The geographical center of North America, Kansas is a major agricultural area, with vast areas of farmland. As highway signs remind travelers, ‘Every Kansas farmer feeds 75 people – and you.'
It was through Kansas that families on the Oregon and Santa Fe trails drove their wagons westwards in search of new homesteads, while cowboys on the Chisholm Trail drove vast herds of longhorns north in search of the railroads. To cater for the new population, cowtowns like Abilene and Dodge City were born, and as whites forced Native Americans to move westwards, fierce battles over land erupted. Later, feuds over Kansas’s maintenance of slavery gave rise to the term ‘Bleeding Kansas’.
Today, the State boasts many monuments to its Old West past, as well as numerous recreation centers, reservoirs and rivers offering all kinds of outdoor pursuits.
Next Page »
