Atchison Kansas

        Atchison, Kansas, is one of the most historical towns in our United States history.  Atchison is a beautiful town on the Missouri River. The famous explorers, Lewis and Clark founded it.  It was one of the first towns to have railroads through it in the Kansas Territory.  At one time, Atchison was very rich, and had industries with 2000 plus men working there.

        The Kansa Indians first lived on the land where Atchison is now.  Atchison was an abandoned town found by Lewis and Clark.  They celebrated the first Independence Day in the American West there. Atchison was first named as a town on August 30, 1855.  Three years later they named it a city on February 12, 1858.

        Atchison sits right on the shore of the Missouri River.  In the early times of the city, many steamboats came in and out of the city because it had one of the best steamboat landings on the Missouri River.  The location of Atchison helped with the economy because goods could be brought in and out of it, and years later it had eight different railroad companies.

        From then on, the town became a very prosperous city.  Atchison had a few famous people live there in the past. The most known person who was born and lived there was Amelia Earhart.  Amelia was the first woman aviator in the history of the United States.  In Atchison today, her house still stands and they have a museum devoted to her. 

        E.W. Howe helped bring much needed populations to the city.  He was the founder of the Atchison Daily Globe in 1877.  A few years later, he was known nationally.  He helped Atchison become known and was a big help in the boom years.

        1870 to 1900 were the boom years for Atchison.  Major industries were established and huge firms were contracted.  That is when Atchison reached the top of its commercial time.  In the state of Kansas, Atchison was one of the first banking centers that there were.  This made a big influence because companies didn’t need to travel for needed money.

        There was a foundry, which was established by John Seaton. A foundry is a place where they refine raw materials.  He moved the company to Atchison in 1872.  At that time the whole foundry occupied one city block and had employed over 2000 men.  22 years later Seaton’s company was very prosperous and was the largest west of St. Louis.

        Atchison influenced politics very much.  John J. Ingalls, a man who became a U.S. Senator, was first an Atchison lawyer.  He helped a lot in forming the state constitution.  Topeka, the capital of Kansas, had three governors from Atchison.  The men were, George W. Glick, John A. Martin and Willis J. Bailey.  Not only governors came from Atchison, but also Chief Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court.

        Not many people may know of the town Atchison, Kansas, two hours from Topeka, but it played a big role in helping the railroad and many other companies prosper.  Many of the homes from hundreds of years ago still stand in Atchison.  It also has a beautiful college.  If you ever have a chance to go there, you can visit lots of sites and museums.  You may even be able to see Amelia Earhart’s house, in the heart of the beautiful town in Kansas.