Kansas

European explorers, from 1682 to 1821, all reported (what is now) Kansas to be a desert, not fit for human settlement.  Accordingly, the US government relocated Native Americans to this area, figuring no one else would want it. From 1825 to 1842, 30 tribes were moved in.

In 1821, the Santa Fe Trail was established across Kansas.  In 1843, the Oregon Trail was established, diverging from the Santa Fe Trail in northeast Kansas.  The 1848 California Gold Rush brought thousands along these routes.  Many noticed that Kansas wasn't actually uninhabitable and decided to stop and stay.

From 1855 to 1858, there was open warfare in Kansas as the pro- and anti-slavery factions struggled to control the territorial government in an attempt to control whether Kansas entered the Union as a slave or a free state.  It was nicknamed "Bleeding Kansas."  

William Quantrill raid on Lawrence

Kansas entered the Union in January 1861 as a free state.  During the Civil War, 20,000 (2/3 of all adult men) fought in the US Army.  Only one Civil War battle was fought in Kansas but it lost more men, proportionate to its population, than any other state.

In 1874 Kansas was black with grasshoppers for 12 days; they ate everything for 5,000 square miles.  They returned every summer for 3 years.

The record high temperature in Kansas is 121° near Alton.  The record low temperature is -40° near Lebanon.  These two places are about 50 miles apart.

Kansas is the #1 helium-producer in the US and #2 in the world.

Garden City pool

Garden City has the world's largest outdoor swimming pool.

Although Kansas is primarily known for its agricultural products (wheat, corn, grain sorghum, beef cattle), it also manufactures an array of other products, such as airplanes, snow plows, computer systems, Coleman camping products, and pipe organs (found in Lawrence).

Kansas is #1 in the world for the number of meat-packing plants.

About 1/3 of Kansans have family origins in Germany.

Kansas has 67 types of sunflower and 200 species of grass.

Liberal, KS, has movie sets from "The Wizard of Oz."