 
Route 66 in Kansas:
Route 66 touched only the extreme southeast corner of
Kansas, and logged only about thirteen miles in doing so.
And, as if that weren't small enough, the Kansas portion of
Route 66 was completely bypassed early on. Route 66 passed
through the Kansas communities of Galena, Riverton, and
Baxter Springs. Galena has a museum of local history housed
in the old railroad depot building that can help provide
some background for your excursion in Kansas. Riverton is
home to the Eisler Brothers General Store, which has one of
the best selections of Route 66-related "stuff" anywhere.
A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38 feet in
circumference (around) and weighs more than 16,750 pounds... and is
still growing.
A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46
million bushels in its 1,000 bins.
South of Ashland the Rock Island Bridge is the longest
railroad bridge of its kind. It measures 1,200 feet long and
is 100 feet above the Cimarron River.
At Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine,
waterbeds for horses are used in surgery.
Kansas won the award for most beautiful license plate for
the wheat plate design issued in 1981.
Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States.
At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on
cherry pie in Kansas.
The first woman mayor in the United States was Susan Madora
Salter. She was elected to office in Argonia in 1887.
The first black woman to win an Academy Award was Kansan
Hattie McDaniel. She won the award for her role in "Gone
with the Wind."
Kansas inventors include Almon Stowger of El Dorado,
Kansas who
invented the dial telephone in 1889; William Purvis and
Charles Wilson of Goodland, Kansas who invented the helicopter in
1909; and Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville, Kansas who invented the first
frozen carbonated drink machine in 1961.
Smith County is the geographical center of the 48 contiguous
states.
Amelia Earhart, first woman granted a pilot's license by the
National Aeronautics Associate and first woman to fly solo
across the Atlantic Ocean was from Atchison.
Dwight D. Eisenhower from Abilene was the 34th President of
the United States.
Silent comedian Buster Keaton, of early film success, was
from Piqua, Kansas.
The three largest herds of buffalo (correctly called bison)
in Kansas are located on public lands at the Maxwell Game
Preserve (McPherson), Big Basin (Ashland), and Buffalo Game
Preserve (Garden City).
Fort Riley, between Junction City and Manhattan, was the
cradle of the United States Cavalry for 83 years. George
Custer formed the famed 7th Cavalry there in 1866. Ten years
later, at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the 7th was
virtually wiped out. The only Cavalry survivor was a horse
named Comanche.
Wyatt Earp, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok and William B.
"Bat" Masterson were three of the legendary lawmen who kept
the peace in rowdy frontier towns like Abilene, Dodge City,
Ellsworth, Hays, and Wichita.
The public swimming pool at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden
City occupies half a city block and holds 2 1/2 million
gallons of water.
Cedar Crest is the name of the governor's mansion in Topeka,
the state capital.
Barton County is the only Kansas County that is named for a
woman; the famous volunteer Civil War nurse Clara Barton.
The Arkansas River may be the only river whose pronunciation
changes as it crosses state lines. In Kansas, it is called
the Arkansas (ahr-KAN-zuhs). On both sides of Kansas
(Colorado and Oklahoma), it is called the Arkansaw.
Civil War veteran S.P. Dinsmoor used over 100 tons of
concrete to build the Garden of Eden in Lucas. Even the flag
above the mausoleum is made of concrete.
Handel's Messiah has been presented in Lindsborgeach at
Easter since 1889.
A monument to the first Christian martyr on United States
Territory stands along Highway 56 near Lyons. Father Juan de
Padilla came to the region with the explorer Coronado in
1541.
Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built
above some of the richest salt deposits in the world. Salt
is still actively mined, processed and shipped from
Hutchinson.
There are 27 Walnut Creeks in the state.
There are more than 600 incorporated towns in the state.
Morton County sells the most trout fishing stamps of all the
Kansas counties.
Fire Station No. 4 in Lawrence, originally a stone barn
constructed in 1858, was a station site on the Underground
Railroad.
The Hugoton Gas Field is the largest natural gas field in
the United States. It underlies all or parts of 10
southwestern Kansas counties as well as parts of Oklahoma
and Texas. The gas field underlies almost 8,500 square
miles, an area nearly 5 times as large as the state of Rhode
Island.
The Kansas Speleological Society has catalogued at least 528
caves in 37 Kansas counties. Commanche County has at least
128 caves and Barber County has at least 117 caves.
Kansas has the largest population of wild grouse in North
America. The grouse is commonly called the prairie chicken.
Milford Reservoir with over 16,000 acres of water is the
state's largest lake. The reservoir is located northwest of
Junction City.
The Geodetic Center of North America is about 40 miles south
of Lebanon at Meade's Ranch. It is the beginning point of
reference for land surveying in North America. When a
surveyor checks a property line, he or she is checking the
position of property in relation to Meade's Ranch in
northwest Kansas.
In Italy the city of Milan is 300 miles northwest of Rome.
In Kansas, Milan is less than 25 miles northwest of
Rome, in
Sumner County.
Between 1854 and 1866, 34 steamboats paddled up the Kaw
River (Kansas River). One made it as far west as Fort Riley.
In 1990 Kansas wheat farmers produced enough wheat to make
33 billion loaves of bread, or enough to provide each person
on earth with 6 loaves.
Holy Cross Shrine in Pfeifer, was known as the 2 Cent Church
because the building was built using a 2 cent donation on
each bushel of wheat sold by members of the church.
Kansas produced a record 492.2 million bushels of wheat in
1997, enough to make 35.9 billion loaves of bread.
The American Institute of Baking is located in Manhattan.
A 30 foot tall statue of Johnny Kaw stands in Manhattan. The
statue represents the importance of the Kansas wheat farmer.
The graham cracker was named after the Reverend Sylvester
Graham (1794-1851). He was a Presbyterian minister who
strongly believed in eating whole wheat flour products.
The rocks at Rock City are huge sandstone concretions. In an
area about the size of two football fields, 200 rocks, some
as large as houses, dot the landscape. There is no other
place in the world where there are so many concretions of
such giant size.
George Washington Carver, the famous botanical scientist who
discovered more than 300 products made from the peanut,
graduated from high school in Minneapolis in 1885.
The First United Methodist Church in Hutchinson was built in
1874 during the time of the grasshopper plagues. The
grasshoppers came during the construction of the churches
foundation but the pastor continued with the work. As a
result, thousands of grasshoppers are mixed into the mortar
of the original building's foundation.
A hailstone weighing more than one and a half pounds once
fell on Coffeyville.
The Oregon Trail passed thru six states, including Kansas.
There were no Indian attacks reported on the Oregon Trail as
the travelers passed through the state.
Russell Springs, located in Logan County, is known as the Cow
Chip Capital of Kansas.
The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants
opened its first store in Wichita.
Sumner County is known as The Wheat Capital of the World.
 
34th state in the USA; it became a state on January
29, 1861.
State Abbreviation
- KS
State Capital - Topeka
Largest City - Wichita
Area - 82,282 square miles [Kansas is the 15th
biggest state in the USA]
Population - 2,688,418 (as of 2000) [Kansas is the
32nd most populous state in the USA]
Name for Residents - Kansans
Major Industries - agriculture (wheat and other
grains), aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing.
Major Rivers - Kansas River, Republican River, Smoky
Hill River, Arkansas River, Missouri
Major Lakes - Tuttle Creek Reservoir, Cheney
Reservoir, Waconda Lake
Highest Point - Mt. Sunflower - 4,039 feet (1,231 m)
above sea level
Lowest Point - Verdigris River - 680 feet (270 m)
above sea level
Bordering States - Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska,
Oklahoma
Origin of the Name Kansas - Kansas was named for
Konza (also called Kansa or Kaw) Indians who lived in the
area.
State Nickname - Sunflower State
State Motto - "Ad astra per aspera" - To the stars
through difficulties.
State Song - Home on the Range
State Flag:
Kansas' official flag was adopted in 1927. The flag has a
blue field, the word "KANSAS," the sunflower (Kansas'
state flower), and the state seal of Kansas. The seal
pictures rich Kansas farmland, a farmer plowing, covered
wagons, Native Americans hunting bison, a rising sun, a
steamboat (representing commerce) on the water
(beneath the sun and the mountains), 34 stars (since Kansas
was the 34th state in the USA), and the state motto, "AD
ASTRA PER ASPERA," meaning "To the stars through
difficulty," in Latin.
State Bird:
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
State Animal:
Buffalo (Bison bison)
State Reptile:
Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata)
State Amphibian:
Barred tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium)
State Insect:
Honeybee
State Flower:
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
State Tree:
Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
State Soil:
Harney series
  
Information From 50states.com and EnchantedLearning.com
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