34 Facts About Wichita Kansas

1.

Wichita Kansas began as a trading post on the Chisholm Trail in the 1860s and was incorporated as a city in 1870.

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2.

Several airports located within the city of Wichita include McConnell Air Force Base, Colonel James Jabara Airport, and Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower National Airport, the largest airport in Kansas.

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3.

In 1920, two local oilmen invited Chicago aircraft builder Emil "Matty" Laird to manufacture his designs in Wichita Kansas, leading to the formation of the Swallow Airplane Company.

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4.

Two early Swallow employees, Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech, went on to found two prominent Wichita Kansas-based companies, Stearman Aircraft in 1926 and Beechcraft in 1932, respectively.

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5.

In 1934, Stearman's Wichita Kansas facilities became part of Boeing, which would become the city's largest employer.

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6.

Wichita Kansas has been a focal point of national political controversy multiple times in its history.

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7.

In 1900, famous temperance extremist Carrie Nation struck in Wichita upon learning the city was not enforcing Kansas's prohibition ordinance.

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8.

Except for a slow period in the 1970s, Wichita Kansas has continued to grow steadily into the 21st century.

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9.

Winters are cold and dry; since Wichita Kansas is roughly midway between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, cold spells and warm spells are equally frequent.

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10.

In terms of population, Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and the 49th largest city in the United States, according to the 2020 census.

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11.

The Wichita Kansas MSA encompasses Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, and Sumner counties and, as of 2010, had a population of 623, 061, making it the 84th largest MSA in the United States.

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12.

Thanks to the early 20th-Century oil boom in neighboring Butler County, Kansas, Wichita became a major oil town, with dozens of oil-exploration companies and support enterprises.

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13.

Air Midwest, the nation's first officially certificated "commuter" airline, was founded and headquartered in Wichita Kansas and evolved into the nation's eighth-largest regional airline prior to its dissolution in 2008.

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14.

Cost of living in Wichita is below average; compared to a U S average of 100, the cost of living index for the city is 84.

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15.

In 2007, Wichita Kansas built 977 aircraft, ranging from single-engine light aircraft to the world's fastest civilian jet; one-fifth of the civilian aircraft produced in United States that year, plus numerous small military aircraft.

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16.

Wichita Kansas has a complex cultural mix, dominated by Euro-American, blue-collar industrial and rural tastes, but embracing, to various degrees, classical arts and music, diverse domestic and foreign cultures, and avant garde cultural activity.

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17.

The Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita Kansas State University is a modern and contemporary art museum with over 6, 300 works in its permanent collection.

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18.

Aviation-related events are common in the Wichita Kansas area, including air shows, fly-ins, air races, aviation conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows.

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19.

The Sedgwick County Zoo in the northwest part of Wichita is the most popular outdoor tourist attraction in the state of Kansas, and is home to more than 2, 500 animals representing 500 different species.

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20.

Wichita Kansas is home to two major indoor shopping malls: Towne East Square, managed by Simon Property Group, and Towne West Square.

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21.

The oldest mall, Wichita Kansas Mall, was for many years largely a dead mall, but has since been converted into office space.

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22.

Wichita Kansas has a number of parks and recreational areas such as Riverside Park, College Hill Park, and McAdams Park.

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23.

Jazz musicians, Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays released a collaborative album titled, "As Falls Wichita Kansas, So Falls Wichita Kansas Falls" in 1981, which includes a title track that is just under 21 minutes long.

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24.

Similarly, in Neal Shusterman's utopian novel, "Thunderhead", Wichita Kansas serves as the location of a major event that progresses the plot.

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25.

Wichita Kansas is home to several professional, semi-professional, non-professional, and collegiate sports teams.

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26.

Wichita Kansas Ice Arena, just west of downtown, is a public ice-skating rink used for ice-skating competitions.

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27.

Under state statute, Wichita Kansas is a city of the first class.

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28.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita Kansas oversees 16 Catholic schools in the city including 14 elementary schools and two high schools, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Kapaun Mt.

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29.

Wichita Kansas has several colleges, universities, technical schools and branch campuses of other universities around the state.

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30.

Several colleges and universities based outside Wichita Kansas operate satellite locations in and around the city.

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31.

The Wichita Kansas Business Journal is a weekly newspaper that covers local business events and developments.

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32.

Interstate 35, as the Wichita Kansas Turnpike, enters the city from the south and turns northeast, running along the city's southeastern edge and exiting through the eastern part of the city.

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33.

Wichita Kansas Transit operates 53 buses on 18 fixed bus routes within the city.

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34.

Wichita Kansas Transit operates a demand response paratransit service with 320, 800 passenger trips annually.

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