Kansas became the 34th state in 1861. The state's name comes from the Kansa or Kaw Indians and is a Sioux Indian term meaning "south wind people." Within Kansas's borders is the magnetic center mark for all of North America. All land surveys in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico use this as a reference point. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous or lower United States is located in a Kansas pasture. The native sunflower is the state flower. Kansas is known as the Sunflower State, the Wheat State, and the Jayhawker State. The capital is Topeka, and the largest cities are Wichita with a population of 344,284 persons, Overland Park with 149,080 persons, Kansas City with 146,866 persons, and Topeka with 122,377 persons. The State of Kansas grew by 8.5% between 1990 and 2000.
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The city of Shawnee is named for the Shawnee Indian tribe who occupied this area by treaty from 1825 until about 1855, when the Kansas Territory was opened for settlement. The Shawnee called their settlement Gum Springs.
The Gum Springs settlement was subsequently called Shawneetown, and later, Shawnee. It was platted in 1856, and is one of the earliest towns in Kansas. Shawnee was the site of the first territorial legislature, home to the first territorial governor, and the first county seat of Johnson County. |
