Chanute

History

In 1870 when the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Rail Road (later the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, now the BNSF Railway) crossed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line within the limits of Neosho county four rival communities sprang up, in the vicinity of the junction: New Chicago, Chicago Junction, Alliance, and Tioga. Two years of the most bitter animosity ensued until the four were consolidated in 1872, and the name of Chanute given it in honor of Octave Chanute, a railroad civil engineer. Settlers had begun populating the area as early as 1856. With the LL&G Railroad set to arrive shortly thereafter, the early residents of the communities of Tioga, Chicago Junction, Alliance, and New Chicago needed an innovative solution to an escalating dispute over which would claim the right to house the LL&G Railroad's new land office. They were unable to settle their differences until an individual by the name of Octave Chanute arrived. Octave was the Chief Engineer and General Superintendent of the LL&G Railroad. In 1872, he suggested the communities merge to end the bickering. On January 1, 1873, they merged to become Chanute. With the Southern Kansas Railroad locating a division headquarters in Chanute, the city began to flourish. In 1887, Chanute boasted a rapid growth in flourmills, grain elevators, banks, drug and hardware stores, and natural gas. In 1903, the City of Chanute established the electric utility, and in the years to follow, established the gas, water, wastewater, refuse utilities. Ash Grove Cement Company, the sixth largest cement manufacturer in North America, commenced cement manufacture in 1908 in Chanute. In September 2011 Spirit AeroSystems announced the expansion of an assembly facility which will grow to 150 employees in five years and boost the…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Chanute has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Chanute was on July 18, 1936, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 30, 1949. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  222
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  192
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  187
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  178
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  178
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  154
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  150
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  137

Largest nearby schools

• Chanute Elementary School
  Elementary · Chanute · 813 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Chanute High
  High · Chanute · 612 students · 18:1 ratio
• Royster Middle School
  Middle · Chanute · 390 students · 15.6:1 ratio