Kansapedia
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Kansas in Time
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THIS MONTH IN KANSAS HISTORY
Potawatomi Trail of Death
Potawatomis left Indiana at gunpoint to begin a 600-mile, two-month trek to Kansas on foot. They arrived in what is now Osawatomie, Miami County, on November 4, 1838. The journey took a terrible toll through starvation, exposure, and disease. They lost 42 people on the trail. When 756 people arrived, they expected to find shelter for the coming winter. There was none. A couple of years later they were moved to a mission in Linn County.
Kansas Quick Facts
Statehood: January 20, 1861
State: 34th
Name Origin: Kansas River named for the Kansa or Kaw Tribe
Nickname: Wheat State, Sunflower State, Free State
Motto: Ad astra per aspera (Latin: to the stars through difficulties)
Capital: Topeka
Governor: Laura Kelly
Seal: Adopted 1861
Flag: Adopted 1927
Song: "Home On the Range"
Flower: Sunflower
Animal: American Bison
Bird: Western Meadowlark
Tree: Cottonwood Tree
Insect: Honeybee
Reptile: Barred Tiger Salamander
Soil: Harney Loam Silt
Grass: Little Bluestem
Fossils: Tylosaurus and Pteranodon
Width: 410 miles
Height: 213 miles
Land: 82,278 square miles
Number of counties: 105
Highest point: Mount Sunflower, 4,041 feet
Lowest point: Verdigris River, 679 feet
Delve Deeper
