Quick Facts About Wichita | Learn About Wichita (2024)

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Quick Facts About Wichita | Learn About Wichita? ›

Wichita has long been known as a center of entrepreneurship. In addition to aircraft pioneers, Fred Koch founded Koch Industries in Wichita, and Dan and Frank Carney founded Pizza Hut. Coleman, Freddy's Frozen Custard, and many other successful companies began in Wichita.

Wichita has long been known as a center of entrepreneurship. In addition to aircraft pioneers, Fred Koch founded Koch Industries in Wichita, and Dan and Frank Carney founded Pizza Hut. Coleman, Freddy's Frozen Custard, and many other successful companies began in Wichita.

The name Wichita comes from the Wichita Indians, who settled at various times in the vicinity, and means either "scattered lodges" or "painted faces," depending on which historian you ask. In 1868, a Wichita Town Company was organized with Mead and six others as original incorporators.

Wichita, the Heart of the Country, is the largest city in Kansas – full of significant aviation and western heritage. Our vibrant city radiates friendliness and ingenuity as the Air Capital of the World.

Although its cowboy roots are still celebrated, Wichita has since embraced higher education, world-class health care and technological innovation. In fact, many companies including Cessna and Learjet got their start here, earning Wichita the nickname "Air Capital of the World."

Wichita proudly upholds the tradition of Kansas-style barbecue. The city's renowned BBQ joints serve up mouthwatering dishes like slow-smoked ribs, tender brisket, and smoky pulled pork. Be sure to try the burnt ends, a local specialty featuring caramelized and succulent pieces of beef or pork.

The Wichita people, or Kitikiti'sh, are a confederation of Southern Plains Native American tribes. Historically they spoke the Wichita language and Kichai language, both Caddoan languages. They are indigenous to Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. Kitikiti'sh.

The city became an aircraft production hub known as "The Air Capital of the World". Textron Aviation, Learjet, Airbus, and Boeing/Spirit AeroSystems continue to operate design and manufacturing facilities in Wichita, and the city remains a major center of the American aircraft industry.

Wichitans Are Proud To Be The “Air Capital Of The World”

Cessna, Stearman and Beechcraft were all founded in Wichita.

Wichita is the birthplace of Pizza Hut and White Castle fast-food chains. A.A. Hyde discovered Mentholatum in 1894 in the current The Spice Merchant & Company building.

What does Doo-Dah mean in Wichita? ›

Doo-dah (doo' dah) n. - Another nickname for Wichita, KS. Origins are unknown, but perhaps it references the laid-back, whimsical attitude felt by some visitors to the city.

The Wichita lived in round houses that looked like haystacks. They built their homes by covering a wood frame with grass. While hunting the Wichita lived in cone-shaped tents called tepees, which they carried from place to place. They made the tepees with animal skins.

Research. With more than 30 renowned centers and institutes and state-of-the-art labs and research facilities, Wichita State students do real research that impacts the community, the economy and people's lives.

History of the Wichita Flag

Designed by Wichita artist Cecil McAlister, it represents freedom, happiness, contentment and home. Selected from more than 100 entries that were submitted for a city flag design contest, it was officially adopted on Flag Day, June 14, 1937, by Mayor T. Walker Weaver.

The Wichita Mountains are geologically very old. The granite, rhyolite, and gabbro that constitute much of the range were solidifying beneath the surface of the earth 525 million years ago. Then between 330 to 290 million years ago the region was uplifted to heights greater than at present.

Founded in 1876, it was named for the Wichita Indians and the low-water river falls that existed there until 1886, when they were washed away by a flood. (A falls, with 35,000 gallons [130,000 litres] recirculating per minute, has been recreated as a tourist attraction.)

They were encountered by the Spanish in the mid-16th century and became the first group of Plains Indians subject to missionization. Like most Caddoans, the Wichita traditionally subsisted largely by farming corn (maize), pumpkins, and tobacco; buffalo hunting was also an important part of their economy.