Wichita << WIHCH uh `taw` >> (pop. 397,532; met. area pop. 647,610) is the largest city in Kansas. It serves as a major manufacturing center and as the distribution center for a large farm region that produces dairy products, grain, and livestock. Wichita is called the Air Capital of the World. It ranks as one of the world’s largest producers of general aviation aircraft. These aircraft include small planes that are used for business, recreation, and flight training.
Wichita lies in south-central Kansas where the Arkansas and the Little Arkansas rivers meet. The city is named after the Wichita Indians.
The city
covers 162 square miles (420 square kilometers) and is the county seat of Sedgwick County. The Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center covers more than 17 acres (7 hectares) east of the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita. The center includes a concert hall, exhibition halls, and a theater. The A. Price Woodard Park—with fountains, trees, waterfalls, and an outdoor amphitheater—lies between Century II and the river. Wichita’s old city hall, built in 1892, still stands in the downtown area. Its architectural design and towers attract many tourists. Today, the building houses the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum. 
Economy.
Wichita is the largest manufacturing center in Kansas. The metropolitan area is home to hundreds of manufacturing plants. The production of business and defense aircraft is the major industry. Wichita is also the petroleum capital of Kansas. Oil fields lie just outside the city, and many oil companies have offices or refineries in Wichita. Other industries produce chemicals, camping and recreational equipment, metal products, computers, and plastics.
Wichita is a regional medical center. The city has a number of hospitals, including one operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is southwest of the downtown area of the city. Wichita has one daily newspaper, The Wichita Eagle.
Education and cultural life.
Wichita has the largest public school system in Kansas. Parochial and private schools also provide education for many students in the area. Wichita State University is one of the largest schools of higher education in the state. The university is known for its National Institute for Aviation Research and its speech-language pathology and audiology program. Heartspring, previously known as the Institute of Logopedics, is a nationally known school that serves children with communication disorders. Friends University and Newman University (formerly Sacred Heart College) are also in Wichita. The city’s public library system consists of a central library and several branches.
The Wichita Symphony Orchestra performs at the Century II Concert Hall. The professional Music Theatre Wichita stages musicals each summer.
The Old Cowtown Museum re-creates frontier Wichita of the 1870’s. The city’s art museums include Mark Arts (formerly the Wichita Center for the Arts), the Wichita Art Museum, and the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University. The Wichita Art Museum houses the famous Roland P. Murdock Collection, one of the nation’s largest collections of American art.
Wichita’s public park system includes many parks. Pawnee Prairie, the largest park in the city, covers over 600 acres (243 hectares). Chisholm Creek Park includes native and restored prairie habitats. The Sedgwick County Zoo lies on the northwest border of the city.
Government.
Wichita has a council-manager form of government. The six City Council members and a mayor are elected to four-year terms. The council appoints a city manager to carry out its policies.
History.
According to local legend, Spanish explorers passed through the Wichita area as early as the mid-1500’s. French traders set up trade links with local Indians in the 1700’s. American traders entered the area in 1863 to trade with the Plains Indians. The Wichita Indians, an Oklahoma tribe, were moved to the area in 1864 by the United States government during the American Civil War (1861-1865). In 1870, the settlement was incorporated as a town. The Wichita and Southwestern Railroad (now part of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation) began to serve Wichita in 1872, and the town soon became an important shipping point for cattle. Cowboys drove Texas longhorn cattle along the Chisholm Trail, fattened them on Kansas grass, and shipped them from Wichita to distant markets.
During the late 1880’s, Wichita became known for its cowboys, dance halls, gambling, and saloons. Wyatt Earp, the famous frontier lawman, served as a peace officer in the town in the mid-1870’s. Although Wichita gained attention for lawlessness, the people also built churches, a library, schools, and some industry, including a brick plant and a meat-packing plant.
Wichita received a city charter in 1886. The population of the community grew from 4,911 in 1880 to 23,853 in 1890. Much of this growth resulted from land speculation.
The discovery of oil in the Wichita area during the early 1900’s brought further growth. The city’s population rose from 24,671 in 1900 to 111,110 in 1930. In 1919, Wichita’s first airplane manufacturing company built its factory. Wichita soon became the nation’s aircraft production center. The city won fame for its pioneers in the industry, including Walter H. Beech, Clyde V. Cessna, and Lloyd C. Stearman. The city also became known for its entrepreneurs in other fields. The White Castle hamburger chain was founded there in 1921. In the 1950’s, two Wichita brothers founded the Pizza Hut franchise.
The prospering aircraft and oil industries helped Wichita avoid hard times during the 1930’s. The rest of the Kansas region suffered during those years from dust storms and the Great Depression.
During World War II (1939-1945), Wichita’s three airplane factories produced more military aircraft than any other U.S. city. After the war, Wichita continued to rank among the leading producers of jet bombers for the Air Force. In 1951, McConnell Air Force Base opened in Wichita. Aircraft production soared again during the Korean War (1950-1953). In the early 1960’s, the Gates Learjet Corporation (later Bombardier Learjet) built a plant there. The plant and others helped Wichita become one of the world’s largest producers of general aviation aircraft. The city’s population grew from about 115,000 in 1940 to about 255,000 in 1960.
Wichita became part of the national civil rights struggle in 1958. That year, people from a local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) staged what many consider the first successful lunch-counter sit-in to protest discrimination.
Beginning in the mid-1900’s, Wichita became known as the home of a number of outstanding sports figures. The area’s sports standouts included basketball’s Ralph Miller and Lynette Woodard, running’s Jim Ryun, and football’s Barry Sanders.
In 1987, the Epic Center, the tallest building in Kansas, was completed in Wichita. The 22-story building rises 325 feet (99 meters). Also in 1987, a 10-acre (4-hectare) garden complex called Botanica opened. The Intrust Bank Arena, which holds music and sporting events, opened in downtown Wichita in 2010. The city’s population grew considerably in the late 1900’s and early decades of the 2000’s.
