• just moved to town,
• thought of visiting, or
• been planning on relocating to Wichita soon?

If so, you've come to the right place! Here, you will find information about how to get hooked up for utilities - gas, electric, phone, trash and television services. In addition, you will learn how to receive a new Kansas driver's license and Kansas tags for your automobile. You will find all this information under Becoming a Resident.

Below are some quick facts about our city of Wichita!

Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and is the county seat of Sedgwick County. The nearest large cities are Denver to the west, Kansas City to the northeast, Oklahoma City to the south, and Tulsa to the southeast.

Wichita serves as the financial, transportation, and distribution center of the central Kansas region. You may visit Economic Development if you are interested in learning more about Wichita's economy.

Historical Background

Wichita became a town in 1868 and was incorporated in 1870. Since 1886, Wichita has been a city of the first class. The original stimulus to the City's economic development was the extension of the Santa Fe Railway into Wichita in 1872.

The City's early growth paralleled the expanding agricultural productivity of the Central Plains States and by 1900 the City was an important regional center for the processing of agricultural products and the distribution of farm equipment base, drawing to the City numerous services, distributive enterprises and metalworking industries.

From the earliest days of the aircraft industry, Wichita has been a leading producer of general aviation and commercial aircraft. McConnell Air Force Base was activated in 1951 and has remained an important factor in the community.

To learn more about Wichita's history, please visit Discover Historic Wichita!

Government

In 1872, Wichita was made a city of the second class. Out of a vote of 479 citizens, E. B. Allen was elected Mayor; Michael Meagher, Marshal; William Baldwin, City Attorney; Charles A. Phillips, Treasurer; and J. M. Atwood, Police Judge.

In 1918, Wichita became one of the first municipalities in the United States to adopt the Commission-Manager form of government.

Effective April 14, 1987, the title "City Commissioner" was changed to "City Council Member" and instead of being elected at-large, five council members were nominated by district and elected at-large.

In November 1988, Wichita voters approved a referendum to elect a five-member City Council by pure district elections and a full-time Mayor by city-at-large elections. On February 10, 1989, Charter Ordinance 115 was adopted and provided for the five council member seats to be increased to six by subdividing the City into six districts based on the 1990 census.

Today, our six Council members and the Mayor serve four-year terms with the Council members' terms overlapping. The City Council and Mayor conduct all legislative functions for the City of Wichita and establish general policies, which are executed by the City Manager. Ten main departments carry out the functions of city government.

Learn more about our City Offices and our City Government!

Central Wichita streets, and those in surrounding suburban cities, are laid out in a grid pattern.

Main Street runs north/south and serves as the dividing line between east/west addresses. Douglas Avenue runs east/west and serves as the dividing line between north/south addresses.

Main Street and Douglas Avenue are the "zero hundred blocks," meaning that street addresses get larger the farther away they get from these central streets.

Another helpful tip is to remember that odd-numbered addresses are on the sides of west/south streets, whereas even-numbered addresses are on the sides of east/north streets. For example, City Hall is located at 455 North Main Street which is on the west side of Main Street.

Getting Around Wichita's Highways

Wichita has several highways running through town. These highways are:

• Interstate 35, or I-35
  Main route for north/southbound travelers heading to Kansas City or Oklahoma City. Also known as the Kansas Turnpike.

• I-135, or Canal Route
  Main north/south route through Wichita's center

• I-235
  Main north/south route through Wichita's west side.

• K-96, or Northeast Expressway
  Main route along Wichita's northeast boundary.

• Highway 54, or Kellogg
  East/west highway through Wichita's center.

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