In the middle of the United States, Kansas is an important transportation, farming, and manufacturing center.
Originally part of the French Louisiana Territory, Kansas became the gateway to westward migration as the beginning of the Oregon Trail and Santa Fe trail. Settlement began with the army outposts guarding those trails, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Scott, and Fort Riley.
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Wichita became the largest town, which boomed as a cow town after the railroad arrived in the 1800s. Wichita has had a long association with the aircraft industry, with Boeing, Cessna, and Beechcraft having factories here.
Atchison is the birthplace of the famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart. Abiline is the birthplace of former president Dwight Eisenhower, which today hosts his burial plot and presidential museum.
