Timeline of Topeka, Kansas

The following is a timeline of the history of Topeka, Kansas, USA.

19th century

• 1854 - Topeka Association organized.
• 1855
• Constitution Hall built.
• Topeka Constitutional Convention held.
• 1856 - Free-state government installed in Topeka, March 1856.
• 1857
• Topeka incorporated.
• State Library of Kansas established.
• 1859
• Kansas State Record newspaper begins publication.
• Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway chartered and set up offices and work shops.
• Wyandotte Constitution makes Topeka the temporary state capital.
• Topeka Cemetery established.
• 1860
• Grace Church incorporated.
• Drought.
• Population: 759.
• 1861
• Wyandotte Constitution designates Topeka as state capitol.
• Kansas legislature convenes.
• Episcopal Female Seminary of Topeka chartered.
• 1863 - Kansas Farmer begins publication.
• 1864
• Topeka threatened during Price's Raid.
• Fort Simple built in the fall in to defend against Confederate troops during Price's Raid.
• 1865
• Lincoln College founded.
• Harrison School built.
• Union Pacific railway begins operating in Eugene.
• 1867 - Fort Simple torn down in April.
• 1868 - Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad construction begins.
• 1870
• Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library established.
• Population: 5,790.
• 1871 - Topeka High School established.
• 1872 - Topeka State Hospital opens.
• 1873 - Kansas Academy of Science incorporated.
• 1875 - Kansas Historical Society founded.
• 1878 - Topeka Harvey House opens.
• 1879 - Daily Capital newspaper begins publication.
• 1880 - Population: 15,452.
• 1881 - Chartered as a city.
• 1883 - Public Library building constructed.
• 1886 - Population: 25,005.
• 1887
• Governor's Mansion built.
• Topeka Golden Giants baseball team formed.
• 1890 - Population: 31,007.
• 1894 - Christ's Hospital established.
• 1895 - Topeka Industrial and Educational Institute and Stormont Hospital and Training School established.
• 1897 - Topeka Tent and Awning Company established.
• 1899 - Gage Park established.

20th century

• 1900
• Bethel Bible College founded.
• Population: 33,608.
• 1902 - Smith Automobile Company founded.
• 1903 - Kansas State Capitol building constructed.
• 1905 - Topeka Industrial Institute later rebuilt as a women's prison.
• 1906 - Bethesda Hospital established.
• 1909 - St. Francis Hospital established.
• 1910 - Population: 43,684.
• 1911 - Hayden High School established.
• 1914 - GAR Memorial Hall built.
• 1917 - Grace Episcopal Cathedral built.
• 1920 - Menninger Clinic opens.
• 1926 - Jayhawk Theatre opens.
• 1928 - College of the Sisters of Bethany closed.
• 1933 - Topeka Zoo opens.
• 1936 - Sumner Elementary School built.
• 1941 - Topeka Army Air Field established.
• 1948 - Topeka station established.
• 1950
• Population: 78,791.
• Railroad station built.
• 1952 - Topeka Lutheran School opens.
• 1954 - Brown v. Board of Education decided.
• 1955 - Westboro Baptist Church opens.
• 1962 - Cedar Crest (mansion) becomes state governor's official residence.
• 1965 - Topeka Genealogical Society founded.
• 1966 - Tornado.
• 1976 - Forbes Field (airport) in operation.
• 1980 - Cair Paravel-Latin School founded.
• 1984 - Kansas Museum of History opens.
• 1987 - Sunflower State Expo arena opens.
• 1988 - West Ridge Mall opens.
• 1989 - Heartland Park Topeka motorsports facility opens.
• 1991 - Topeka Performing Arts Center opens.
• 1997 - City website online (approximate date).
• 1998 - Topeka ScareCrows ice hockey team founded.

21st century

2000s

• 2003 - Kansas Koyotes football team formed.
• 2004
• Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site opens.
• Topeka RoadRunners ice hockey team founded.
• 2005 - Bill Bunten becomes mayor.
• 2006 - Railroad station built.
• 2008 - North Topeka Arts District formed.
• 2009 - Topeka Mudcats women's football team founded.

2010s

• 2010
• Kaw River State Park opens.
• Population: 127,473.

See also

• List of mayors of Topeka
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Shawnee County, Kansas
• Timeline of Kansas

other cities in Kansas

• Timeline of Wichita, Kansas

References

Bibliography

• 1872
• 1882
• 1886
• 1921

• Andrews, B. (1995). Topeka: A City of Opportunity (Kansas State Historical Society).
• Cohen, J. (2007). The History of Topeka ( University of Kansas Press).
• Holmes, J. (2020). Topeka: A History (Arcadia Publishing).
• Johnson, C. (1987). A History of Topeka (Kansas State University Press).
• Johnson, W. (1982). Topeka: An Illustrated History. Kansas State Historical Society).
• Kappler, P. (2010). Topeka: The History of a Capital City (Kansas State Historical Society).
• Price, T. (2012). Topeka: The Story of Kansas’ Capital City (University Press of Kansas).
• Smith, M. (2005). Topeka: An Illustrated History (Kansas Historical Society).
• White, J. (2003). Topeka: A History (Kansas Heritage Press).

External links

• Items related to Topeka, Kansas, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).