Have you ever wondered how a certain Sunflower State town had its name determined? Me too! Today, we will take a look at 15 different Kansas towns and just how/why they were given their names!
- Wichita
Flickr/Lane Pearman Named for the Native American’s who occupied the area when explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado first arrived.
- Pittsburg
Wikimedia Commons Originally named “New Pittsburgh” after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- WaKeeney
Flickr/Nick Varvel Named for James Keeney and his business partner, Albert Warren, who bought the land from the Kansas Pacific Railway and turned it into a colony.
- Victoria
Flickr/thomas murawsky A group of English and Scottish colonists named their settlement after Queen Victoria.
- Marquette
Wikimedia Commons Named after Marquette, Michigan by a group of Swedish immigrants.
- Gypsum
Flickr/Darla Abernathy Named for the neighboring Gypsum Creek.
- Kanopolis
Kanopolis Drive-In The town was assumed to be a “Central Metropolis,” as well as the future capitol because of its location.
- El Dorado
Wikimedia Commons Named after the Spanish word for “golden land.”
- Baxter Springs
Wikimedia Commons Both the city and the springs were named after the first European-American settler, A. Baxter.
- Alta Vista
Alta Vista Chamber of Commerce Facebook Named after the Spanish word for “high view.”
- White City
Get White City Facebook Named for F. C. White, a railroad official from Chicago who founded the colony.
- Elk Falls
Flickr/Franklin B Thompson Named for a nearby waterfall on the Elk River.
- Canton
Flickr/Jeff Slater Named after Canton, Ohio (because of an early settler who came from Ohio).
- Argonia
Wikimedia Commons Named for the mythical Green ship, the Argo.
- Grainfield
Wikimedia Commons Named for all of the wheat fields in the area.
Are these the stories you’re familiar with? Or have you been told differently? Tell us in the comments.
Flickr/Lane Pearman
Named for the Native American’s who occupied the area when explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado first arrived.
Wikimedia Commons
Originally named “New Pittsburgh” after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Flickr/Nick Varvel
Named for James Keeney and his business partner, Albert Warren, who bought the land from the Kansas Pacific Railway and turned it into a colony.
Flickr/thomas murawsky
A group of English and Scottish colonists named their settlement after Queen Victoria.
Named after Marquette, Michigan by a group of Swedish immigrants.
Flickr/Darla Abernathy
Named for the neighboring Gypsum Creek.
Kanopolis Drive-In
The town was assumed to be a “Central Metropolis,” as well as the future capitol because of its location.
Named after the Spanish word for “golden land.”
Both the city and the springs were named after the first European-American settler, A. Baxter.
Alta Vista Chamber of Commerce Facebook
Named after the Spanish word for “high view.”
Get White City Facebook
Named for F. C. White, a railroad official from Chicago who founded the colony.
Flickr/Franklin B Thompson
Named for a nearby waterfall on the Elk River.
Flickr/Jeff Slater
Named after Canton, Ohio (because of an early settler who came from Ohio).
Named for the mythical Green ship, the Argo.
Named for all of the wheat fields in the area.
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