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Wichita, Kans.
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Mayor: Carl Brewer (to April 2011)
City Manager: George Kolb
2000 census population (rank): 344,284
(50); % change: 13.2; Male: 169,604 (49.3%);
Female: 174,680 (50.7%); White: 258,900 (75.2%);
Black: 39,325 (11.4%); American Indian and Alaska
Native: 3,986 (1.2%); Asian: 13,647 (4.0%); Other
race: 17,566 (5.1%); Two or more races: 10,662 (3.1%);
Hispanic/Latino: 33,112 (9.6%). 2000 percent population 18
and over: 72.9%; 65 and over: 11.9%; Median age:
33.4.
2004 population estimate (rank): 353,823
(51)
See
additional census data
Land area: 136 sq mi. (352 sq km);
Alt.: 1,333 ft.
Avg. daily temp.: Jan., 29.5° F; July,
81.4° F
Churches: Protestant, 512; Roman
Catholic, 20; Jewish, 2; other, 66;
City parks: 110 (4,388 ac.);
Radio stations: 22;
Television stations: 7
Civilian Labor Force (MSA) March 2005:
288,300;
Unemployed: 17,800,
Percent: 6.2;
Per capita personal income (MSA)
2003 $30,060
Chamber of Commerce: Wichita Chamber of
Commerce, 350 W. Douglas, Wichita, KA 67202
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Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and the seat of
Sedgwick County. It is located in the south-central part of the state, at
the confluence of the Arkansas and Little
Arkansas rivers. Incorporated as a city in 1870, Wichita is the chief
commercial and industrial center of southern Kansas.
More or less uninhabited at the time of Kansas's entry into the Union
in 1861, the area was first settled by Wichita Indians, who came
north from Texas and Oklahoma during the Civil War. At about the
same time (during the mid-1860s) a number of trading posts were
established at or near the river junction. One of the traders, Jesse Chisholm, pioneered
the Chisholm Trail, which passed through Wichita and was the main
cattle-drive route from Texas to the railroad in Abilene. After the railroad
was extended to Wichita in 1872, the city boomed first as a cow town and
then later as the trading center in an agricultural and livestock region.
Although the city experienced an economic slump at the end of the 19th
century, oil was discovered nearby in 1915, and subsequently the
population almost doubled.
Aircraft manufacturing began in the 1920s, and Wichita remains a center
of the aircraft industry today. In addition, the city also has flour
mills, meatpacking plants, and oil refineries. Major manufactures include
camping equipment, heaters and air conditioners, and electronics. Wichita
has a number of art and historical museums, a zoo, and a planetarium. It
is the site of several universities, including Wichita State University
(1895). McConnell Air Force Base is nearby.
See also Encyclopedia: Wichita.
Selected famous
natives and residents:
-
Kirstie Alley
actress;
-
Alan Fudge
actor;
-
Dan Glickman
former congressman and U.S. secretary of agriculture;
-
Laurel Goodwin
actress;
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Stan Kenton
musician;
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Jim Lehrer
news anchor;
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Fred, Thomas, and Edwin McConnell
WWII pilots;
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Hattie McDaniel
actress;
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Barry Sanders
football player;
-
Gale Sayers
football player;
-
Arlen Specter
U.S. senator from Pennsylvania;
-
Ron Wyden
U.S. senator from Oregon.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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