This second edition of Historical Atlas of Kansas has been updated from 1984 states-federal estimates. New and revised maps show the important growth in population centers in all parts of the state and the changes in congressional and judicial districts, railroads, airline routes, employment, petroleum and groundwater, agriculture, and colleges and universities. The text accompanying these maps has been updated also.
A proper knowledge of the long and eventful history of Kansas requires an understanding of the state’s geography. While the “place called Kansas†was originally the home of certain Indian tribes, the earliest recorded histories of the state are chronicles of journeys across it. Adventurers, traders, and pioneers crossed Kansas on the way to the Rocky Mountains, on the way to California, on the way to Oregon, and on the way to the Spanish settlements of the Southwest.
The lay of the land and its character and use, the travel routes, the location of population concentrations, and the gradual unfolding of economic and political development—all are shown on the many maps in this book.