Leavenworth

Sister cities

• Wagga Wagga
• Ōmihachiman-shi

History

Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first city incorporated in the territory of Kansas. The city developed south of Fort Leavenworth, which was established as Cantonment Leavenworth in 1827 by Colonel Henry Leavenworth. Its location on the Missouri River attracted refugee African-American slaves in the antebellum years, who were seeking freedom from the slave state of Missouri across the river. Abolition supporters helped them find refuge. In the years before the Civil War, Leavenworth was a hotbed of anti-slavery and pro-slavery agitation, often leading to open physical confrontations on the street and in public meetings. On April 3, 1858, the "Leavenworth Constitution" for the state of Kansas was adopted here. Although the federal government never approved this early version of the state constitution, it was considered one of the most radical of the four constitutions drafted for the new territory because it recognized freed black people as citizens. Refugee African Americans continued to settle in the city during the war. By 1865, it had attracted nearly one-fifth of the 12,000 black people in the state. In 1866, the 10th Regiment of Cavalry, an all-black unit within the U.S. Army, was stood up at Fort Leavenworth. Charles Henry Langston was an African-American leader from Ohio who worked and lived in Leavenworth and northeastern Kansas in the Reconstruction era and afterward. In Kansas, Langston worked for black suffrage and the right of African Americans to sit on juries, testify in court, and have their children educated in common schools. African Americans gained suffrage in 1870 after passage of the federal 15th constitutional amendment, and the legislature voted for their right to sit on juries in 1874. He protested his innocence to the end. An inquest…

Geography

Leavenworth is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of U.S. Route 73 and Kansas Highway 92 (K-92), Leavenworth is northwest of downtown Kansas City, south-southeast of Omaha, and northeast of Wichita. Four small tributaries of the river flow generally east through the city. From north to south, these are Quarry Creek, Corral Creek, Three Mile Creek, and Five Mile Creek. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Fort Leavenworth occupies the northern half of the city's area. }}

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,544
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,819
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,686
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,316
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,301
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,154
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,781
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  2,600

Largest nearby schools

• Leavenworth Sr High
  High · Leavenworth · 1,250 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• Lansing High 9-12
  High · Leavenworth · 870 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Lansing Elementary School
  Elementary · Lansing · 762 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Lansing Middle 6-8
  Middle · Lansing · 635 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Bradley Elem
  Elementary · Fort Leavenworth · 496 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Richard Warren Intermediate School
  Middle · Leavenworth · 481 students · 19.2:1 ratio
• Richard Warren Middle School
  Middle · Leavenworth · 479 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• MacArthur Elem
  Elementary · Fort Leavenworth · 446 students · 13.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2024-03-15
  2 km NE of Ferrelview, Missouri
• M 2.6 — 2018-07-20
  1 km WNW of Saint Joseph, Missouri
• M 3.1 — 2007-03-23
  5 km N of Nortonville, Kansas