Victoria

History

The town site originated in the 1867 construction of the Kansas Pacific Railway into western Kansas to connect St. Louis to Denver and to open the land to settlement. The railroad's sudden rerouting and construction west of Junction City was opposed by a Cheyenne military society who attacked the Campbell camp who were establishing a bridge grade across the North Fork of Big Creek at this location (pictured). Commanded by Captain George Armes, the immediate U.S. military response resulted in the Battle of the Saline River, which was followed by two years of open conflict. George Grant was a Scottish entrepreneur who had established wealth and a clientele that counted the British nobility. In 1873, George Grant arrived in Kansas leading a party of 30 young adults and youth of Scottish and English nobility, including some remittance men sent away by their families to live on stipends. Founding the first of several organized transatlantic settlements in Ellis County, Grant intended to create a ranching community, some lesser nobles of the party hoping to establish large estates in the frontier. Notably, this group brought a herd of thoroughbred Aberdeen Angus cattle, some from Queen Victoria's own stock. Including four bulls, this herd is credited with establishing the American Angus breed. The colony occupied a roughly 10 mile-wide swath land sections from the tracks south to the Smoky Hill River. With the settlement named Victoria to honor the Queen, the Kansas Pacific Railroad immediately constructed a relatively elaborate stone station-hotel for the colony. At Grant's specification, the Victoria Manor had accommodations befitting gentry waiting for completion of their new homes. The ground floor held a ballroom intended for community gatherings. Over 200 Britons…

Geography

Victoria is located on Kansas Highway 255 (K-255) south of Interstate 70 in northwestern Kansas, Victoria is approximately east of Hays (the county seat), northwest of Wichita, and west of Kansas City. The city lies roughly north of the Smoky Hill River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains. The city sits on the eastern side of the North Fork of Big Creek, part of the Smoky Hill River watershed.

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,431
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  1,826
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,605
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,515
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,263
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,204
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  939
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  933