Editing Wichita, Kansas (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Wichita, Kansas|Timeline of Wichita, Kansas}}

===Early history===
{{See also|History of Kansas#Prehistory|label 1=Early Kansas History}}
Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence of the [[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] and [[Little Arkansas River]]s, the site of present-day Wichita, as early as 3000 BC.<ref>{{cite web | title = Grove Park Archaeological Site | publisher = Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgwick County | url = http://www.historicpreservationalliance.com/WichitaHPA/grove.html | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref> In 1541, a [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish]] expedition led by explorer [[Francisco Vázquez de Coronado]] found the area populated by the [[Wichita people|Quivira, or Wichita, people]]. Conflict with the [[Osage Nation|Osage]] in the 1750s drove the Wichita further south.<ref name=Brooks>{{cite encyclopedia | last = Brooks | first = Robert L. | title = Wichitas | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | publisher = [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln]] | url = http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.na.127 | access-date = March 21, 2014}}</ref> Prior to [[European settlement of North America|European settlement]] of the region, the site was in the territory of the [[Kiowa people|Kiowa]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Sturtevant | first = William C.| title = Early Indian Tribes, Culture Areas, and Linguistic Stocks [Map] | publisher = [[Smithsonian Institution]] | date = 1967 | url = http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/early_indian_west.jpg | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Darius S. Munger House. Wichita, KS.JPG|thumb|right|Darius Sales Munger House, built in 1868, is the oldest surviving building in Wichita (at [[Old Cowtown Museum]]).<ref>[https://www.oldcowtown.org/CB/Pages/DAR-and-the-Munger-House.aspx The Munger House]</ref>]]

Claimed first by [[Kingdom of France|France]] as part of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] and later acquired by the United States with the [[Louisiana Purchase]] in 1803, it became part of [[Kansas Territory]] in 1854 and then the state of Kansas in 1861.<ref>{{cite web | title = Louisiana Purchase | work = Kansapedia | publisher = [[Kansas Historical Society]] | url = http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/louisiana-purchase/17876 | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Kansas Territory | work = Kansapedia | publisher = [[Kansas Historical Society]] | url = http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-territory/14701 | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref>

The Wichita people returned in 1863, driven from their land in [[Indian Territory]] by [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] forces in the [[American Civil War]], and established a settlement on the banks of the Little Arkansas.<ref name=WichitaTribe>{{cite web | title = Days of Darkness: 1820-1934 | publisher = Wichita and Affiliated Tribes | url = http://www.wichitatribe.com/history/days-of-darkness-1820-1934.aspx | access-date = April 30, 2019}}</ref><ref name=Sowers>{{cite web | last = Sowers | first = Fred A. | title = Early History of Wichita | work = History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas | publisher = C.F. Cooper & Co. | location = [[Chicago]] | date = 1910 | url = http://history.rays-place.com/ks/se-wichita-early.htm | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name=TSHA>{{cite HOT |first=Earl H. |last=Elam |title=Wichita Indians |id=bmw03 |date=June 15, 2010}}</ref> During this period, trader [[Jesse Chisholm]] established a trading post at the site, one of several along a trail extending south to [[Texas]] which became known as the [[Chisholm Trail]].<ref name=Howell>{{cite book | last1 = Howell | first1 = Angela | last2 = Vines | first2 = Peg | date = 1995 | title = The Insider's Guide to Wichita | location = Wichita, Kansas | publisher = [[The Wichita Eagle|Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing]]}}</ref> In 1867, after the war, the Wichita returned to Indian Territory.<ref name=WichitaTribe/>

In 1868, trader [[James R. Mead (pioneer)|James R. Mead]] was among a group of investors who established a town company, and surveyor Darius Munger built a log structure for the company to serve as a hotel, community center, and post office.<ref name=ChamberHistory>{{cite web | title = History of Wichita | publisher = Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce | url = http://wichitachamber.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-history_of_wichita.php | access-date = March 21, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150316231445/http://wichitachamber.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-history_of_wichita.php | archive-date = March 16, 2015 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=Midtown>{{cite web|title=Midtown Neighborhood Plan |publisher=Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department |url=http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/NR%20Documents/Midtown%20Neighborhood%20Plan.pdf |date=2004 |access-date=March 21, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205030428/http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/NR%20Documents/Midtown%20Neighborhood%20Plan.pdf |archive-date=February 5, 2016 }}</ref> Business opportunities attracted area hunters and traders, and a new settlement began to form. That summer, Mead and others organized the Wichita Town Company, naming the settlement after the Wichita tribe.<ref name=Sowers/> In 1870, Munger and [[German people|German]] immigrant William "Dutch Bill" Greiffenstein filed plats laying out the city's first streets.<ref name=Midtown/> Wichita formally [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] as a city on July 21, 1870.<ref name=ChamberHistory/>

[[File:Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Sedgwick County.png|thumb|right|A 1915 railroad map of Sedgwick County, showing many railroads that previously passed through Wichita]]

Wichita's position on the Chisholm Trail made it a destination for [[cattle drive]]s traveling north from Texas to access railroads, which led to markets in eastern U.S. cities.<ref name=Howell/><ref name=Miner>{{cite book | last = Miner | first = Craig | title = Wichita: The Magic City | date = 1988 | location = Wichita, Kansas | publisher = Wichita Historical Museum Association}}</ref> The [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] reached the city in 1872.<ref name=OldTown>{{cite web | title = Oldtown History | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://www.oldtownwichita.com/oldtown-history | access-date = March 21, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090119213801/http://www.oldtownwichita.com/oldtown-history | archive-date = January 19, 2009 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> As a result, Wichita became a railhead for the cattle drives, earning it the nickname "Cowtown".<ref name=Howell/><ref name=Miner/> Across the Arkansas River, the town of [[Delano, Wichita, Kansas|Delano]] became an entertainment destination for cattlemen thanks to its saloons, brothels, and lack of law enforcement.<ref name=Delano>{{cite web | title = Delano's Colorful History | publisher = Historic Delano, Inc. | url = http://www.historicdelano.com/HistoricDelano/history.php | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref>

[[James Earp]] ran a brothel with his wife Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum. His brother [[Wyatt Earp|Wyatt]] was likely a pimp, although historian Gary L. Roberts believes that he was an enforcer or bouncer.<ref name="wyatt_earp_americanexperience_pbs">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/wyatt/ "Wyatt Earp"], ''American Experience'' history series,  aired January 25, 2010, ''[[Public Broadcasting System|PBS]],'' retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> Local arrest records show that Nellie, and Earp's common-law wife Sally,  managed a brothel there from early 1874 to the middle of 1876.<ref name="OKCorral">{{cite web|title=Gunfight at the OK Corral – The Aftermath – Part One|url=http://www.americancowboychronicles.com/2012/11/gunfight-at-ok-corral-aftermath-part-one.html|access-date=May 16, 2015|first1=Tom|last1=Correa|date=November 27, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103543/http://www.americancowboychronicles.com/2012/11/gunfight-at-ok-corral-aftermath-part-one.html|archive-date=May 18, 2015}}</ref> The area had a reputation for violence until Wyatt officially joined the Wichita marshal's office on April 21, 1875, making $100 per month. He was hired after the election of Mike Meagher as city marshal.<ref name=Howell/><ref name=Miner/> Together they brought law enforcement to Delano.

By the middle of the decade, the cattle trade had moved west to [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]].

Wichita annexed Delano in 1880.<ref name=Delano/>

Rapid immigration resulted in a [[Speculation|speculative]] land boom in the late 1880s, stimulating further expansion of the city. Fairmount College, which eventually grew into [[Wichita State University]], opened in 1886; Garfield University, which eventually became [[Friends University]], opened in 1887.<ref>{{cite web | title = History of Wichita State University | publisher = [[Wichita State University]] | url = http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=aboutwsu&p=/wsu_history_long/ | access-date = March 26, 2015 | archive-date = June 29, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170629083703/http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=aboutwsu&p=%2Fwsu_history_long%2F | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = History | publisher = [[Friends University]] | url = http://www.friends.edu/history | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> By 1890, Wichita had become the third-largest city in the state after [[Kansas City, Kansas|Kansas City]], and [[Topeka, Kansas|Topeka]], with a population of nearly 24,000.<ref name=Decennial>{{cite web | title = Census of Population and Housing | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | url = https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> After the boom, however, the city entered an economic recession, and many of the original settlers went bankrupt.<ref>{{cite web | title = Overview | work = Delano Neighborhood Plan | publisher = City of Wichita, Kansas | url = http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/Pages/Delano.aspx | access-date = March 26, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130806044846/http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/Pages/Delano.aspx | archive-date = August 6, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref>

===20th century===
In 1914 and 1915, deposits of [[petroleum|oil]] and [[natural gas]] were discovered in nearby [[Butler County, Kansas|Butler County]]. This triggered another economic boom in Wichita as producers established refineries, fueling stations, and headquarters in the city.<ref name=Price>{{cite book|last1=Price|first1=Jay M.|title=El Dorado : legacy of an oil boom|date=2005|publisher=Arcadia|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=978-0738539713}}</ref> By 1917, five operating refineries were in Wichita, with another seven built in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web | title = Petroleum Refining: A 125 Year Kansas Legacy | publisher = Kansas Department of Health and Environment | url = http://www.kdheks.gov/remedial/articles/refining_history.pdf | access-date = March 19, 2015 | archive-date = January 27, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180127115436/http://www.kdheks.gov/remedial/articles/refining_history.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> The careers and fortunes of future oil moguls Archibald Derby, who later founded [[Derby Oil]], and [[Fred C. Koch]], who established what would become [[Koch Industries]], both began in Wichita during this period.<ref name=Price/><ref>{{cite news | last = Dilsaver | first = Dick | title = Fred Koch, Industrialist, Dies in Utah | publisher = The Wichita Beacon | date = November 18, 1967}}</ref>

The money generated by the oil boom enabled local entrepreneurs to invest in the nascent [[Aerospace manufacturer|airplane-manufacturing]] industry. In 1917, [[Clyde Cessna]] built his [[Cessna Comet]] in Wichita, the first aircraft built in the city. In 1920, two local oilmen invited [[Chicago]] aircraft builder [[Emil Matthew Laird|Emil "Matty" Laird]] to manufacture his designs in Wichita, leading to the formation of the [[Swallow Airplane Company]]. Two early Swallow employees, [[Lloyd Stearman]] and [[Walter Beech]], went on to found two prominent Wichita-based companies, [[Stearman Aircraft]] in 1926 and [[Beechcraft]] in 1932, respectively. Cessna, meanwhile, started [[Cessna|his own company]] in Wichita in 1927.<ref name=Harris>{{cite web | last = Harris | first = Richard | title = The Air Capital Story: Early General Aviation & Its Manufacturers | publisher = In Flight USA | url = http://harris1.net/hold/av/avhist/wichita/aircap_x.htm | date = 2002}}</ref> The city became such a center of the industry that the [[Aerospace Industries Association|Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce]] dubbed it the "Air Capital of the World" in 1929.<ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag" /><ref>{{cite book | title = Aeronautical Yearbook, 1929 | publisher = Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Harrow | first = Christopher | title = How is Wichita, Kansas the "Air Capital of the World"? | publisher = International Aviation HQ | url = https://internationalaviationhq.com/2020/02/29/air-capital-of-the-world | date = February 29, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Boeing-Whichata B-29 Assembly Line - 1944.jpg|thumb|[[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|Boeing B-29]] assembly line (1944)]]

Over the following decades, aviation and aircraft manufacturing continued to drive expansion of the city. In 1934, Stearman's Wichita facilities became part of [[Boeing]], which would become the city's largest employer.<ref name=Boeing>{{cite news | last = Tanner | first = Beccy | title = Boeing's Wichita history dates to 1927 | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = January 5, 2012 | url = http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article1083751.html | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> Initial construction of [[Kansas Aviation Museum|Wichita Municipal Airport]] finished southeast of the city in 1935. During [[World War II]], the site hosted Wichita Army Airfield and Boeing Airplane Company Plant No. 1.<ref name=Museum>{{cite web | title = History of the Building | date = June 9, 2014 | publisher = [[Kansas Aviation Museum]] | url = http://kansasaviationmuseum.org/about/history-of-the-building/ | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> The city experienced a population explosion during the war when it became a major manufacturing center for the [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|Boeing B-29]] bomber. The wartime city quickly grew from 110,000 to 184,000 residents, drawing aircraft workers from throughout the central U.S.<ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag" /><ref>Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II'', pp. 297-300, 307-8, 314-318, 321, Random House, New York, NY, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref> In 1951, the [[U.S. Air Force]] announced plans to assume control of the airport to establish [[McConnell Air Force Base]]. By 1954, all nonmilitary air traffic had shifted to the new [[Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport|Wichita Mid-Continent Airport]] west of the city.<ref name=Museum/> In 1962, [[Learjet|Lear Jet Corporation]] opened with its plant adjacent to the new airport.<ref name=Learjet>{{cite web | title = Learjet: A Brief History | publisher = [[Bombardier Inc.]] | url = http://us.bombardier.com/us/library/documents/Learjet_History_Backgrounder_01_08.pdf | date = January 2008 | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:FirstPizzaHut.jpg|thumb|The original [[Pizza Hut]] building, which was moved to the campus of [[Wichita State University]] (2004)]]

Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, several other prominent businesses and brands had their origins in Wichita. A. A. Hyde founded health-care products maker [[Mentholatum]] in Wichita in 1889.<ref name=Miner2>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Wichita, Kansas | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | publisher = [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln]] | url = http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ct.055 | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = [[Mentholatum]] | url = http://us.mentholatum.com/about-us/ | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> Sporting goods and camping-gear retailer [[Coleman Company|Coleman]] started in the city in the early 1900s.<ref name=Miner2/><ref>{{cite web | title = First Light (1900-1929) | publisher = [[Coleman Company]] | url = http://www.coleman.com/FirstLight/ | access-date = March 28, 2015 | archive-date = March 18, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130318011659/http://www.coleman.com/FirstLight | url-status = dead }}</ref> A number of [[fast-food]] franchises started in Wichita, beginning with [[White Castle (restaurant)|White Castle]] in 1921 and followed by many more in the 1950s and 1960s including [[Pizza Hut]] in 1958. In the 1970s and 1980s, the city became a regional center of health care and medical research.<ref name=Miner2/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kieler |first1=Ashlee |title=The White Castle Story: The Birth Of Fast Food & The Burger Revolution |url=https://consumerist.com/2015/07/14/the-white-castle-story-the-birth-of-fast-food-the-burger-revolution/ |website=Consumerist.com |date=July 14, 2015 |access-date=April 27, 2020}}</ref>

Wichita has been a focal point of national political controversy multiple times in its history. In 1900, famous [[Temperance movement|temperance]] extremist [[Carrie Nation]] struck in Wichita upon learning the city was not enforcing Kansas's [[prohibition]] ordinance.<ref name=Miner2/> The [[Dockum Drug Store sit-in]] took place in the city in 1958 with protesters pushing for [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]].<ref>{{cite news | title = Bronze Sculpture of Lunch Counter for Downtown Park is Tribute to Civil Rights Activists | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = February 4, 1998 | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WE&s_site=kansas&p_multi=WE&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB5757CA77774B0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> In 1991, thousands of anti-abortion protesters blockaded and held sit-ins at Wichita abortion clinics, particularly the clinic of [[George Tiller]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Wilkerson | first = Isabel | title = Drive Against Abortion Finds a Symbol: Wichita | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = August 4, 1991 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/04/us/drive-against-abortion-finds-a-symbol-wichita.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> Tiller was later murdered in Wichita by [[Assassination of George Tiller|Scott Roeder]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Davey | first1 = Monica | last2 = Stumpe | first2 = Joe | title = Abortion Doctor Shot to Death in Kansas Church | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = May 31, 2009 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/us/01tiller.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref>

===21st century===
Except for a slow period in the 1970s, Wichita has continued to grow steadily into the 21st century.<ref name=Decennial/> In the late 1990s and 2000s, the city government and local organizations began collaborating to redevelop downtown Wichita and older neighborhoods in the city.<ref name=Midtown/><ref name=Delano/><ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Downtown Development Corp. | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://oldtownwichita.com/wichita-downtown-development-corp | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> [[Intrust Bank Arena]] opened downtown in 2010.<ref>{{cite news | last = Neil | first = Denise | title = After 5 years, Intrust Bank Arena still battles image problem | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = December 6, 2014 | url = http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article4315689.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref>

Boeing ended its operations in Wichita in 2014.<ref>{{cite news | last = McMillin | first = Molly | title = End of an era: Boeing in final stages of leaving Wichita | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = July 29, 2014 | url = http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article1153168.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> However, the city remains a national center of aircraft manufacturing with other companies including [[Spirit AeroSystems]] and [[Airbus]] maintaining facilities in Wichita.<ref name=ChamberHistory/><ref>{{cite web | title = Airbus Americas | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://www.oldtownwichita.com/airbus-americas | access-date = March 28, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131910/http://www.oldtownwichita.com/airbus-americas | archive-date = April 2, 2015 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref>

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport was officially renamed Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport after the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Kansas native and U.S. President]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite news | last = Siebenmark | first = Jerry | title = Eisenhower's granddaughter helps Wichita rename its airport | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | url = http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article8152866.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref>

Despite the city's prominence in aircraft manufacturing, Wichita's airport remained a mere regional hub for many years, while Kansas lingered in the shadow of adjacent Missouri and Oklahoma.<ref name="Draper">{{cite news |last1=Draper |first1=Kevin |title=How the D.C. Plane Crash Shattered Wichita’s Big Dreams of Skating and Flight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/us/wichita-figure-skaters-plane-crash.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 31, 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>  Local residents needed to drive several hours to the international airports serving [[Kansas City International Airport|Kansas City, Missouri]] or [[OKC Will Rogers International Airport|Oklahoma City]] if they wished to take direct flights to long-distance destinations.<ref name="Draper" />  In 2024, civic leaders finally succeeded in fulfilling two longstanding goals towards raising the city's prominence: establishing direct passenger air service to the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] and hosting a major sporting event.<ref name="Draper" /> [[American Airlines Group]] initiated direct service to [[Washington, D.C.]] with a regular [[American Eagle (airline brand)|American Eagle]] flight to [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport|National Airport]], and [[U.S. Figure Skating]] selected Wichita to host the [[2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships]].<ref name="Draper" />  On January 28, 2025, 28 members of the U.S. figure skating community<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2025 |title=Remembering 28 U.S. figure skating community members who died on flight 5342 |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/remembering-us-figure-skating-members |access-date=February 4, 2025 |website=[[NBC Sports]] |last=Zaccardi |first=Nick}}</ref> returning from the championships on the American Eagle flight died in a [[2025 Potomac River mid-air collision|mid-air collision over the Potomac River]].<ref name="Draper" />