US State Capital History Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana

Capital by the Oregon Trail

In the days of Old West of Kansas City, Missouri, three half-Kansas Indian sisters married to French-Canadian Pappan brothers established a ferry service that made it possible for travelers to cross the Kansas River into the area that today is the capital of Kansas, Topeka.

In the 1850s there was a lot of traffic along the Oregon Trail and this was supplemented by trade on a new military road that went from Fort Leavenworth through Topeka and on to Fort Riley. Soon there were steamboats docking regularly at the Topeka Landing. By the 1860s the city had become a commercial hub.

After a decade of abolitionist and pro-slavery conflicts, the territory became known as Bleeding Kansas. After the state was admitted to the Union in 1861 as the 34th state Topeka became the capital. It took 37 years to build the capitol building using Kansas limestone. Topeka was the headquarters in the operation of the Lane Trail to Freedom on the Underground Railway which was the chief slave escape passage and free trade road.

Today visitors come to Topeka to see the neo-Classical State Capitol, The Kansas Museum of History, the Old Prairie Town, and the botanical garden among other attractions.

Great Bourbon Whiskey

Frankfort the capital of Kentucky was founded in 1786 on the Kentucky River. The capital was founded by General James Wilkinson. The capital got its name as a derivation from Frank's Ford. A frontiersman, Stephen Frank, was killed in a skirmish with Indians at a local fording place on the river.

The city's capitol building was burned down twice while the larger cities of Louisville and Lexington tried to usurp the seat of government.

Today Frankfort is a trading center for the Bluegrass Region. It produces tobacco, corn, and thorughbred horses. Manufacturing includes bourbon whiskey, auto parts, furniture, candy, machinery, and apparel.

The State Capitol (pictured above) is crowned by a huge dome. Among the historic buildings are the Old Capitol, Liberty Hall, and the Orlando Brown House.

The Vietnam War Memorial has a sundial that casts a shadow on the name of each veteran on the date of that veteran's death.

Baton Rouge or Red Stick

The capital of the state of Louisiana, Baton Rouge dates back to 1699. The first to explore the area was French explorer Sieur d’Iberville. The party headed up the Mississippi River and they saw a reddish cypress pole with bloody animals and fish, marking the boundary between Houma and Bayou

Goula tribal hunting grounds. Therefore they referred to the pole and the area as “le baton rouge” or red stick. Local Native Indians had given the area the name Istrouma. From three remaining Native Indian mounds archaeologists have discovered that habitation on the Baton Rouge area began around 8,000 BC.

The term “red stick” basically referred to “warlike” because the “red stick” communities of Indians were hostile toward white European settlers. Those settlements that were peaceful were referred to as “white sticks”. Once Europeans did settle in the area Baton Rouge came under many different governing nations among them France, Britain, and Spain.

Baton Rouge has a capitol building that resembles a Neo-Gothic medieval castle that overlooks the Mississippi.

It still stands but a new modern state capitol has been built.

Baton Rouge went through a petrochemical industry boom in the 1950s and 1960s. A building boom in the city began in the 1990s. By the 2000s Baton Rouge had become one of the fastest growing cities in the South. With a vibrant mix of cultures all over Louisiana, the city’s motto has become “Authentic Louisiana at every turn”.