Business & Economics

On May 30, 1854, Pres. Franklin Pierce signed the hotly contested Kansas-Nebraska Act. Before the ink was dry, squatters settled on the 322-acre plot of land bounded by the Fort Leavenworth Military Reservation (to the north) and Three Mile Creek (to the south). From Bleeding Kansas to western expansion, many historical figures have called Leavenworth home, including Fred Harvey, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok, to name but a few. The landscape is decorated with buildings and homes featuring a beauty and grandeur that have stood the test of time. Originally known as the Queen City of the West, this metropolis would become one of the largest manufacturing cities in America, providing goods and services to markets all over the world. Historical churches, the Leavenworth VA Medical Center, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, and Leavenworth National Cemetery all contribute to the town's pioneering spirit that is second to none.

Kansas' storied past is filled with fascinating firsts, humorous coincidences and intriguing characters. A man who had survived a murderous proslavery massacre in 1858 hanged his would-be executioner five years later. A wealthy Frenchman utilized his utopian ideals to create an award-winning silk-producing commune in Franklin County. A young boy's amputated arm led to the rise of Sprint Corporation. The first victim of the doomed Donner Party met her end in Kansas. In 1947, a housewife in Johnson County, indignant at the poor condition of the local school for black children, sparked school desegregation nationwide. Author and historian Adrian Zink digs deep into the Sunflower State's history to reveal these hidden and overlooked stories.

Prohibition came early to Kansas in 1881, driving more than 125 breweries out of business or underground. Refusing to even vote on the 1933 national repeal, the state remained dry until 1948, with liquor by the drink finally being approved in 1987. Lawrence’s Chuck Magerl worked with the legislature to pen new laws allowing something (little known at the time) called a “microbrewery.” Chuck started the state’s first brewery in over a century, appropriately named Free State Brewing Company. John Dean of Topeka’s Blind Tiger Brewery counts more awards than any other brewer in the state, including Champion Brewer at the World Beer Cup in 2014. Props & Hops Brewing, in tiny Sylvan Grove, is owned and operated by an enterprising pilot who also owns and operates a crop-dusting business on the weekdays. Author Bob Crutchfield explores the state’s breweries and recounts the Sunflower State’s hoppy history.