Introduction to Wichita, Kansas

I arrived in Wichita last night after a massive 20+ hour flight from my home in the UK. Since I’ve never set foot in Kansas before, I did some research on the city I’ll be visiting next week as part of TBEX Wichita, and here’s what I’ve learned so far…

The area located at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers indicates the city’s pre-settlement era. It has long been a trading and social place for nomads, with human habitation dating back to 3000 BC.

This morning I walked past The Keeper of the Plains, an iconic 44-foot steel sculpture by Native American artist Blackbear Bosin that was installed at the river’s confluence in 1974 to honor the city’s Native American heritage.

The city of Wichita is named after the Wichita Tribe, which formed a settlement of grass huts near the confluence of the river in about 1863, after returning from Oklahoma.

The first permanent non-Native American settlement was a trading post opened by James R. Meade in 1864, who partnered with Jesse Chisholm, after whom the Chisholm Road was named. Wichita established itself as a major base along the main route for driving Texas cattle north to the railroads in Kansas. Known as the Chisholm Trail.

Wichita was not officially incorporated as a city until 1870, at which time it quickly gained the nickname “Cowtown” as it served as a destination for extensive cattle drives in the early 1870s. At that time, Delano, across the river, was the rowdy part of town notorious for cowboys, with saloons and dance halls.

Interestingly, the only woman to sign Wichita’s charter of incorporation in 1870, and one of the city’s first female entrepreneurs, was Catherine McCarty, the mother of the famous outlaw, Billy the Kid.

The arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1872 cemented Wichita’s role as a major cattle shipping center, but the cattle trade declined in Wichita and moved west (to Dodge City) by 1876 as farmers fenced the prairies.

The city boomed in the 1880s and 1890s, transforming into an economy focused on grain trading and milling.

Significant oil reserves were discovered around 1914-1918, leading to a population boom and a new era of wealth for the city. This allowed local entrepreneurs to invest in the then-nascent aircraft industry, earning Wichita the long-standing title of “Aviation Capital of the World.”

Companies such as Cessna, Beechcraft, and Stearman were founded in Wichita in the 1920s and 1930s, and Wichita – during World War II – became a major industrial center, notably producing thousands of B-29 bombers. Today the city remains at the heart of the American aircraft industry, producing the majority of the world’s general aviation aircraft. Wichita International Airport’s IATA code – ICT – has also been adopted by locals as a common and popular name for the city.

Another claim to fame is that Wichita is the birthplace of several nationally known companies, including White Castle (1921), the world’s first fast food hamburger chain, and Pizza Hut (1958). It is also home to Wichita State University (founded in 1895 as Vermont College) and other educational institutions, while its athletic prowess lies in the Wichita State Shockers basketball team (NCAA Division I), the Wichita Wind Surge minor league baseball team and the Wichita Thunder Minor League hockey team.

My walk up and down the river from my hotel this morning helped me get my bearings a bit, as did my exploration of the Old Town this afternoon, and while I know the above is only a very brief overview, I hope it has piqued your interest!

Let me know in the comments what I missed or what I should be sure to see during my time here…

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is the editor of the Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for over 30 years. He was awarded the Innovations in Travel “Top Travel Influencer” award by WIRED Magazine. In addition to other accolades, the blog has also been voted one of the world’s best travel blogs and ‘Best in Luxury’ by The Telegraph.