Hutchinson Map
Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, 39 miles (63 km) northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. Hutchinson's nickname is The Salt City but is referred to locally as Hutch. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,080. Every September Hutchinson hosts the Kansas State Fair, and in March it hosts the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Basketball Tournament. Hutchinson is also the home of the noted Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center aerospace museum, near the state fairgrounds.
The city of Hutchinson was founded in the year 1871, when Indian Agent C.C. Hutchinson contracted with the Santa Fe Railway to make a town at the railroad's crossing over the Arkansas River. The community was known to be called "Temperance City". Hutchinson was incorporated on August 15, 1872.
In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Herington through Hutchinson to Pratt. In 1888, this line was extended to Liberal. Later, it was extended to Tucumcari, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. It foreclosed in 1891 and taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad, merged in 1988 with Missouri Pacific Railroad, merged in 1997 with Union Pacific Railroad. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".
Nearby cities include Nickerson, Partridge, Inman, Burrton, Haven.