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Manhattan is a town located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2000 census, its population was 44,831. Manhattan is the county seat of Riley County. A small part of the town also extends into Pottawatomie County.

Nicknamed The Little Apple in 1977 as a play on New York City's "Big Apple," it is most well-known for being the home of Kansas State University. Eight miles (13km) west of the town is Fort Riley, a United States Army post.

History

Manhattan was settled in April 1855 by the abolitionist Isaac Goodnow * and other New England settlers travelling to Kansas Territory under the auspices of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. It was originally named Boston. The new town incorporated two other small settlements already in the area, named Canton and Polistra. 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.

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. Manhattan soon became an abolitionist stronghold, railroad hub, and center of education.

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 the private Bluemont Central College, which was chartered in Manhattan in 1858. 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.

Since its founding, Manhattan has increased in population every decade. In 1900, 3,438 people lived in Manhattan; in 1910, 5,722; and in 1940, 11,659.

Geography

Manhattan is located at (39.190142, -96.586818), or about 50 miles (80km) west of Topeka on the Kansas River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.9 km² (15.0 mi²). 38.9 km² (15.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.07% is water.

Manhattan is located in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. Tuttle Creek Reservoir is a lake located 5 miles (8km) north of Manhattan. While the dam which forms the lake was built by the Army Corps of Engineers primarily for flood control, the lake is now a state park, which offers many recreational opportunities. The Konza Prairie, a tallgrass prairie preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University, is south of town.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 44,831 people, 16,949 households, and 8,254 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,152.4/km² (2,983.9/mi²). There were 17,690 housing units at an average density of 454.7/km² (1,177.4/mi²). 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 general age distribution is typical of a university town; the sex distribution is not uncommon in areas dominated by major land-grant universities.

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. However, traditional poverty statistics can be misleading when applied to communities with large student populations, such as Manhattan.

Sites of interest

Visitors are drawn to Manhattan by Kansas State University sporting events, performing arts, lecture series, and the annual Country Stampede - a large outdoor country music festival.

The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the Kansas State University Gardens are located on the campus of Kansas State University. Next to campus is Aggieville, one of the oldest shopping and retail centers in the United States, with enough bars to satisfy the college crowd. Aggieville is also home to the longest continuously-operating Pizza Hut in the world.

Manhattan's Sunset Zoo is accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Colbert Hills Golf Course, which is annually ranked by Golf Digest among the best in the state, is home to the Earl Woods National Youth Golf Academy and a host site for the First Tee program. Manhattan is also the birthplace of Damon Runyon, the "Inventor of Broadway," and his Manhattan house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The buildings which house The Flint Hills Job Corps Training Center east of town were once used as a nursing home and orphanage operated by the Fraternal Order of Odd Fellows.

The First Capital of the Kansas Territory is preserved nearby, on Fort Riley grounds.

Education

Manhattan is home to Kansas State University (the Wildcats), Manhattan Christian College, Manhattan Area Technical College, the American Institute of Baking and The Flint Hills Job Corps Training Center.

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, Ogden, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson). The town also has two private school systems: Flint Hills Christian School and the Manhattan Catholic Schools.

Transportation

Manhattan Regional Airport is located 4 miles (6km) west of Manhattan on Kansas State Highway 18. The airport is served by U.S. Airways Express. Manhattan has no internal mass transit system, and bus and train service to and from the town has been discontinued over the past several years.

Notable natives

The town in popular culture

References

  • Parrish, Donald. This Land is Our Land: The Public Domain in the Vicinity of Riley County and Manhattan, Kansas. (ISBN 0967768624 2004)

External links

Cities in Kansas | County seats in Kansas | Riley County, Kansas | Pottawatomie County, Kansas | University towns

Manhattan, Kansas

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Manhattan, Kansas".

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