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Kingman, Kansas

Kingman, Kansas

The site of Kingman was on the Ninnescah crossing of the Hutchinson-Medicine Lodge Trail. There in 1872, Norman Ingraham located his house, which he had hauled from Reno County. He hoped the place would become a city and he named it Sherman. There stood the town of Sherman with one shack and one cottonwood tree, waiting to become a city. J.H. Fical and his brother started a new town at Sherman in 1874 and named it Kingman. The county, the town, and a township were all named for Samuel A. Kingman, Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. Only Sherman Street remains to remind one of the town's first name. Even the first hotel had its name changed from "The Sherman House" to the "Kingman House."

Pure rock salt was discovered in 1887 and workers moved to town, so additions to Kingman were hastily developed. This Boom-town was called the "Queen of the Ninnescah", ironic to Samuel A. Kingman's Fourth of July oration in 1878 at Kingman, "Our state history has no nobler name," said D.W. Wilder, than Kingman's and "it will live with the life of the State."

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Cannonball Stageline Highway

Donald R. Green was originally from Kentucky but learned to ride a stage coach while living in Montana. Hearing about how people were moving westward through Kansas during the late 1800s beyond where the railroads ended, he saw a financial opportunity.

Kingman, KS Landmarks

Riggs/Waterloo Aboretum

Established by John Water Riggs, the Riggs Arboretum at Waterloo is perhaps the oldest and least known arboretum west of the Mississippi River. The property is in essence a large (10 acre) grove of trees, most ranging in age from 75 to 100+

Kingman, KS Arboretums

Stan Herd Murals

Stan Herd, a famous international artist, painted two murals on the north wall of the Kingman County Museum. Clyde Cessna is depicted flying his first airplane over Kingman County. In 1911, Clyde founded Cessna Aircraft Company.

Kingman, KS Arts

Byron Walker Wildlife Area

Hunters and non-consumptive wildlife users alike will find plenty to do on Byron Walker Wildlife Area. The habitat is diverse, including streamside woodlands, shrub plots, native prairie and food plots. Most of the grassland has been enhanced with tree and shrub cover strips adjacent to food plots.

Kingman, KS Wildlife Refuges

Kingman State Fishing Lake

Kingman State Fishing Lake and Byron Walker Wildlife Area are located on U.S. Highway 54 seven miles west of Kingman, in the valley of the South Fork of the Ninnescah River. The area encompasses 4,529 acres, including the 144-acre Kingman State Fishing Lake.

Kingman, KS Recreation

Things to do near Kingman, KS