30 January 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas’ 163rd birthday is on Jan. 29 and groups across the state are celebrating while educating.
Kansas has one of the most unique histories in the country. It started as a free state and had a large impact on the country. The state was founded in 1861 when it joined the Union. Citizens were allowed to decide whether to allow slavery, which divided the state.
“The territory was populated really quickly, with people with really strong beliefs on either side,” Executive Director of the Douglas County Historical Society Steve Nowak said. “So, Kansas became a state a little different than other states, and Kansas Day is a way of remembering that and that important and unique part of our heritage.”
The Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence helps share the history and how it plays into Kansas today. Not just on Kansas Day, but year-round.
“People can learn a lot and understand a lot about how Kansas reacts today when they think about that origin story,” Nowak said. “We kind of live as the inheritors of that heritage.”
Washburn University has celebrated Kansas Day since the 1980s, educating students and local residents on the state.
“We have a speaker come and talk about all different aspects of Kansas,” Director for Kansas Studies at Washburn Laura Murphy said. “The last few years we’ve focused on Indigenous issues, we’ve also had authors come, photographers. It’s important to just explore the resources and all the different things that we have accomplished as a state.”
The presenter at Washburn this Kansas Day talked about how after 163 years, the state continues to evolve and more people can be part of that.
“There is all this incredible history in the state, but there’s also incredible things happening every day in the state,” Loud Light President Davis Hammet said. “People can show up and be a part of and find a way to belong to their community, and make meaningful change for themselves and the people in their life and entire community.”
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