After covering the US states that start with I, the series moves forward. There are no US states that start with J, so attention turns to the US states that start with K. Kansas and Kentucky hold that position in the alphabet.
Kansas became a symbol of perseverance and open land, built by people who relied on the soil beneath them.
Kentucky built its reputation through culture, music, and pride that have been carried through generations.
Their stories speak about progress built through effort, not ease, and about how every region adds something real to the American story.
Kansas
Kansas sits at the center of the country with a story built on conflict, innovation, and survival.
On its surface, it looks like farmland and small towns, but the ground here holds memories of national battles over freedom and the push to settle the plains.
Each generation reshaped the state, leaving behind railroads, factories, and communities that still matter to the national economy.
History
Statehood came in 1861 after a violent period known as Bleeding Kansas. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups fought across the territory, and those clashes helped trigger the Civil War.
In the decades that followed, Kansas drew homesteaders, railroad workers, and immigrants who turned the plains into farmland and built towns along the tracks. Wichita grew into the Air Capital of the World during the rise of the aircraft industry.
Geography
Kansas covers over 80,000 square miles in the Great Plains. Elevation climbs steadily from the Missouri border in the east to the high plains near Colorado in the west. The Kansas and Arkansas Rivers run through fertile valleys where farming towns developed.
The state is also part of Tornado Alley, with powerful storms a regular feature of spring and summer. Monument Rocks, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, and Cheyenne Bottoms wetlands are reminders that the landscape is more varied than it appears from a highway.
Surprising Facts
- Susanna Salter of Argonia became the first woman elected mayor in the United States in 1887.
- Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison and learned to fly in Kansas.
- Helium was first identified at the University of Kansas in 1905.
- Lebanon, Kansas, marks the geographic center of the contiguous United States.
- More than 30 percent of all U.S. wheat is grown here, giving Kansas the title “Breadbasket of the World.”
Kentucky
Kentucky carries the sound of American history in its hills, rivers, and towns. The state stands between the Midwest and the South, where different traditions, economies, and ideas meet and mix.
Its story is tied to land, music, and movement, built through generations that worked farms, mined coal, and shaped a culture that became known across the world.
History
Kentucky became the fifteenth state in 1792, carved out of what was once part of Virginia. Frontier life defined its early years, and figures like Daniel Boone became national legends for opening routes through the Cumberland Gap. During the Civil War, Kentucky stood in a difficult position as a border state.
Families were divided, and both Union and Confederate troops fought on its soil. After the war, the state grew through agriculture, horse breeding, and tobacco, industries that still mark its identity.
The twentieth century brought coal mining to the Appalachian region and manufacturing to cities like Louisville and Lexington. The creation of the Kentucky Derby in 1875 added another layer to its reputation, linking the state forever to horse racing.
Geography
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Kentucky covers more than 40,000 square miles, bordered by seven other states. The Ohio River forms its northern edge, and the Appalachian Mountains rise in the east. The Bluegrass region in the central part of the state is known for fertile soil that supports thoroughbred horse farms.
Western Kentucky includes lakes, forests, and farmlands that produce corn, soybeans, and tobacco.
Caves also define its landscape. Mammoth Cave National Park holds the world’s longest known cave system, stretching for hundreds of miles underground. Rivers and rolling terrain make Kentucky one of the most visually varied states in the nation.
Surprising Facts
- Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, leaders on opposite sides of the Civil War, were both born in Kentucky.
- The Kentucky Derby is the longest continuously held sporting event in the United States.
- Bourbon production dates back more than two centuries, with nearly 95 percent of the world’s supply still made in Kentucky.
- The state has more miles of navigable water than any other except Alaska.
- Mammoth Cave’s passages remain only partly mapped, with new sections still being explored.
Last Words
The states that start with K tell a story of endurance, identity, and purpose.
Kansas shows how strength grows through challenge, built by people who turned open land into lasting opportunity. Kentucky stands as proof that heritage and creativity can define a place as strongly as its borders.
Both shaped national history through quiet persistence rather than spectacle.
Up next, the focus turns to the states that start with L.