WikiPortallus: Manhattan, Kansas.html

Manhattan is a city in Pottawatomie and Riley counties in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. Located at the junction of the Big Blue and Kansas rivers, the city is the county seat of Riley County.⁴ As of the July 2007 census estimate, its population was 51,707, making it the eighth-largest city in Kansas.¹ It is the principal city of the Manhattan, Kansas Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Polistra and Canton

The Kansas-Nebraska Act opened the territory to settlement in 1854. That fall, George S. Park founded the first Euro-American settlement within the borders of the current Manhattan. Park named it Polistra (some historians refer to it as Poliska or Poleska).⁶

Later that same year, Samuel D. Houston and four other pioneers founded a neighboring community near the mouth of the Big Blue River that they named Canton.⁷ Neither Canton nor Polistra ever grew to include anyone beyond their original founders.

Free-Staters

In March 1855, a group of Free-Staters traveled to Kansas Territory under the auspices of the New England Emigrant Aid Company to found a Free-State town. Led by Isaac Goodnow, the first members of the group selected (in conjunction with Samuel C. Pomeroy) the location of the Polistra and Canton claims for the Aid Company's new settlement. After the New Englanders arrived at the site, in April 1855 the various settlers agreed to join their three groups into one settlement named Boston.⁶

In June 1855, the steamboat Hartford, carrying 75 settlers from Ohio, ran aground in the Kansas River near the settlement. The Hartford passengers accepted an invitation to join the new town, but insisted that it be renamed Manhattan, which was done on June 29, 1855. Manhattan was incorporated on May 30, 1857.⁶

Early events

Early Manhattan settlers found themselves in conflict with Native Americans and the town itself was threatened by pro-slavery Southerners, but the proximity of Fort Riley protected the settlement from the major violence visited upon other Free-State towns during the "Bleeding Kansas" era.

The young city received an early boost when gold was discovered in the Rocky Mountains in 1859 and Fifty-Niners began to stream through Manhattan on their way to prospect in the mountains. Manhattan was one of the last significant settlements on the route west, and the village's merchants did a brisk business selling supplies to miners.

At the same time, Manhattan was fast becoming a center of education. In 1858, the Territorial Legislature chartered the private Methodist Bluemont Central College in Manhattan. In 1861, when the State of Kansas entered the Union, Isaac Goodnow, who had been a teacher in Rhode Island, began lobbying the legislature to establish a university in Manhattan. As an inducement, the Manhattanites offered to the state the physical plant of Bluemont Central College. The culmination of these efforts came on February 16, 1863, when the Kansas legislature established Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University) in Manhattan.

By the time the Kansas Pacific Railroad laid its tracks west through Manhattan in 1866, the 11-year-old settlement was already permanently ensconced in the tallgrass prairie. Manhattan has increased in population every decade since its founding.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.0 square miles (39 km²), almost all land.

Geographic features

Manhattan is located in the Flint Hills region of Kansas, which consists of continuous rolling hills covered in tall grasses. However, the current downtown area – the original site of Manhattan – was built on a broad, flat floodplain at the junction of the Kansas and Big Blue rivers.

Climate

Over the course of a year, temperatures range from an average low of almost 15 °F (−9 °C) in January to an average high of nearly 93 °F (34 °C) in July. The maximum temperature reaches 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 56 days per year and reaches 100 °F (38 °C) an average of 9 days per year. The minimum temperature falls below the freezing point (32°F) an average of 118 days per year. Typically the first fall freeze occurs between the last week of September and the end of October, and the last spring freeze occurs between the first week of April and early May.

The area receives nearly 35 inches (890 mm) of precipitation during an average year with the largest share being received in May and June—the April–June period averages 33 days of measurable precipitation. During a typical year the total amount of precipitation may be anywhere from 24 to 46 inches (1,200 mm). There are on average 97 days of measurable precipitation per year. Winter snowfall averages almost 16 inches, but the median is less than 10 inches (250 mm). Measurable snowfall occurs an average of 10 days per year with at least an inch of snow being received on six of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch occurs an average of 20 days per year.

June 2008 Tornado

A tornado touched down in Manhattan at approximately 10:30 PM on June 11, 2008. Thirty-one homes and several businesses were destroyed by the EF4 tornado. Additionally, Kansas State University's campus incurred about $20 million in damage – a number of university buildings sustained significant damage and the Wind Erosion Laboratory was destroyed by the tornado's winds.⁹ No one was killed.¹⁰

Previously, the most destructive tornado to hit Manhattan was on June 8, 1966. That 1966 tornado caused $5 million in damage and injured at least 65 people in Manhattan.¹¹¹²

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 44,831 people, 16,949 households, and 8,254 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,983.9 people per square mile (1,152.4/km²). There were 17,690 housing units at an average density of 1,177.4/sq mi (454.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.28% White, 4.86% African American, 0.48% Native American, 3.93% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.49% of the population.

There were 16,949 households out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.3% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89.

The age distribution is 15.8% under the age of 18, 39.2% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 13.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 106.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,463, and the median income for a family was $48,289. Males had a median income of $31,396 versus $24,611 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,566. About 8.7% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

Education

Manhattan has one public high school with two campuses (Manhattan High School), two junior high schools (Susan B. Anthony and Dwight D. Eisenhower), and eight elementary schools (Amanda Arnold, Frank V. Bergman, Lee, Marlatt, Northview, Theodore Roosevelt, Bluemont and Woodrow Wilson). The city also has two private school systems: Flint Hills Christian School and the Manhattan Catholic Schools.

Transportation

Manhattan Regional Airport is located 4 kilometres (2 mi) west of Manhattan on K-18. The airport is served by Great Lakes Airlines which offers flights to both Kansas City and Denver. Domestic bus and train service to and from the city has been discontinued over the past several years.

Mass transit

Manhattan is served by Riley County's subsidized paratransit service, ATA Bus. ATA Bus recently started its first, set-route bus route in Manhattan connecting an apartment complex and an office campus, and is currently working with the city to develop a feasible mass transit system. ATA uses four small buses and a number of minivans in its fleet.

Highways

Interstate 70 runs about 9 miles (14 km) south of Manhattan. Three exits have a direct connection to Manhattan.

U.S. Route 24 runs through Manhattan. East on 24 is Wamego, West is Clay Center. US-24 comes in from Clay Center, runs north of the city, turns into a four-lane highway near Tuttle Creek State Park and travels downtown as Tuttle Creek Boulevard until an intersection with E. Poyntz Ave. and turns northeast to Wamego.

K-177 runs north from I-70 as Bill Snyder Highway until the Kansas River viaduct. A half-leaf interchange with K-18 (Tuttle Creek Blvd. and Ft. Riley Blvd.) and travels North as US-24. It officially ends at the intersection with U.S. Route 77 near Randolph.

K-18 is a major connector in Manhattan. It begins about 18 miles (29 km) east of Manhattan, at K-99. It runs through Wabunsee and Zeandale to K-177, crosses to Kansas River, and runs West toward the Manhattan Regional Airport and Ogden. It then travels south to I-70 as a major gateway to Manhattan.

Notable residents

Twin or partner cities

Manhattan in popular culture

References

^ ^a ^b "2007 Census Estimate". Retrieved on 2008-08-08.
^ ^a ^b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "Best Places to Retire Young". Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
^ ^a ^b ^c Parrish, Donald (2004). This Land is Our Land: The Public Domain in the Vicinity of Riley County and Manhattan, Kansas. Riley County Historical Society. ISBN 0-9677686-2-4. OCLC 54769277.
^ Streeter, Floyd Benjamin (1975). The Kaw: The Heart of a Nation. New York: Arno Press. ISBN 9780405068898. OCLC 2180188.
^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ Wichita Eagle-Beacon Tornadoes rip Manhattan, KSU damage more than $20 million
^ Hanna, John (2008-06-13). "Kansas residents assess damage after deadly twisters", Associated Press. Retrieved on 13 June 2008.
^ "City Officials set Damage at $5 Million", Topeka Capital-Journal (1966-06-10). Retrieved on 13 August 2008.
^ NOAA's National Weather Service, The Topeka Tornado - June 8, 1966, http://www.crh.noaa.gov/top/events/66tornado.php, retrieved on 13 August 2008
^ "Country Music Hall of Fame site". Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
^ "The Elvira Show on tv.com". Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
^ Jon Stewart. The Daily Show: The Manhattan Project. Comedy Central.
^ "IMDb "Friday Night Lights" filming locations". Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
^ The Trailer
^ "English Paper on the Strong Bad Emails". Retrieved on 2007-09-18.

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