Editing Sumner County, Kansas (section)

==History==

===Early history===
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
For many [[millennia]], the [[Great Plains]] of [[North America]] was inhabited by [[nomadic]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. From the 16th century to 18th century, the [[Kingdom of France]] claimed ownership of large parts of [[North America]]. In 1762, after the [[French and Indian War]], France secretly ceded [[New France]] to [[Spain]], per the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]]. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles.

In 1803, most of the land for [[History of Kansas|modern day Kansas]] was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile [[Louisiana Purchase]] for 2.83 [[Penny (United States coin)|cents]] per [[acre]]. In 1848, after the [[Mexican–American War]], the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] with [[Spain]] brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas. In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th [[U.S. state]].

===19th century===
On February 26, 1867, Sumner County was created from parts of [[Marion County, Kansas|Marion]] and [[Butler County, Kansas|Butler counties]]. It was named in honor of [[Charles Sumner]], a [[List of United States Senators from Massachusetts|U.S. Senator from Massachusetts]] (1811–74), who was a strong advocate of Kansas becoming a [[slave state|free state]].

In 1887, the [[Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway]] built a branch line north–south from [[Herington, Kansas|Herington]] to [[Caldwell, Kansas|Caldwell]].<ref name="Rock Island Rail History">{{Cite web |url=http://home.covad.net/~scicoatnsew/rihist4.htm |title=Rock Island Rail History |access-date=April 18, 2011 |archive-date=June 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110619230000/http://home.covad.net/~scicoatnsew/rihist4.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>  This branch line connected Herington, [[Lost Springs, Kansas|Lost Springs]], [[Lincolnville, Kansas|Lincolnville]], [[Antelope, Kansas|Antelope]], [[Marion, Kansas|Marion]], [[Aulne, Kansas|Aulne]], [[Peabody, Kansas|Peabody]], [[Elbing, Kansas|Elbing]], [[Whitewater, Kansas|Whitewater]], [[Furley, Kansas|Furley]], [[Kechi, Kansas|Kechi]], [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]], [[Peck, Kansas|Peck]], [[Corbin, Kansas|Corbin]], [[Wellington, Kansas|Wellington]] and Caldwell. By 1893, this branch line was incrementally built to [[Fort Worth, Texas]]. This line is called the "OKT". The [[Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway]] was foreclosed in 1891 and was taken over by [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway]], which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as [[Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad]], merged in 1988 with [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]], and finally merged in 1997 with [[Union Pacific Railroad]]. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

===21st century===
In December 2011, the Kansas Star Casino opened approximately {{convert|4.5|mi|km}} west of the center of [[Mulvane, Kansas|Mulvane]], adjacent to an exit on the [[Kansas Turnpike]] that was added in the mid-1980s. The casino is located just west of the turnpike exit.<ref>[http://www.kansas.com/2011/12/07/2131706/kansas-star-casino-plans-to-open.html Kansas Star Casino Plans To Open; ''The Wichita Eagle''; December 7, 2011.]</ref>