Wichita was founded in 1867 as a trading post and is named for the Wichita people, who inhabited the area at the time. It incorporated as a town in 1871, and as a city in 1886. The Chisholm Trail, a major cattle-driving route from Texas, passed through Wichita, and after the arrival of the railroad in 1872 the city boomed as a cattle-shipping point. When the cattle trail shifted to the west in the late 1870s, Wichita experienced a short period of decline. This decline was alleviated when the city became a key grain-milling and trading center for the surrounding wheat farms. Oil was discovered in the region in 1915, and aircraft manufacturing began in 1920. The outbreak of World War II (1939-1945) and the resulting government contracts with airplane companies brought economic prosperity to Wichita.

Kansas - America Real Estate Directory

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