Moundridge

History

For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th to the 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, under the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land that comprises modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized under the provisions of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th US state. In 1867, McPherson County was established, which included the land for modern day Moundridge. In 1876, the community was founded with the name Christian. Between 1874 and 1880, of the approximately 45,000 Mennonites who had been living in South Russia, 10,000 departed for the United States and 8,000 for Manitoba. Available cropland in the central United States was similar to that in their homelands in the Crimean Peninsula. Since the central part of the state was settled, Kansas has enjoyed the reputation as the top wheat-producing state. Settlers in central Kansas, experienced in Russian methods of dryland farming and flour milling, introduced winter wheat in 1873 and quickly saw their industry become dominant. The museums in nearby Hillsboro and Goessel demonstrate the lives and times of these early settlers. Almost all of the original settlers of McPherson County spoke German, many exclusively. With the coming of the automobile and the importance of commercial participation with the English-speaking citizens, the use of German diminished in…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,676
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,056
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,991
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  3,824
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,505
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,305
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,956
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  2,729