Kanopolis is a city in Ellsworth County,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 443. It was built on the site of Fort Harker, a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

post that housed

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

troops involved in the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

from 1867 to 1872.

History

Early history

For

millennia A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting p ...

, the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

were inhabited by

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

Native Americans. From the 16th to 18th centuries, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

claimed ownership of large parts of

. In 1762, after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, by the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

. In 1854, the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

was organized under the provisions of the

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law b ...

, then in 1861

became the 34th

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

. In 1867, Ellsworth County was established, which included the land for Kanopolis.

Pre-Kanopolis

Fort Ellsworth was the first frontier fort established in the Kanopolis area.Vaughn, Carlene. "Fort Ellsworth/Fort Harker Timeline." Kansas State Historical Society. June 27, 1997. Accessed April 28, 2015. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/fort-ellsworth-fort-harker-timeline/11178. It was built by the United States Army in August 1864 at the junction of the Fort Riley-Fort Larned Road and the Smoky Hill Trail, near the

Smoky Hill River The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas. Names The Smoky Hill is named from the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas through which it flows. American Indians li ...

.National Register of Historic Places, Fort Harker Officers' Quarters, Kanopolis, Ellsworth County, Kansas Its purpose was to protect construction of the

Union Pacific railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

from Native American raids. In November, 1866 Fort Ellsworth changed its name to Fort Harker after the death of General G.H. Charles Harker, who was killed in battle in 1864. By this time, the fort had grown in importance as a military staging post and supply depot for forts further west, and needed to expand to continue meeting its mission. As a result, on November 17, 1866, the Army ordered the construction of a new fort approximately three-quarters mile east of the current location. The original Fort Ellsworth was closed in early 1867, and the community of Ellsworth was founded in its place. In January 1867, Fort Harker was relocated approximately three-quarters mile east of the old location to an open prairie about one mile north of the

. This new location featured a "large, well-equipped" hospital," which housed those were ill. The hospital was surely busy, as about 200 people died in 1867 from cholera in and around the Fort Harker area. For the next five years, Fort Harker became one of the most important military stations west of the Missouri River. ite the Guardhouse national register nominationIt used 700 soldiers and twice as many civilian employees, as well as 400 horses and mules. Additionally, the mail to all military posts down the Arkansas river, as well as many posts in Colorado and New Mexico, was supplied from Fort Harker. Over the coming years, the threat of Native American raids in the region diminished as territory was secured and railroad construction moved west. No longer of geographic significance, Fort Harker was abandoned on April 2, 1872 and the war department ordered it to be closed shortly thereafter. Its garrison was relocated west to

Fort Hays Fort Hays, originally named Fort Fletcher, was a United States Army fort near Hays, Kansas. Active from 1865 to 1889 it was an important American Frontier, frontier post during the American Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Reopened as a ...

. In the winter of 1872-1873, Fort Harker briefly stationed troops once moreNational Register of Historic Places, Fort Harker Guardhouse, Kanopolis, Ellsworth County, Kansas. before being deserted one final time. In the following years, Fort Harker became the "Fort Harker Military Reservation".

Kanopolis begins

In June 1880, the Senate passed bill S.194, an act disposing Fort Harker Military Reservation of public ownership and giving the 10,240 acre tract of land to the Interior Department for sale. A Dr. Hodge acquired the land and sold it to Col. Henry Johnson for $4,177.50 in August, 1881. In summer of 1885, a seventeen-member group of capitalists based in Ohio led by Ross Mitchell (president), F.M. Bookwalter (vice president), and John H. Thomas (treasurer) purchased 4,740 acres of the land, including Fort Harker and its buildings, for $71,000 from Col. Johnson. Imagining their newly acquired land would soon become a "Central Metropolis," and a future capitol because of its location, the group became chartered as the Kanopolis Land Company on March 15, 1886, with a capital stock of $500,000. They laid out land for 150,000 people, and shortly after, the town of Kanopolis was founded.

Optimism and boosterism

The Kanopolis Land Co., with editor R.V. Morgan, advertised in other newspapers and in a paper of their own called The Kanopolis Journal to attract buyers to Kanopolis. These advertisements serve as examples of the boosterism characteristic of the frontier west. One from May 1886 proclaimed Kanopolis "is destined to be the railroad, commercial, and manufacturing capital of Kansas" and said buying land in Kanopolis is the "Best investment in the world." Another in July 1887 declared it to be the only town in the state with railroads running north, south, east, and west and also claimed to have seven factories, thirteen stores, and a hotel. It reported the population to be 600 when the town was "scarcely" one year old. More hyperbolic than the advertisements in other newspapers was ''The Kanopolis Journal''. It boasted Kanopolis to have "woolen mills, iron factories, carriage works, flour mills, wholesale houses, banks, a drug store, and an opera house, doctors, and machine shops," as well as a brewery. Additionally, the journal predicts Kanopolis would soon be the furniture hub of the midwest, saying it "is not one-half the distance from a limitless supply of walnut, oak, ash, poplar and all lumber needed in the manufacture of furniture as is Grand Rapids, Michigan, which owes its prosperity to the furniture business." It said that in forty years it will have 500,000 inhabitants, as it had already "grown as populous as Cincinnati did in eleven years or Cleveland did in thirty years." The journal also describes giant potatoes, cabbage leaves that "are used for circus tents," jack rabbits that "grow as large as horses," and pea pods that "are used as ferry boats on the Arkansas river." It also claims "A man planted a turnip one mile from the railroad last summer and the company sued him for obstructing the track before the middle of July." Additionally, the journal says that "North of Kanopolis are several lakes of strained honey, and we also often have showers of rosewater and cologne in the early spring." The journal even says the area around Kanopolis is the real garden of Eden, and that there is a fig tree that Eve herself used to make her first clothes, and that the tree is "like our flag - it is still there, and furnishes evidence which our oldest inhabitants dare not dispute.... This settlement of Western Kansas is restoring Eden to its primitive glory and men to their first estate."

Shy of expectations

Kanopolis, for a variety of reasons, never became the "Queen City of the Midwest" that its backers "ballyhooed" it would become. Perhaps its biggest injury was when it lost a referendum by 75 votes to become the seat of Ellsworth County. Also, it had some contemporary antagonists. An editorial in a January 1887 paper from the Leavenworth Times calls Kanopolis a "buffalo wallow," a "scheme," and a "fraud" from an "eastern syndicate". A lawsuit between the Kanopolis Land Co. and R.V. Morgan in 1895 ensued, likely detracting from the company's ability to advertise and sell land. By 1906, Kanopolis' population had fallen to 264.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Kanopolis has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 443 people, 205 households, and 111 families in Kanopolis. The population density was 376.1 per square mile (145.2/km). There were 255 housing units at an average density of 216.5 per square mile (83.6/km). The racial makeup was 92.1% (408)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(88.94%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

), 0.0% (0)

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 0.9% (4) Native American or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 0.9% (4) Asian, 0.0% (0)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, 2.26% (10) from other races, and 3.84% (17) from

two or more races Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 9.03% (40) of the population. Of the 205 households, 20.0% had children under the age of 18; 42.9% were married couples living together; 29.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 42.4% of households consisted of individuals and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.9 and the average family size was 2.5. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 14.7% of the population. 24.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 25.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 106.8 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $46,250 (with a margin of error of +/- $5,530) and the median family income was $51,944 (+/- $12,652). Males had a median income of $42,500 (+/- $7,614) versus $32,500 (+/- $5,756) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $37,667 (+/- $4,016). Approximately, 8.2% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 34.9% of those under the age of 18 and 6.6% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 492 people, 235 households, and 151 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 273 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.2% Native American, 0.6% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 10.4% of the population. There were 235 households, of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.7% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.58. The median age in the city was 48.7 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.9% were from 25 to 44; 34.8% were from 45 to 64; and 20.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.8% male and 48.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 543 people, 248 households, and 153 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 295 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.21%

, 0.37%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.18% Asian, 2.76% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 12.71% of the population. There were 248 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were

living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.80. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $31,413, and the median income for a family was $39,531. Males had a median income of $30,170 versus $21,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,161. About 4.6% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the

, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economics

Independent Salt Company is located over a mile northeast of Kanopolis.

Government

The Kanopolis government consists of a mayor and five council members. The council meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7PM. * City Hall, 119 N Kansas.

Education

The community is served by Ellsworth USD 327 public school district. The district high school is located in Ellsworth. The Ellsworth High School mascots are the Ellsworth Bearcats. Kanopolis High School was closed in school unification. The Kanopolis High School mascot was Kanopolis Bulldogs."Cadets Dash Past Kanopolis", The Salina Journal, 5 December 1962, p.18.

Parks and recreation

* Kanopolis Lake and Kanopolis State Park *

Mushroom Rock State Park Mushroom Rock State Park is noted for its mushroom rocks, mushroom rock Rock formations in the United States, formations. It is located in the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. These rocks a ...

* Faris Caves * Kanopolis Drive-in Theatre

References

External links

Kanopolis - Directory of Public Officials

Kanopolis city map
KDOT {{Authority control Cities in Kansas Cities in Ellsworth County, Kansas Populated places established in 1867 1867 establishments in Kansas