Editing Parsons, Kansas (section)

==History==
[[File:'Parsons, Kansas, Forest & First Avenue' by Jules Tavernier, 1873.jpg|thumb|left|1873 Forest Avenue, now Broadway Avenue]]
[[File:Main Street, Parsons, KS.jpg|thumb|left|1908 Main Street]]

Parsons was named after Levi Parsons, president of the [[Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad|Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ | title=Biennial Report of the Board of Directors of the Kansas State Historical Society | publisher=Kansas State Printing Plant | author=Kansas State Historical Society | year=1916 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ/page/n326 219]}}</ref> The town was founded in 1870 and [[Incorporated town|incorporated]] the following year by the railroad. The location for the town was chosen because it was on a flat ridge between the Labette Creek and Little Labette Creek and provided an ideal site for where the two branches of the railroad being built from [[Junction City, Kansas]] and [[Sedalia, Missouri]] would meet. The creeks were soon dammed to provide a water source. The railroad commenced building a massive rail yard, foundry, and locomotive shop at Parsons; for many years this was the third largest railroad facility west of the [[Mississippi River]], with only [[Kansas City]] and [[Los Angeles]] being larger. Settlers from nearby towns uprooted and moved to Parsons, and new settlers arrived on every incoming train.  Parsons soon became a major hub for several railroads, including the [[Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad]], the [[Kansas City and Pacific Railroad#Parsons and Pacific Railroad|Parsons and Pacific Railroad]], the [[Kansas City and Pacific Railroad]], and the [[List of predecessors of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway|Memphis, Kansas & Colorado Railroad]]. In the early part of the twentieth century, Parsons operated its own [[Tram|street car system]], and also had an [[Interurban|interurban electric railroad]] connecting it to the nearby cities of [[Cherryvale, Kansas|Cherryvale]], [[Independence, Kansas|Independence]], [[Coffeyville, Kansas|Coffeyville]], and [[Nowata, Oklahoma|Nowata]].  During [[World War II]] it was home to the Kansas Ordnance Plant, which later operated for some years as the [[Kansas Army Ammunition Plant]]. In Spring of 2005, the munitions plant was placed on the [[2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission|BRAC]] list for closure. The community has rallied behind the current plant operator, [[Day & Zimmermann|Day & Zimmerman]], to keep the company on the grounds after closure and to keep those jobs and more in the Parsons area. (See link to "Great Plains Industrial Park" in "External Links", below)

===Hospitals===
Parsons is also home to the Parsons State Hospital & Training Center, which has been in operation since 1903 when it was opened as the Kansas State Hospital for Epileptics.<ref name=Parsons.Salina2020>{{cite news |newspaper=Salina Post
   |url=https://salinapost.com/posts/5e8bd03deb7f17053601db40
   |title=Staff members, patient have coronavirus at State Hospital
   |date=April 7, 2020}}</ref>

In 1957 the hospital was renamed Parsons State Hospital and Training Center.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://kgi.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16884coll96/id/16/
|title=Biennial Reports of the State Hospital for Epileptics at Parsons}}</ref> At that time it began providing programs for individuals with [[developmental disabilities]]. The Hospital occupies 43 buildings on {{convert|163|acre|km2}}. The hospital also includes residential services, the University Center on Developmental Disabilities and the Parsons Research Center for the [[University of Kansas]], the Special Purpose School of the Southeast Regional Education Service Center. The Southeast Kansas Agricultural Research Center of [[Kansas State University]] is also located on the grounds, as is the [[Alzheimer's Association]], Heart of America Chapter, Southeast Kansas Regional Office.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}

Parsons is also home to [[Labette Health|Labette County Medical Center]].

===Library===
The first library began as a subscription library in 1904 and was located in city hall.  Parsons Public Library, a [[Carnegie library]], opened on May 18, 1909. A new library opened on April 18, 1977,<ref name="About Us">{{cite web | url=http://parsons.mykansaslibrary.org/?page_id=37 | title=About Us | publisher=Parsons Public Library | access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref> and the [[Carnegie Library (Parsons, Kansas)|former library]] has since been renovated to become a visual and performing arts center.

===Industry===
The sale of [[Katy Industries]] to [[Union Pacific]], in 1988, eventually saw the loss of scores of railroad jobs and, in effect, severed a major part of Parsons' city history which stretched back to its 1871 incorporation.  While, in return, the city received a million dollars to help it recover (and so that it would not file lengthy paperwork opposing the sale and thus delaying it), that money is kept in a fund by the city government, which uses the accrued interest on economic development projects. The only reminder of the [[Katy Railroad]] is now found in the local historical society's museum, the annual [[Katy Days Festival]]<ref>{{cite web |title=KatyDays.com |url=http://www.katydays.com/index.html |website=Katy Days |access-date=June 22, 2019}}</ref> and of course the tracks, over which trains now speed through Parsons. The [[Kansas Army Ammunition Plant]] also was down scaled in the 1980s.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}

===2000-2020===
On April 19, 2000, an [[F3 tornado]] cut a devastating path of destruction through the center of Parsons.  About 700 homes were damaged and about 100 destroyed, about 60 businesses were damaged and 11 destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_766bd7ab-ac5d-58ee-b958-4e6eaa9a8e82.html|title=Tornado changed face of Parsons|date=2019-04-19|website=Parsons Sun|language=en|access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref>

On June 5, 2006 the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] named Parsons a 2006 Great American Main Street Award winner for its successful efforts in revitalizing its downtown area through historic preservation.  The award was presented during the 2006 National Main Streets Conference in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]].  Parsons was one of only five cities receiving the 2006 award.<ref>{{cite web |title=Main Street America - Winners |url=https://www.mainstreet.org/mainstreetamerica/mainstreetawards/winners |website=Main Street America |access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref>
 
Parsons is the home of [[Dwayne's Photo]], which became the last processor of [[K-14 process|K-14]] [[Kodachrome]] film in the world<ref name="Sulzberger">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/us/30film.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | first=A. G. | last=Sulzberger | title=For Kodachrome Fans, Road Ends at Photo Lab in Kansas | date=December 29, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kansas.com/2010/07/14/1403115/last-kodachrome-roll-processed.html |title=Last Kodachrome roll processed in Parsons &#124; Wichita Eagle |access-date=2011-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408044418/http://www.kansas.com/2010/07/14/1403115/last-kodachrome-roll-processed.html |archive-date=2014-04-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was the location of the final frame taken on the final roll of Kodachrome film produced.<ref name="Sulzberger"/> Parsons is featured prominently in the plot of the 2017 [[Netflix]] movie ''[[Kodachrome (film)|Kodachrome]]'' about a man who takes a [[road trip]] to develop a roll of Kodachrome film.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/article207339649.html|title=New Netflix movie 'Kodachrome' brings attention to Kansas|newspaper=[[The Wichita Eagle]]|author=Alanis, Kaitlyn|date=April 1, 2018}}</ref>

===Film===
The motion picture ''[[ZombieGeddon]]'' (2003) was filmed in Parsons in July 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eofftv.com/z/zom/zombiegeddon_main.htm|title=ZombieGeddon Credits|access-date=Sep 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.google.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207014735/http://www.adamstarpictures.com/making_of_lost_souls.htm|url-status=dead|title=Google|archive-date=Feb 7, 2007|website=www.google.com|access-date=Sep 20, 2019}}</ref>

=== Newspaper ===
The [[Parsons Sun|''Parsons Sun'']] is a twice-weekly newspaper published in Parsons since 1871.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last= |first= |title=About The sun. [volume] (Parsons, Kansas) 1871-187? |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85031545/ |access-date=2024-11-22 |work=National Endowment for the Humanities}}</ref> At different times it was owned by [[Henry J. Allen]] and [[Clyde M. Reed]], who would both go on to serve as [[governor of Kansas]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-31 |title=Henry Justin Allen |url=https://www.nga.org/governor/henry-justin-allen/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2018-01-31 |title=Clyde Martin Reed |url=https://www.nga.org/governor/clyde-martin-reed/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=National Governors Association}}</ref>