 1921, it is home to the Kansas Jayhawks football team. (from Kansas)
Image 33Kansas residents who are veterans, work as a first responder, and people who work in agriculture may request a custom plate reflecting their profession. (from Kansas)
Image 34Boosterism: cover of a promotional booklet published in 1907 by the Rock Island railroad (from History of Kansas)
Image 35John Brown about 1856 (from History of Kansas)
Image 36Kanopolis State Park (from Kansas)
Image 37Clouds in northeastern Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 38Cedar Point Mill, built in 1875 in Cedar Point, on the National Register of Historic Places (from Kansas)
Image 39Spring River, Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 40Kansas summer wheat and storm panorama (from Kansas)
Image 41The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita (from Kansas)
Image 42Gove County Badlands (from Kansas)
Image 43Allen Fieldhouse at University of Kansas in Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 44Pond in Osage County, Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 45Fox Theater, Hutchinson (from Kansas)
Image 461915–1918 Kansas railroad map (from Kansas)
Image 47Samuel Seymour's 1819 illustration of a Kansa lodge and dance is the oldest drawing known to be done in Kansas. (from History of Kansas)
Image 48NRC workers at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant in Burlington (from Kansas)
Image 49Temporary quarters for Volga Germans in central Kansas, 1875 (from History of Kansas)
Image 50Pittsburg (from Kansas)

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