1. It Joined the U.S. Piecemeal

The bulk of what is now Kansas was bought from France as part of the Louisiana purchase in 1803, but southwest Kansas only joined the U.S. after the Mexican-American War ended in 1848.

2. It’s the middle of the United States

To clarify, Kansas isn’t just in the middle of the United States. It is the exact middle (of the 48 contiguous states) — or at least one location in Kansas is. The country’s midpoint is in north-central Kansas, about a dozen miles south of the Nebraska border. In case you’re thinking of heading there, it’s about a three-hour drive from Wichita.

3. Kansas has some big business

If you think of Kansas as more wheat field country than Fortune 500 country, you’re not really wrong. But it does boast the corporate headquarters of Sprint and the operational headquarters of Garmin.

While Payless ShoeSource halted its U.S. operations earlier this year, the company still operates abroad, and Topeka, Kansas is listed as the corporate headquarters on the company site.

4. It’s about as hard-core Republican as you can get

Much of the southern U.S. is staunchly Republican, but if you go back a few decades, many of those states leaned Democratic. Kansas is a notable exception. Kansans voted for incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, but otherwise haven’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since the 1930s. They also haven’t elected a Democratic senator in close to 90 years.

Other red states of today were solidly blue more recently. Texas voted for LBJ, as well, but the state also cast ballots for Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy and Harry S. Truman. Alabama voted for Carter, JFK and Adlai Stevenson (twice). Mississippi also voted for Carter and Stevenson.

5. Kansas led the fight for women’s suffrage

According to the National Parks Service, Kansas was the first state to hold a referendum on women’s right to vote in 1867. The 1867 referendum was defeated, however within 20 years, women had gained the right to vote in local (but not national) elections. In 1912, the state approved the Equal Suffrage Amendment, giving Kansas women full voting rights — some eight years before the 19th amendment granted those rights to women across the country.

Sources: Wikipedia, Google Maps, Payless, NPS, KSHS

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