Topeka

History

The name "Topeka" is a Kansa-Osage word that means "place where we dig potatoes", or "a good place to dig potatoes". As a placename, Topeka was first recorded in 1826 as the Kansa name for the Kansas River. Topeka's founders chose the name in 1855 because it "was novel, of Indian origin, and euphonious of sound". Mixed-heritage Kansa Native American Joseph James, called Jojim, is credited with suggesting Topeka's name. For many millennia, Native Americans inhabited the Great Plains of North America. From the 16th to the mid-18th centuries, the Kingdom of France laid claim to large parts of North America. In 1762, late in the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1800, Spain returned Louisiana to France. In 1803, the United States purchased the territory, which included most of the land of modern Kansas, from France for $15 million (~$ in ). In the 1840s, wagon trains made their way west from Independence, Missouri, on a journey of , following what came to be known as the Oregon Trail. About west of Kansas City, Missouri, three half-Kansas Indian sisters married to the French-Canadian Pappan brothers established a ferry service allowing travelers to cross the Kansas River at what became Topeka. During the 1840s and into the 1850s, travelers could reliably find a way across the river, but little else was in the area. In the early 1850s, traffic along the Oregon Trail was supplemented by trade on a new military road stretching from Fort Leavenworth through Topeka to the newly established Fort Riley. In 1854, after completion of the first cabin, nine men established the Topeka Town Association. The group included Cyrus K. Holliday, an "idea man", who became mayor of Topeka and…

Geography

Topeka is in north east Kansas at the intersection of I-70 and U.S. Highway 75. It is the origin of I-335 which is a portion of the Kansas Turnpike running from Topeka to Emporia, Kansas. Topeka is also on U.S. Highway 24 (about east of Manhattan, Kansas) and U.S. Highway 40 (about west of Lawrence, Kansas). US 40 is coincident with I-70 west from Topeka. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are covered by water. Topeka has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa, Trewartha climate classification Dcao) or a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) using the isotherm, with hot, somewhat humid summers and cool to cold, fairly dry winters, and is in USDA plant hardiness zone 6a. Over the course of a year, the monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. The maximum temperature reaches an average of 49.6 afternoons per year and reaches an average of 6.0 afternoons per year. The minimum temperature falls below an average of 2.7 mornings per year, and 21.7 afternoons per year stay below freezing. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,270
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,245
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  6,791
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  6,493
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,011
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,632
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  5,556
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,405

Largest nearby schools

• Washburn Rural High
  High · Topeka · 1,884 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Topeka High
  High · Topeka · 1,514 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Shawnee Heights High
  High · Tecumseh · 1,293 students · 19:1 ratio
• Seaman High
  High · Topeka · 1,239 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Topeka West High
  High · Topeka · 1,085 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Washburn Rural Middle School
  Middle · Topeka · 943 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Highland Park High
  High · Topeka · 857 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Jardine Elementary
  Elementary · Topeka · 743 students · 13.8:1 ratio