Topeka, Kansas

Topeka () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas. Topeka is the county seat of Shawnee County, and it is in the northeast part of the state. In 2020, 126,587 people lived there.

Topeka was established in 1854 when nine white men founded the Topeka Town Association. At an election in November 1861, the people of Kansas chose Topeka as the permanent capital of the state.

Naming history
The name Topeka is made up of three words from the Kaw, Omaha, and Iowa Native American tribes. The first, to, means "potato". The second, pe (short for pekae) is an adjective meaning "good". The third, okae, means "to dig". Thus, the name Topeka means "a good place to dig potatoes". The name was chosen because "[i]t was a novel name of Indian origin, euphonious [pleasing] of sound and simple".

History and culture
Charles Sheldon and Charles Fox Parham, both important people in the history of American Christianity, were preachers in Topeka. Many historians believe that the modern Pentecostalism movement started in Monroe's church in 1901. Sheldon was a preacher in Topeka around the same time, who is famous for coming up with the phrase "What would Jesus do?"Alan F. Bearman and Jennifer L. Mills 2009. "Adapting Christianity to the Challenges of the American West", Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains, 32(106)

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a lawsuit that went before the United States Supreme Court in 1954. Several families sued the public school board in Topeka for the right for black students to go to the same schools as white students. The Supreme Court decided that school districts could not make students go to different schools because of their race. Today, the government has a museum in Topeka about Brown v. Board of Education and civil rights for African-Americans.

Geography

Topeka is at , in north east Kansas. It is at the intersection of I-70 and U.S. Highway 75. It is the start of I-335 which is a part of the Kansas Turnpike running from Topeka to Emporia, Kansas. Topeka is also on U.S. Highway 24 (about 50 miles east of Manhattan, Kansas) and U.S. Highway 40 (about 30 miles west of Lawrence, Kansas). U.S.-40 is coincident with I-70 west from Topeka. The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . Of that,  is land and  is water.

Weather
In 2007 Forbes Magazine saidd Topeka as one of the leading U.S. cities in terms of having the biggest changes in temperature, precipitation, and wind.
Topeka has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa). It has hot, somewhat humid summers and cool to cold, fairly dry winters. It is in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6. Over the course of a year, the monthly daily average temperature ranges from  in January to  in July. The high temperature reaches  on average of 41.5 afternoons per year. The high reaches  an average of 3.5 afternoons per year. The low temperature falls below  on average of four mornings per year, and there are 21 afternoons per year that stay below freezing. The general time of year for freezing temperatures is October 15 through April 17.

The area gets about  of precipitation during an average year. The most being received in May and June—the April through June period averages 33 days of measurable precipitation. Generally, the spring and summer months have the most rainfall. Autumn and winter are fairly dry. During a typical year the total amount of precipitation may be anywhere from . Much of the rainfall is comes from thunderstorms. These can be very bad. They often have lightning, big hail, and sometimes tornadoes. Winter snowfall averages almost . Measurable (≥) snowfall occurs an average of 12.9 days per year, with at least one inch (0.025 metre) of snow being received on five of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch happens an average of 20 days per year.

People

2020 census
The 2020 census says that there were 126,587 people, 53,938 households, and 29,912 families living in Topeka. Of the households, 54.8% owned their home and 45.2% rented their home.

The median age was 38.3 years. Of the people, 68.4% were White, 10.4% were Black, 1.6% were Asian, 1.4% were Native American, 0.1% were Pacific Islanders, 6.1% were from some other race, and 11.9% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.4% of the people.

2010 census
The 2010 census says that there were 127,473 people, 53,943 households, and 30,707 families living in Topeka.

Crime

Culture
Sports
ClubSportLeagueKaw Valley FCSoccerUSL League TwoTopeka Golden GiantsBaseballMid-Plains LeagueTopeka PilotsIce hockeyNorth American Hockey League

Cuisine
C W Porubsky's Deli & Tavern's chili "has been a lure to north Topeka since 1951". In 2014, Travel + Leisure said it was one of America's Best Chilis.

Media
Print
The Topeka Capital-Journal is a newspaper that is published every day. The Topeka Metro News is a newspaper that is published twice per week. Both newspapers have online versions (The Topeka Metro News - Online Edition and CJOnline).

Radio
The following radio stations are licensed to Topeka:

AM
 Frequency Callsign Format Notes580WIBWNews/Talk1440KMAJNews/Talk1490KTOPSports

FM
 Frequency Callsign Format Notes88.1KJTYContemporary Christian89.5K208FEChristianTranslator of KAWZ, Twin Falls, Idaho90.3KBUZChristianAFR94.5WIBW-FMCountry99.3KWICClassic Hits100.3KDVVAOR106.9KTPKClassic Country107.7KMAJAdult contemporary

Television
The following television stations are licensed to Topeka:

 Digital Channel Analog Channel Callsign Network Notes1111 KTWUPBS1313 WIBW-TVCBS2526 WROB-LD TV252727 KSNTNBC 33K33ICTBN436KTMJ-CDFOX48; 49 (Virtual)49 KTKA-TVABC

Infrastructure
Transportation
Greyhound Lines has buses going towards Denver, Colorado, eastward to Kansas City, Missouri, and southwest to Wichita, Kansas.

Related pages
 Great Flood of 1951
 1966 F5 tornado

Notes

References

Other websites


 Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce
 Kansas State Historical Society

 Topeka City Map, KDOT

Category:1854 establishments in Kansas Territory

Category:County seats in Kansas
Category:State capitals in the United States
Category:Bleeding Kansas