Wilburton, Kansas

Wilburton, Kansas
Unincorporated community

KDOT map of Morton County (legend)
Wilburton
Wilburton

Location within the state of Kansas

Coordinates: 37°04′25″N 101°46′24″W / 37.07361°N 101.77333°W / 37.07361; -101.77333Coordinates: 37°04′25″N 101°46′24″W / 37.07361°N 101.77333°W / 37.07361; -101.77333[1]
Country United States
State Kansas
County Morton
Elevation[1] 3,428 ft (1,045 m)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code 620
FIPS code 20-79125 [1]
GNIS ID 484535 [1]

Wilburton is an unincorporated community in Morton County, Kansas, United States.[1] Wilburton is located along U.S. Route 56 and the Cimarron Valley Railroad 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Elkhart.[2]

History

Early history

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1848, after the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Spain brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1886, Morton County was established, which included the land for modern day Wilburton.

20th century

A post office was opened in Wilburton in 1913, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1957.[3]

In the 1930s, the prosperity of the area was severely affected by its location within the Dust Bowl. This catastrophe intensified the economic impact of the Great Depression in the region.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) details for Wilburton, Kansas; United States Geological Survey (USGS); October 13, 1978.
  2. ↑ 2011-2012 Kansas Official Transportation Map (Map). Kansas Department of Transportation. 2011.
  3. ↑ "Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 (archived)". Kansas Historical Society. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2014.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.