- For other uses, see Wichita (disambiguation).
Wichita, also known as the Air Capital of the World, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, as well as a major aircraft manufacturing hub and cultural center. In
July of 2006, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Wichita ninth on its list of the 10 best big cities to live in the United
States. The city is home to six major aircraft manufacturing companies and McConnell
Air Force Base. Wichita is located in South Central Kansas on the Arkansas River,
and is the county seat of Sedgwick County.
It is also the home of a National Weather Service Forecast Office which serves
portions of central, south-central, and southeast Kansas.
Wichita is the 50th largest city in the United States with an estimated population of 354,865 in the year 2005.[1] The Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which encompasses Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, and Sumner counties, has a 2004 estimated population of 584,671 persons residing in 245,159
households, making it the 82nd largest MSA in the United States. The Wichita-Winfield Combined Statistical Area also includes Cowley
County and has an estimated population of 618,641.
Geography
Wichita is located at 37°41′20″N, 97°20′10″W (37.688848,
-97.336226).1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 138.9 mi² (359.8 km²), of which 135.8 mi²
(351.6 km²) is land and 3.2 mi² (8.2 km²), or 2.29%, is water.2
The city was founded at the confluence of the Arkansas (pronounced locally as
"ahr-KAN-zuhs") and Little Arkansas rivers. The Arkansas River runs on to
Tulsa, Oklahoma, where it becomes navigable by large boats.
Climate
Over the course of a year, temperatures range from an average low of about 20°F (-8°C) in January to an average high of nearly
93°F (34°C) in July. The maximum temperature reaches 90°F (32°C) an average of 64 days per year and reaches 100°F (38°C) an
average of 14 days per year. The minimum temperature falls below 32°F (0°C) an average of 108 days per year. Typically the first
fall freeze occurs between the second week of October and mid-November, and the last spring freeze occurs between the end of
March and the final week of April.
The area receives over 30 inches (760 mm) of precipitation during an average year with the largest share being received in May
and June—with a combined 21 days of measurable precipitation. During a typical year the total amount of precipitation may be
anywhere from 22 to 40 inches (560 to 1,020 mm). There are on average 88 days of measurable precipitation per year. Winter
snowfall averages almost 17 inches (44 cm), but the median is less than 8 inches (25 cm). Measurable snowfall occurs an average
of 11 days per year with at least an inch of snow being received on five of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch occurs an
average of 18 days per year.
The area is vulnerable to severe weather, with often violent thunderstorms occurring mainly during the spring and summer months of March-June. These occasionally bring
large hail as well as frequent lightning. Sometimes
tornadoes occur. The outskirts of Wichita were affected during the Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak on April 26, 1991, which spawned an F5 tornado—the most violent of its kind. During the Oklahoma
Tornado Outbreak, on May 3, 1999, an F4 tornado hit the town of Haysville, tracking then north and hitting the southwest edge of Wichita.
Source: Monthly Station Climate Summaries, 1971-2000, U.S. National Climatic Data Center
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Temperatures (°F) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mean high |
40.1 |
47.2 |
57.3 |
66.9 |
76.0 |
87.1 |
92.9 |
91.6 |
82.2 |
70.2 |
54.5 |
43.1 |
67.4 |
| Mean low |
20.3 |
25.3 |
34.4 |
43.7 |
54.0 |
63.9 |
69.1 |
67.9 |
59.3 |
46.9 |
33.9 |
24.0 |
45.2 |
| Highest recorded |
75
(1967) |
87
(1996) |
89
(1989) |
96
(1972) |
100
(1996) |
110
(1980) |
113
(1954) |
110
(1984) |
108
(2000) |
95
(1979) |
85
(1980) |
83
(1955) |
113
(1954) |
| Lowest recorded |
−21
(1982) |
−21
(1982) |
−2
(1960) |
15
(1975) |
31
(1976) |
43
(1969) |
51
(1975) |
48
(1967) |
31
(1984) |
18
(1993) |
1
(1975) |
−16
(1989) |
−21
(1982) |
| Precipitation (inches) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Median |
0.63 |
0.62 |
2.13 |
2.32 |
3.25 |
3.72 |
3.76 |
2.16 |
2.09 |
1.95 |
1.81 |
1.01 |
29.62 |
| Mean number of days |
5.4 |
5.4 |
8.1 |
8.5 |
11.2 |
9.7 |
7.2 |
7.6 |
7.2 |
6.4 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
88.2 |
| Highest monthly |
2.73
(1973) |
3.33
(1987) |
9.17
(1973) |
6.02
(1999) |
9.62
(1993) |
8.90
(1995) |
6.65
(1971) |
7.69
(1987) |
10.69
(1999) |
9.42
(1998) |
4.91
(1992) |
4.71
(1984) |
|
| Snowfall (inches) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Median |
2.8 |
2.2 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
2.2 |
7.7 |
| Mean number of days |
3.6 |
2.5 |
1.1 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.8 |
2.7 |
11.0 |
| Highest monthly |
19.7
(1987) |
16.7
(1971) |
13.6
(1998) |
4.6
(1979) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1.5
(1991) |
7.1
(1972) |
13.8
(1983) |
|
| Notes: Temperatures are in degrees
Fahrenheit. Precipitation
includes rain and melted snow or sleet in inches; median values are provided for
precipitation and snowfall because mean averages may be misleading. Mean and median
values are for the 30-year period 1971–2000; temperature extremes are for the station's period of record (1954–2001). The station
is located at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport at 37°39′N 97°26′W, elevation 1,321 feet (401 m). |
Demographics
Wichita's population was estimated to be 354,865 in the year 2005, an increase of 3467, or +1.0%, over the previous five
years.[1]
In 2003 the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 582,781, which is an increase of 11,613, or
2.0%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase of 13,451 people (that is 29,063 births minus 15,612 deaths) and a
decrease due to net migration of 1,508 people out of the metropolitan area. Immigration from outside the United States resulted
in a net increase of 5,415 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 6,923 people.
Census of 2000
As of the U.S. Census in 2000,2 there were 344,284 people, 139,087 households, and 87,763 families residing in
the city. The population density was 2,536.1/mi² (979.2/km²). There were 152,119
housing units at an average density of 1,120.6/mi² (432.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.20% White, 11.42% Black or African American, 3.96% Asian, 1.16% Native American, 0.06% Pacific
Islander, 5.10% from other races, and 3.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.62% of the population.
There were 139,087 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were
married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and
36.9% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from
45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 75 females there were 97.1 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,939, and the median
income for a family was $49,247. Males had a median income of $36,457 versus $25,844 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,647. About 8.4% of families and 11.2% of the population were
below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65
or over.
Historical trends
The City of Wichita's logo.
Following the incorporation of the city in 1870 rapid immigration resulted in a land boom involving speculation into the late
1880s. Wichita had become the third largest city in the state (behind Kansas City
and Topeka) with a population of nearly 24,000 in 1890. After the boom the city suffered
from 15 years of comparative depression and slow growth.
The early 20th century saw a resurgence in growth from the nascent aircraft industry (see below) with the population
increasing by 350% between 1900 and 1930. By 1920 Wichita had entered the top 100 largest cities in the United States and by 1930
reached 77th in rank. The depression of the 1930s again brought slow growth with total population only increasing by 3% between
1930 and 1940. The decades during and after World War II saw a growth spurt as the city's
population increased by more than 120% between 1940 and 1960. Wichita had become the largest city in the state by 1950 and the
51st largest city in the country by 1960—a ranking it has held to this date.
The period between 1950 and 1970 saw a major shift in the city's racial makeup, as the proportion of blacks in the population
increased significantly. Until 1950, blacks had made up about 5% of the population, with little variation. The black population
increased from 8,082 (4.8%) in 1950 to 26,841 (9.7%) in 1970, a 230% increase. This also marked the beginning of the decline of
the white majority. Even as the white population has increased from 160,000 in 1950 to about 260,000 in 2000, the percentage of
the population has dropped from 95% to 75%.
During the 1970s, the city's population only grew by 1%, but the growth rate accelerated in the following two decades to more
than 13% in the 1990s. The growth in minority races is still strong. The black population has grown by a more modest 14% per
decade, but the proportion of the other races, including indigenous American and immigrants from Asia and the Pacific Rim, has
risen from just 1% to over 10% of the population.
Transportation
Most residents of Wichita travel around the region by car. The Kansas Turnpike
(Interstate 35), Interstates 135 and
235, U.S. Route 54/400, and K-96 run through and near the city. Currently the
idea of a Northwest Corridor is under discussion, to run from K-96 south from
Maize to U.S. 54/400.
The Wichita Transit Authority operates 51 buses on 18 fixed bus routes within the city.[2]
The nearest Amtrak station is in Newton (20 miles/32
km to the north), offering service on the Southwest Chief route between Los Angeles and Chicago.
Wichita is home to Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, the largest airport
in the state of Kansas (the larger Kansas City International Airport
is in Missouri). Flights from Wichita's airport travel to many U.S. airport hubs via 11
commercial carriers.
Culture
The City of Wichita is home to Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, which
boasts 24 themed gardens including the popular Butterfly Garden and the award-winning Sally Stone Sensory Garden.
Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum is also located in the city.
The first complete recording made by jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker occurred in
1940 at the Trocadero Ballroom in Wichita. During the 1950s and early 1960s, Wichita had a significant Beat movement.[3] The Wichita Jazz
Festival remains a significant annual event on the national jazz calendar.
Wichita is also home to the Wichita
River Festival, held each May in the Downtown and Old Town areas of the city. It is one of the longest continuous running
festivals in the state of Kansas and features over 70 events, including musical entertainment, sporting events, traveling
exhibits, cultural and historical activities, plays, interactive children's events, a flea
market, river events, a parade, block party, food court, fireworks and
souvenirs for the roughly 370,000+ patrons who attend each year.[4]
Other major attractions of the city include the Sedgwick
County Zoo, home to more than 2,500 animals of nearly 500 different species; the Old Cowtown Museum; McConnell Air Force
Base; Exploration Place, a science and discovery center for all ages; the
Old Town historical and entertainment district;
the Mid-America All-Indian Center and Museum; and the Wichita Art Museum.
Other museums and attractions in the metro area:
Wichita is also home to Kansas' tallest building, the Epic Center
History
A thorough history can be found at the external site City of Wichita-History.
The site on the two rivers has served as a trading center for nomadic peoples for the last 11,000 years. The area was visited
by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1541, while he was in search of the
fabulous "cities of gold." While there, he encountered a group of Indians whom he called Quiviras and who have been identified by
archeological and historical studies as Wichita Indians. By 1719 these people had moved
south to Oklahoma, where they met French traders. The first permanent settlement in Wichita was
a collection of grass houses inhabited by the Wichita Indians in 1863. They had moved
back to Wichita from Oklahoma during the Civil War due to their pro-Union sentiments. The city was officially incorporated in
1870. Shortly thereafter it became a railhead destination for cattle drives from Texas and other
southwestern points, from whence it has derived its nickname of "Cowtown." It quickly gained a wild reputation, and had numerous
well known lawmen pass through, employed to help keep the rowdy cowboys in line. Among those lawmen was Wyatt Earp.
Wichita reached national fame in 1900 when Woman's Christian Temperance
Union (WCTU) member Carrie Nation decided to carry her crusade against alcohol
to Wichita. On December 27 of that year she entered the Carey House bar in downtown Wichita and smashed the place with a rock and
a pool ball. She had visited all the bars in Wichita the night before and demanded that they close their doors. However, the
painting by John Noble of Cleopatra at the Roman Bath in the Carey House had drawn her particular wrath.
In 1914-1915, oil was discovered nearby and Wichita became a major oil center. The money
derived from oil allowed local entrepreneurs to invest in a nascent airplane industry. In 1917, the first plane, the Cessna
Comet, was manufactured in Wichita. Forty-three Swallows, the first airplanes made specifically for production, were built in
Wichita between 1920 and 1923. This industry, coinciding with Wichita as a test center for new aviation, established Wichita as
the "Air Capital." Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech were employees of the Swallow company, but in January 1925 they left Swallow
Aircraft and teamed up with Clyde Cessna to form Travel Air. Lloyd Stearman left the company in 1926 to start Stearman Aircraft
in Venice, California. Cessna quit in January 1927 to start Cessna. Stearman would only be gone
from Wichita for a year before returning.
Travel Air with Walter Beech at the helm grew to the point of employing over 600 workers and working in a huge factory complex
constructed from 1927 to 1929. Employing so many workers at such a large complex and being a few miles outside the city limits it
was tagged "Travel Air City" by Wichita residents. The company merged with the huge Curtis Wright Corporation in the
Roaring Twenties' heyday of company buyouts and takeovers just two months before the
Stock Market crash in 1929. Workers were laid off by the hundreds during 1930 and more so in 1931. By the fall of 1932 all
workers were let go in Wichita, equipment was sold and the entire Travel Air plant sat empty.
In March 1932 Walter quit Curtis Wright to form Beech Aircraft with his wife Olive Ann and
hired Ted Wells as his chief engineer. The first four or five "Beechcraft" were built in the vacant Cessna Aircraft plant which
was also closed during the depression. Beech later leased and then bought the Travel Air plant from Curtis Wright and men,
machinery, and an airplane or two were moved from the Cessna plant. The first aircraft was the Model 17, later dubbed the
"Staggerwing" which was first flown on November 5, 1932. The aircraft that would
propel the small company into a huge corporation was the Model 18 "Twin Beech," of which thousands were built from 1937 to 1969.
The Staggerwing production ended in 1946 with approximately 750 built and a few more assembled from parts in 1947. The
Staggerwing production was replaced by the Beechcraft Bonanza, although there are
still nearly 100 Staggerwings in existence, most in usable condition.
The city experienced a population explosion during World War II when it became a major
manufacturing center for airplanes needed in the war effort. By 1945, 4.2 bombers were being produced daily in Wichita.
Stearman Aircraft, later purchased by the Boeing Company, was
founded in Wichita, as were Beech Aircraft (now called Hawker Beechcraft), Cessna Aircraft, and
LearJet (now Bombardier). The city remains a major manufacturing center for the aircraft
industry today, with all of these and Airbus still having major centers there, hence its
nickname: "The Air Capital."
Wichita was also a significant entrepreneurial business center during the pre and post-war period, with Coleman, Mentholatum, Pizza Hut,
White Castle, and Koch Industries
having all been founded in Wichita. Ironically, White Castle closed all of their restaurants in Wichita in 1938 and has not
operated in the state of Kansas after a failed revival attempt in the Kansas City area in the early 1990s. The entrepreneurial
spirit of Wichita led to the creation one of the first academic centers to study and support entrepreneurship at The Wichita State University, Center for Entrepreneurship.
Recent history has seen development downtown and the East and West sides. Sedgwick County Voters recently approved a sales tax
raise to build a new arena downtown to replace the aging Kansas Coliseum. This is considered by many a stepping stone to launch
new development downtown.
Wichita is also noteworthy for the crimes of BTK killer Dennis Rader, a resident of
nearby Park City; crimes which gained national media attention.
An informative collection of historical photographs of the city can be found at Wichita Photo Archives.
Famed musician Eric Moore of the band The Acoustamaniacs was born in Wichita and lived there until his fourth birthday.
Regarding his city of birth he was later noted to have said "I remember a lot of storms".
Cartoon character Dennis the Menace lived in the outskirts of
Wichita, Kansas, on a supposedly fictional, quiet neighborhood on a street named Elm Street.
Sister cities
Metro cities
Education
The city of Wichita is served by Wichita Public Schools (USD 259) and portions of the Derby
(USD 260), Haysville (USD 261), Maize (USD 266), and Circle (375) school districts.
High schools
The public schools in Wichita USD
Public Schools (USD 259)
Public Schools (USD 261)
Public Schools (USD 375)
- Circle High School is located in Towanda, Kansas but
takes students from Northeastern Wichita.
Private Schools
Middle Schools
- Allison Middle School
- Brooks Middle School
- Circle Middle School
- Curtis Middle School
- Hadley Middle School
- Hamilton Middle School
- Jardine Middle School
- Mayberry Middle School
- Mead Middle School
- Pleasant Valley Middle School
- Robinson Middle School
- Stucky Middle School
- Truesdale Middle School
- Wilbur Middle School
Elementary schools
- Anderson Elementary
- Earhart Environmental Magnet Elementary School
- Emerson Magnet Elementary School
- Gammon Elementary School
- Gardiner Elementary School
- Harry Street Elementary School
- Irving Elementary School
- Colvin Elementary School
- Jefferson Elementary School
- Kensler Elementary
- Lawrence Elementary School
- Lincoln Elementary School
- Linwood Elementary School
- Beech Elementary School
- Riverside Elementary School
- Seltzer Elementary School
- Benton Grade School
- A.A. Hyde Elementary
- Washington Elementary
- OK Elementrary
- McLean Science Technology Magnet
Colleges and universities
Most Community Colleges and State Universities offer online/distance learning options.
Sports teams
Notable residents
- Kirstie Alley, actress, attended Southeast High School
- Mark and Mike Bell, Professional Football Players,
Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks
- Louise Brooks, silent film actress
- Caroline Bruce, Olympic swimmer
- Robert Ballard, marine geologist
- Judy Bell, golfer
- William Bonney, aka "Billy the Kid"
- Dan and Frank Carney, founder of Pizza
Hut
- Antoine Carr, basketball star
- Clyde Cessna, industrialist
- Jonathan Coachman, WWE interim General Manager
- Darren Dreifort, pitcher
- Kyle Farnsworth, Major League
Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees
- Tamara Feldman, Actress
- Robert M. Gates, former Director U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and current Secretary of Defense
- Dan Glickman, former US
Congressman, Secretary of Agriculture, and current
President of the Motion Picture Association of America
- Laurel Goodwin actress who played J. M. Colt in
the Star Trek pilot The Cage.
- Adrian Griffin, Professional Basketball player
- Jessica Hughbanks, BB8 Contestant
- Stan Kenton, jazz musician
- Bill Koch, America's Cup winner
- Charles Koch, industrialist
- Don Johnson, actor
- William Lear, industrialist, Learjet
- Jim Lehrer, PBS network news anchor
- Hattie McDaniel, actress
- Roger Mears, race car driver
- Vera Miles, actress, attended North High School
- Rich Mullins, Christian Pop/Folk Musician
- James Jabara, World War II flying ace
- Antonya Nelson, author
- Roger Noriega, Ambassador to the Organization of American States
- Gale Norton, Secretary of the
Interior
- Susan Page, journalist
- Mike Pelfrey, Professional Baseball player
- Jeff Probst, TV host
- Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer
- Nate Robertson, Pitcher, Detroit Tigers,
pitched in 2006 World Series
- Danny Roew, film director
- Jim Ryun, Olympic medalist and former U.S. Representative from Kansas
- Barry Sanders, Pro Football Hall of Fame, played for the Detroit Lions
- Gale Sayers, Pro Football Hall of
Famer; born in Wichita, but raised in Omaha, Nebraska
- Marlene Schommer Aikins, epistemological beliefs researcher
- Mark Shelton of Manilla Road fame
