Hope

History

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France. In 1803, most of the land that became the state of Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1857, Dickinson County was established within the Kansas Territory, which included what became Hope. In 1871, a group of about forty people, led by Newell Thurstin, began planning a townsite, named Hope after one of his sons. Its first post office was established in July 1871. David Jacob Eisenhower, the father of President Dwight David Eisenhower, lived in a ranch near Hope from 1878 until his enrollment at Lane University in Lecompton, and then he moved to Hope. On March 30, 1885, he and business partner Milton Good opened a general store in Hope called Good & Eisenhower, operated mostly by the Eisenhower family, and "balanced to the penny" by Eisenhower's mandate. The partners were leading civic boosters for Hope for years, with the community development mostly led by Good and the socially reclusive Eisenhower co-funding some projects. Hope was incorporated in 1886, with a population over 700. The arrival of the railroad one year before, brought access of bustling Chicago to tiny Hope. In early 1886, Eisenhower and Good organized a fundraiser among businesses to open an opera house in Hope. On November 4, 1886,…

Geography

The United States Census Bureau reports a total area of , all land. The climate has hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Hope has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  111
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  101
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  94
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  87
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  80
• Double-crested Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson, 1831) · Aves
  79
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  78
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  74

Largest nearby schools

• Herington Elem
  Elementary · Herington · 187 students · 11.7:1 ratio
• Herington High
  High · Herington · 151 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Herington Middle Sch
  Middle · Herington · 112 students · 22.4:1 ratio
• Hope Elem
  Elementary · Hope · 67 students · 9.6:1 ratio
• Hope High
  High · Hope · 25 students · 8.3:1 ratio