Long before the first airplanes took flight, Wichita was just a non-name piece of ground along the Arkansas River — native prairie lands, cowboy trails, and railroads. However, a city would grow from a tiny trading post into a manufacturing powerhouse, all while maintaining that distinctly Midwestern spirit of grit and innovation.

Below you will find the stories of how a small settlement on the Chisholm Trail became the heartbeat of Kansas, a place where dreamers and doers turned empty prairie into an entrepreneurial powerhouse.

From the Wichita Indians who first called this land home to the aerospace pioneers who would make "Air Capital of the World" more than just a slogan — every era has its heroes, its turning points, its untold stories.

These are Wichita’s stories. These stories are our history. And our history helps define who we are.

BEFORE THE 1900s

Founding of Wichita & Before

The Earliest Days of Wichita

• (coming soon) The Chisholm Trails

• (being researched) The Wichita Castle & Colonel Burton Campbell

• (coming soon) James R. Mead

• (coming soon) William Greiffenstein

• (coming soon) Buffalo Bill Mathewson

• (coming soon) Darius Munger