Topeka, Kansas

Topeka is the state capital of Kansas. Though small in comparison to Wichita, the state's largest city, the capital is steeped in history. Topeka was one of the first cities founded in Kansas, and it played a significant role in the movement to abolish slavery in the 1800s and the struggle to integrate the public schools in the 1950s.

Landscape

The northern edge of Topeka sits along the Kansas River. The city is surrounded by an oak-hickory forest and is located in the center of several state forests and protected woodland areas. Lake Shawnee lies at the eastern border of the city, while Lake Sherwood is situated at the city's western border.

According to the US Census Bureau, the area of Topeka encompasses approximately sixty square miles. Downtown Topeka is arranged in an irregular grid, as many of the paved streets were laid over agricultural and hiking paths. Most of the city's historic buildings are located close to the state capitol building in the downtown area. The city is divided into several neighborhoods, including Oakland, Highland Park, Potwin, Shadywood, Clarion, Macfarland Farms, Westboro, Westwood, Tennessee Town, and College Hill.

Topeka is located in a temperate climatic zone with four distinct seasons. The average temperature ranges from 27 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 79 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. The city is known for its variations in weather; in 2007, Forbes magazine listed Topeka as having one of the largest variations in wind, temperature, and precipitation in the United States. On average, Topeka receives approximately thirty-five inches of rain and twenty-one inches of snow each year. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are not uncommon.

Topeka has been impacted by global warming and climate change. It experienced more extremely hot days than before. In 2017, the temperature rose to 117 degrees Fahrenheit. The liklihood of a heat wave in 2023 was 47 percent when 30 years ago, it was 22 percent. Higher temperature dry up bodies of water.

People

The US Census Bureau estimated the 2022 population of Topeka to be 125,449. While the city occupies less than one-fifth of Shawnee County, it contains more than 70 percent of the county's 178,264 residents. In 2022, 66.1 percent of Topeka residents were White, while Black or African Americans made up 10.2 percent of the population. Those who identified as Hispanic or Latino constituted 16.4 percent of the population. A relatively small number of Topeka residents were of Asian descent (1.8 percent) or identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native (0.7 percent).

Topeka is home to many cultural and agrarian festivals that celebrate the heartland lifestyle of the Midwest. These include the Cider Days Fall Festival, the Apple Festival, and the Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival, as well as festivals that celebrate the city's Mexican and American Indian heritages. Topeka is also host to the Shawnee County Fair, a predecessor to the Kansas State Fair.

Economy

Because Topeka is the state capital, the government is a significant industry, with the State of Kansas, the City of Topeka, the US government, and Shawnee County being the top employers in the city. Educational services, health care, social assistance, retail trade, and manufacturing are also major industries and employers.

Hill's Pet Nutrition and American Home Life Insurance are a couple of several national companies headquartered in Topeka. The city also serves as a manufacturing hub for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Reser's Fine Foods, and Frito-Lay. Topeka's location, at a major traffic and transportation intersection for Kansas, helps to maintain the city's role as a stopover for exports and imports into the state. A total of six highways and interstates converge in Topeka. The unemployment rate in Topeka was 2 percent in 2023.

Landmarks

Topeka's Constitution Hall was originally built in 1855 and is recognized as the first building built in Topeka. It is also famous as a site where runaway slaves were concealed along their journey through the Underground Railroad. On June 15, 2008, Constitution Hall was officially registered in the federal government's list of national historic sites.

Gage Park, a recreational park occupying 160 acres of manicured green space, is a popular recreational spot for residents. Visitors can watch theatrical performances at the Helen Hocker Theater or visit Blaisdell Family Aquatic Center to swim and enjoy other water activities. Gage Park also contains the Topeka Zoo, a small zoological park with collections of both domestic wildlife and animals from around the world.

The Kansas State Capitol Building, built in 1866, is constructed in the traditional capitol style, with a domed roof and carved marble exterior, borrowing heavily from the Italian Renaissance. The interior of the building is notable for the use of imported marble and native woods. The building's interior also contains a collection of paintings by John Steuart Curry, the state's most famous painter.

Monroe Elementary School in Topeka was designated as a national historic site in 1987 for its role in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. In 1950, the Kansas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organized a protest to an 1879 Kansas state law that allowed segregation of public schools. Thirteen families attempted to enroll students in segregated schools and were denied. They later took their case to court, eventually resulting in the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the previous decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, which allowed legal segregation of public educational institutions.

Topeka is also home to Heartland Park Topeka, a racing complex located at the southern edge of the city. The sports park contains a two-and-a-half-mile paved road course, a drag racing strip, and a three-eighths-mile dirt track for buggies and motorbikes. It is home to hundreds of races each year, and more than 250,000 patrons visit the park on an annual basis.

History

Before the arrival of settlers, the Kanza people, also known as the Kaw Nation, lived along the Kansas River (then called the Kaw River) and used the land surrounding Topeka for farming and animal husbandry. The first settlers in the area were French Canadian trappers, and they established the first native industry: ferrying travelers across the Kansas River. Topeka soon became part of the Oregon Trail, which was the best route from the Northeast to the Western territories.

Topeka was officially founded on December 5, 1854, when nine settlers drew up a document that became the charter of the Topeka Association, the organization responsible for founding the city. One of the nine founders, Cyrus Holliday, served as the first mayor of Topeka when the city was incorporated in 1857. The first bridge was constructed across the Kansas River the following year.

Kansas had difficulty obtaining statehood because the territorial government refused to allow slavery within state borders. Kansas was, at the time, one of the most outspoken of the free states that opposed the expansion of slavery. Kansas was admitted into the Union in 1861, becoming the thirty-fourth state, and Topeka was established as the state capital.

Topeka soon became a major hub for the Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Missouri Pacific, and Achinson Railroads. The arrival of the railroads ensured the growth of the city and bolstered the local economy. The railroads completed construction on a westward path through Topeka in 1869.

The Kansas River flooded in the spring of 1903, resulting in twenty-nine deaths and more than $4 million in property damage. In the wake of the flood, many settlers rebuilt farther from the banks of the river, and the city invested in a series of dikes to prevent future flooding.

World War II brought major changes to the local economy as agricultural production began to wane and the city invested in expanding the industrial manufacturing industry. The first of the major manufacturing companies arrived in the early 1940s. Between 1940 and 1960, Topeka successfully transitioned into a prominent manufacturing center.

Topeka spent more than $1 billion on renovations in the 1990s to modernize the city. The construction of the motorsports center and new retail districts were intended to strengthen the economy. In the early twenty-first century, Topeka's economy remained relatively stable. The city undertook additional revitalization efforts in the 2010s, particularly along South Kansas Avenue, where patios, pavilions, public art, and parks were created. A community plaza with performance space and ice rink were also planned.

A mural honoring the Brown v. Board case was installed in the capitol building in 2018 to mark the sixty-fourth anniversary of that landmark court ruling.

Bibliography

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Gaylord, Kristina. "Shawnee County, Kansas." Kansapedia. Kansas Hist. Soc., July 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

"History & Landmarks of Topeka." City of Topeka, KS. City of Topeka, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

Hoots, Greg A. Topeka. Charleston: Arcadia, 2010. Print.

Hrenchi, Tim. "Eastern Kansas Will See Dangerously High Temperatures by 2053, A New Climate Study Predicts." Topeka Capital-Journal, 21 Aug. 2022, www.cjonline.com/story/news/state/2022/08/21/eastern-kansas-become-part-extreme-heat-belt-2053-climate-study-says/10349632002/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

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"The New Downtown Topeka." Visit Topeka, www.visittopeka.com/about-topeka/downtown-redevelopment. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024. "Topeka (City), Kansas." Quick Facts. US Census, 1 July 2023, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/topekacitykansas/PST045222 Accessed 22 Feb. 2024..