Arkansas City

Arkansas City, city, Cowley county, southern Kansas, U.S. It lies near the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers. Founded in 1870, it was successively named Walnut City, Adelphi, and Creswell; the present name was adopted at the city’s incorporation (1872). It was a starting place for the 1893 settlement of the Cherokee Strip in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), and the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum is 2 miles (3 km) south of the city. In 1869–70 Wild West entrepreneur William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, then a U.S. marshal, made his headquarters in Arkansas City, where he ended a persistent problem with cattle theft in the vicinity. Oil was discovered nearby in 1914. Arkansas City is a shipping centre and a railroad junction with repair shops. Oil refining, tile manufacturing, flour milling, meat-packing, and food processing are important industries. Cowley County Community College was founded there in 1922. Cowley State Fishing Lake is nearby. Pop. (2000) 11,963; (2010) 12,415.