Montara is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Shawnee County, Kansas Shawnee County (county code SN) is located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 178,909, making it the third-most populous county in Kansas. Its most populous city, Topeka, is the state ...

, United States. It is located south of

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

History

Montara was largely developed in the 1960s as military housing for the nearby

Forbes Air Force Base ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also repo ...

, and was known as Cullen Village. The base closed in 1973. In 1979, Lario Enterprises bought the community from the city of

, and began refurbishing the approximately 1,050 units for resale. After about 500 units were sold by 1989, the developer turned to renting out units, leaving an owner/renter split in the community (40/60 in 2003). While a large portion of the homes are owned and rented out b
Montara Leasing
over time in recent years a large number of homes have been bought and are now owner-occupied. In 2014, several properties were damaged in arson fires. Montara is a quiet community about 3 miles south of

and near the community of Pauline and

Topeka Regional Airport Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

. There are three parks, one on the north end, and two on the south end. There are also three baseball diamonds and a soccer field located to the east and behind the Paris Community Center. It also consist of Forbes Golf course and a quarter midget track. There is also a community center (Shawnee County South Community Center) nearby.

Economy

In March 2013, Mars Chocolate North America opened a $250 million plant south of Topeka near the Montara neighborhood. The large industrial complex brought concerns about increased property values.

is located near Montara.

Education

The community is served by

Auburn–Washburn USD 437 Auburn–Washburn USD 437 is a public unified school district headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It serves Southern and Southwestern Shawnee County, as well as a small portion of extreme northern Osage County. It serves Southwes ...

public school district. Pauline Central Primary & Pauline South Intermediate schools are located in Montara.

References

External links

* Shawnee County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT {{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Shawnee County, Kansas Unincorporated communities in Kansas

History

Economy

Education

References

Further reading

External links