Topeka and Kansas

Topeka lies in northeastern Kansas on the banks of the Kansas River, about an hour and a half from Kansas City. It is the state capital and was the scene of important chapters in the nation’s history: in the 1850s, clashes between pro- and anti-slavery settlers marked the territory, and in 1954 the Brown v. Board of Education case led the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the separation of white and Black students in public schools.

The statehouse, with its greened copper dome, has murals by John Steuart Curry and a walk-up to the top of the dome. Monroe Elementary School, which at the time only admitted Black students, became the centerpiece of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. West of the city, the Kansas Museum of History tells the state’s story with a steam locomotive and a 1914 biplane.

Along I-70, about 150 km to the west, Abilene was the endpoint of cattle drives from Texas in the 19th century and is the town where President Dwight Eisenhower grew up; he is buried there beside the presidential library. To the south, in the Flint Hills, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Cottonwood Falls protects a stretch of tallgrass prairie, with bison and a 19th-century stone ranch house.

This destination brings together 3 cities: Topeka, Abilene, Cottonwood Falls.