Kansas Kansas Flag

Statehood
The 34th state Jan. 29, 1861
Captial
Topeka
State Motto
To the stars through difficulties
Origin of State Name
The state is named for the Kansas River, which, in turn, was named for the Kansa people, who once inhabited the northeast area of the state.
State Nickname
The Sunflower State The helianthus, or native wild sunflower, grows throughout Kansas.
Interesting Facts
In 1919 the first airplane factory in Kansas was built in Wichita, which became one of the nation's top plane manufacturing cities. Dwight Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, was born in Abeline, Kansas in 1890. Kansas was a crucial battleground in the fight over slavery between 1858-1859, and was finally admitted as a free state in 1861, just before the Civil War.