Great Bend

History

Prior to American settlement of the area, the site of Great Bend was located in the northern reaches of Kiowa territory. Claimed first by France as part of Louisiana and later acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it lay within the area organized by the U.S. as Kansas Territory in 1854. Kansas became a state in 1861, and the state government delineated the surrounding area as Barton County in 1867. In 1871, the Great Bend Town Company, anticipating the westward construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, founded Great Bend at a site roughly three miles west of Fort Zarah on the Santa Fe Trail. They named the settlement after its location at the "great bend" in the Arkansas River where the river's course turns eastward. The town began to grow as more settlers arrived over the following year and opened several businesses. The railroad reached Great Bend in July 1872, and an election at about the same time declared the town the permanent county seat. Great Bend was incorporated as a city soon thereafter. The county courthouse and the city's first public school were built the following year. More than 3,000 wells produced during the 1930s, and the influx of workers dramatically increased the city's population. After the war, the City of Great Bend acquired the base and repurposed it for civilian use as Great Bend Municipal Airport. The city continued to grow through the 1950s, its population peaking at almost 17,000 in 1960. In 1973, the Fuller Brush Company relocated its production facilities to Great Bend, becoming one of the city's major employers. Despite a modest decline in population in recent decades, Great Bend continues to serve as a commercial center for central Kansas.

Geography

Great Bend is located at the intersection of U.S. routes 56 and 281. Driving by highway, it is approximately northwest of Wichita and southwest of Hays. Lying in the Great Bend Sand Prairie region of the Great Plains, the city is situated on the north side of the Arkansas River, where the river's course shifts from northeast to southeast. Dry Walnut Creek, a tributary of nearby Walnut Creek, flows east along the northern edge of the city. Cheyenne Bottoms, a large inland wetland, is located approximately to the northeast. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Located near the convergence of North America's humid continental (Köppen: Dfa), humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa), and semi-arid (Köppen: BSk) climate zones, Great Bend experiences hot summers and cold, dry winters. The hottest temperature recorded in Great Bend was on July 11–13, 1954, June 27, 1980, June 30, 1980, and July 14, 1980, while the coldest temperature recorded was on December 22, 1989. The high temperature reaches or exceeds an average of 69.7 days a year and reaches or exceeds an average of 12 days a year. The minimum temperature falls below the freezing point an average of 119.5 days a year. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,264
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,570
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,518
• Northern Shoveler

  Spatula clypeata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,168
• Blue-winged Teal

  Spatula discors (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,104
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  2,011
• American White Pelican

  Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  1,859
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,810

Largest nearby schools

• Great Bend High School
  High · Great Bend · 913 students · 14:1 ratio
• Great Bend Middle School
  Middle · Great Bend · 460 students · 12.1:1 ratio
• Eisenhower Elem
  Elementary · Great Bend · 316 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Jefferson Elem
  Elementary · Great Bend · 301 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Riley Elem
  Elementary · Great Bend · 294 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Park Elem
  Elementary · Great Bend · 251 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Lincoln Elem
  Elementary · Great Bend · 221 students · 12.3:1 ratio