Situated at the north-east of the city of Kansas, Topeka is also capital city of the state of Kansas. The name “Topeka”owes its origin from a Kansas tribal name meaning “a good place to dig potatoes”. In the year 1854, Topeka c ame to exist as a free town after the passing of the Kansas Nebraska bill. The city was founded by the anti-slavery men. In the year 1857, Topeka earned the status of a city. Today the city of Topeka houses a population of 122,377 according to the 2000 census. The per capita income of the city is $19, 555 with 12.4% of the population lying below the poverty line.
The city of Topeka has four public school districts namely Topeka USD501, Auburn-Washburn USD437, Shawnee Heights USD 450 and Seaman USD345. Topeka also houses many private schools namely Topeka Collegiate, Cair Paravel- Latin school and a host of Catholic schools. Topeka is the home to many colleges, technical schools and universities. The city of Topeka is also the site of the University of Washburn.
The important places of the city of Topeka includes the following:
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- Brown v. Board Of Education National historic Site -established in the year 1992, to mark the Supreme court decision to end racial discrimination in schools.
- Reinisch Rose Garden and Doran Rock Garden- houses 400 varieties of flowers with 6500 plants
- Kansas Museum of History - focusing on the the history of the city of Topeka.
- Topeka Zoo - famous for the first Golden Eagle chick born here.
- Heartland Park Topeka- an important road racing or the cart racing track.
- Topeka Civic Center - a famous art theater.
- Topeka High School – a building exhibiting splendid specimens of Gothic architecture.
The city of Topeka is intersected by quite a number of roads and highways. Phillip Billard Municipal airport is located nearby and rail and the ferry services are available throughout the city.
Topeka goes through a continental climate of hot and humid summers and cool, dry winters. The springs and summers are interspersed by rains while the autumn and winters are drier. The rainfall in the city is accompanied by lightning, thunderstorms, hail and occasional tornadoes.
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