In 1857, Emporia was established as a town. There were about 541 residents living in Emporia. It is also known as “Athens of Kansas” because they had two colleges. In this story, I’m going to talk about the history and some interesting facts about my town.

It all started back when  Pioneers and Natives were establishing Emporia. They had traveled far and wide on ox’s on “toepath roads”. Charles H. Whithington was the first settler. In the Spring of 1956, settlers started coming in rapidly to live in the town of Emporia. Emporia was close to other towns such as Olpe, Hartford, Americus, Neosho Rapids, etc. After a while churches, schools, and other new buildings were available to all the children and adults.

Then, Emporia started to grow into a real town with the hospitals, schools, churches, and even stores! Some of you who live in Emporia live on these streets that they named back then. Such as: Merchant, Constitution, Congress, State, Rural, West, Walnut, Cottonwood, Exchange, Union, and much more! Then, we added more streets but those were the olden streets from clear back to 1857.

Lastly, I’m going to tell you all the interesting facts about Emporia! Well, did you know that Emporia was an important railroad hub! That’s true after the Civil War it became very important and the first railroad reached Emporia in 1869. What does Emporia stand for? It means a large retail store selling a wide variety of goods.

In conclusion, Emporia is a great town. It is the home of Emporia State University and the Hornets. It has so many amazing Schools, Churches, and Stores! And of course the Hospital. There is a lot of History about Emporia but these are the basics to learn about it! To learn more go to Lyon County Historical Society and it will tell you more facts and history. Emporia is an important town to Kansas and my home.