Transcript Historical Events of Wichita Ks. History    Wichita was founded in 1864 as a trading post on the site of a village of the.

Historical Events of Wichita Ks.
History
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Wichita was founded in 1864 as a
trading post on the site of a village of
the Wichita Indians, and owed its early
development to the Texas cattle trade
along the Chisholm Trail, and to the
rapid spread of agricultural settlement
along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe Railway, then under construction.
The picture of the train at the right is
the first train to come to Wichita.
In its early years Wichita was a
stopover on cattle drives to Abilene
and other points as the railroad moved
west; in 1872 the line reached Wichita,
and the city became a major cattleshipping center.
By 1875 farmers' fences were
obstructing the movement of beef
herds. Then grain took over as an
important part of the economy.
Historical Events
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During the 1930's partially in part due to the
needs for grain for the troops during WW1,
farmers were encouraged to plow more and
more of the land and seeding areas in the
prairies states.
Kansas was included in that and suffered
terribly windy conditions that pretty well blew
the top soil out of the state. Strong winds
noted in this area with no mountains to block
them had a devastating effect on the area.
In succeeding years the dust storms reoccurred from December to May. Crops and
pasture lands were ruined by the harsh
storms, which also proved a severe health
hazard. The uprooting, poverty, and human
suffering caused during this period is notably
portrayed in John Steinbeck's, "The Grapes of
Wrath". Through later governmental
intervention and methods of erosionprevention farming, the Dust Bowl
phenomenon has been virtually eliminated,
thus left a historic reference, source
More Facts
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Wichita is the largest city in Kansas. This is confusing to some who
are sure it is Kansas City. The problem lies in the fact that most of
Kansas City is in Missouri. Wichita prides itself on being the ‘Air
Capitol' of America, and rightly is home to many of the notables in
air craft manufacture; Boeing, Learjet, and Cessna for instance. You
can see hundreds of contrails in an hour of looking out your
window. McConnell AFB is based here as well and yearly host an
aviation show, most often with the ‘Blue Angels'.
Wichita is also home to several yearly functions that are fun and
bring in revenue. Both in the spring you will find The Renaissance
Fair, hosted by Kansas Newman University and The Wichita River
Festival, hosted by the City of Wichita.
Wichita is home to more than 330,000 people living in
neighborhoods scattered over 120 square miles, as well as three
major universities,_ Kansas Newman (Catholic ),_Friends (Quaker
),_and Wichita State (secular ). There are several other community
colleges and universities within 30 minutes to 4 hour drive.
2008
RiverFest
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Crowd gathered at the Go Away Garage to see the unveiling of the Riverfest 2008
artwork.
After a well-received 2007 artwork and advertising campaign developed by Associated
Advertising, WFI asked the firm to again develop the artwork for the 2008 Festival.
“It's again a thrill and a great honor to work with Wichita Festivals to develop the
marketing campaign and imagery that symbolizes one of Kansas' best and most
recognized events,” said Mike Snyder, CEO of Associated. “Wichita Festivals
traditionally does a great job in communicating the vibrancy and fun-for-everyone
nature of Riverfest, and our team had a lot of fun taking the theme and artwork to
new, non-traditional levels.”
“This is a new look for the Windwagon, very hip and new,” said Janet Wright,
President/CEO of Wichita Festivals, Inc. “Associated captured the true spirit of this
years' Festival with the design.”
This years' poster features Admiral Windwagon Smith riding across the Kansas prairie
in his revved-up Windwagon, complete with a supercharged blower in the front. This
year's theme is “Party in Overdrive” and Festival attendees can expect to see several
new events that will showcase that theme. QuikTrip Corporation is once again sponsor
of the poster art.
Signed and numbered limited edition posters are available for purchase for $25 and
regular edition posters are available for $5 at Wichita Festivals, Inc. and at the
Festival..