Topeka Travel Guide — Best Time, Things to Do & Where to Stay

Why Topeka

Topeka is the capital of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, situated along the Kansas River in northeastern Kansas within the central United States. Home to 126,587 residents according to the 2020 census, the city anchors a broader five-county metropolitan region of approximately 233,000 people. Its name originates from a Kansa-Osage term meaning "a good place to dig potatoes," a phrase chosen by the town's founders in 1855 due to its Native American roots and pleasing sound.

Long inhabited by Native Americans, the region became part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. During the 1840s, travelers making their way along the Oregon Trail crossed the Kansas River at this location using a ferry service operated by three half-Kansa sisters and their French-Canadian husbands. Topeka was formally laid out in 1854 as an antislavery Free-State settlement and was chartered as a city in 1857. Following years of regional conflict, Kansas was admitted to the Union in 1861, with Topeka selected as the state capital.

The city holds a prominent place in United States civil rights history. It is renowned for the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Today, the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, housed in the former Monroe Elementary School, offers interactive exhibits that opened to the public in 2004. Another significant destination is Constitution Hall, where antislavery delegates assembled in 1855 to draft a state constitution; the building served as a headquarters along the Underground Railroad's Lane Trail to Freedom and as an early statehouse.

Dominating the local architecture is the Kansas State Capitol, constructed from local limestone over a 37-year period beginning in 1866 on land donated by city co-founder Cyrus K. Holliday. The city is also home to Washburn University, founded in 1865 as Lincoln College, which rebuilt its campus following a severe F5 tornado that struck the town in 1966. Historically, Topeka served as a major railway hub for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, which established its main offices and machine shops in the city in 1878.

Visitors to Topeka will find a variety of modern amenities and cultural attractions, including the Topeka Performing Arts Center, the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, West Ridge Mall, and the Heartland Park Topeka motorsports venue, which opened in 1989. The downtown district along the Kansas River Corridor has also undergone ongoing redevelopment featuring streetscape enhancements and residential lofts. The city is easily accessible via Interstate 70, Interstate 335 on the Kansas Turnpike, and U.S. Highways 24, 40, and 75.