Topeka Is The Capital Of Kansas City
Topeka is the capital of Kansas City, situated in northeast of Kansas. It is situated on the bank of the Kansas (Kaw) River, having a land area of 145 sq km. According to the 2000 census the total population is 122,377, among which whites are 78. 5 percent, Native Americans 1. 3 percent, blacks 11. 7 percent and Asians 1. 1 percent. It has two commercial airports, Forbes Field Airport and Philip Billard Airport. The Washburn University of Topeka (1865) has, a noted neuropsychiatric clinic named Menninger that maintains research and teaching facilities. It also has a museum which has a large collection of papers of noted psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Other tourist places are Kansas Museum of History, the Combat Air Museum, which has a good collection of military aircraft, and the Mulvane Art Center, displaying American painting and sculpture. The State House here was built between 1866 and 1903 and modeled after the United States Capitol. The Topeka Zoological Park and the Reinisch Memorial Rose and Rock Gardens, are both located in Gage Park. According to popular believe the city derives its name from a Siouan word meaning "place to find small potatoes. "
Topeka mainly produces processed food, printed materials, and rubber and metal products. The city economy depends mainly on Government operations, tourism and insurance policies.
Topeka was the witness to U. S. resolution in 1855, which established an antislavery territorial government against the existing proslavery territorial government in Kansas. As a result the Topeka Constitution came into being which banned slavery. Admittance of free blacks into the state was accepted on July 3, 1856, House of Representatives voted to give Kansas the statehood under the Topeka Constitution. In 1859, it became the temporary territorial capital. In 1861 it was selected, as the permanent state capital.
The community of Topeka was founded in 1854 near the point where the Santa Fe Trail and Oregon Trail bifurcated. The city was made the division head for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. The Santa Fe Railway was one of the largest in United States. It played a major role in settlement of southwestern United States. In 1863 it was renamed the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. A Topeka lawyer and business promoter, named Cyrus K. Holliday, founded it. He wanted to build a railroad along the Santa Fe Trail. It was a trading route in 19th-century, which ran from Independence, Mo. , to Santa Fe, N. M. The main line to the Colorado state was completed in 1872.
It was extended in 1880s; it reached about 9000 miles in 90s. Edward Payson Ripley was its president from 1895 to 1920 under whom it flourished. The company in 1968 got its new name as Sante Fe Industries, Inc. in 1983 Southern Pacific Transportation Co. and Santa Fe agreed for a merge but was rejected by ICC in 1987. In 1989 Santa Fe came to be known as Santa Fe Pacific.
To conclude Topeka the capital of Kansas City has the largest railroad network in United States and has a large number of tourist place of interest.