| Larned,
Kansas
Larned,
Kansas,
on the Arkansas
River, is located midway along the historic Santa
Fe Trail in Pawnee
County. The community was named for nearby Fort
Larned, a National Historic Site. The Fort was
built to protect settlers from the Indians. With
nine restored buildings, it stands as the most
well preserved Indian military post of that era.
Larned is quickly becoming a Mecca for history
buffs and tourists. Home to the Santa
Fe Trail Center, a wonderful museum dedicated
to this era, as well as the Central
States Scout Museum, exploring the world of
the boy scout, Larned has something for everyone.
The
2000 Census counted the town’s population at
just over 4,000, (Census 2000 data). Larned, with
a very low crime rate, is a great place to live
and raise a family. Temperatures in January
average 30 degrees and in the summer they are a
mild 82 degrees. Annual snowfall is only 20
inches.
State
Highway 56 bisects the area with the metropolises
of Great
Bend twenty miles to the northeast and Dodge
City located to the southwest. Major
employers include the Central
Kansas Medical Center, St. Joseph Campus, Midwest
Energy, Dillon Companies and the Larned
State Hospital. The
Santa Fe Trail Center also offers employment
for those with a taste for history. Larned has a
small municipal airport but lies only twenty miles
from the larger Great
Bend Airport. The Central Kansas Railway also
services the area.
The
region surrounding Larned, Kansas is full of
natural splendor. The 19,000-acre Cheyenne
Bottoms Wildlife Area is part of a 41,000-acre
natural land sink just northeast of Great Bend.
The region has been a concentration point for
waterfowl and other wildlife species for hundreds
of years. It offers everything from bird watching
to hunting. Quivira
National Wildlife Refuge is southeast of Great
Bend and also a wonderful place to visit. Touring
slowly by vehicle on the roads or dikes is a good
way to view either Cheyenne Bottoms or Quivira
National Wildlife Refuge as the animals are
somewhat accustomed to traffic. Both areas have
driving tours with maps available at the
entrances.
Larned
is a town that celebrates. Santa
Fe Trail Days is a four-day annual event with
something for everyone, craft and food booths, a
parade and even a petting zoo for the kids.
There’s also a flea market, gunfights and
carriage rides through downtown Larned. The Pawnee
County Fair is held in July and “Silver
Dollar Days” is celebrated each Saturday in
December prior to Christmas.
The
Larned
school system offers public and private
schools, all keeping up to the high standards for
which Kansas is known. Barton
County Community College is only 23 miles away
and Fort
Hays State University is just 60 miles.
Larned,
Kansas
is off the beaten path, but that adds to the charm
of the community. Within easy commute of two major
cities, it is a peaceful, quiet place to live and
raise a family.
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