Southeast Kansas. Kansan perspective (Pittsburg, Fort Scott: homes, college, place to live)

[eddie gein]

Hi all,

We are having a discussion over on the Oklahoma board about where Oklahoma "belongs" in terms of the regional areas of the USA.

In the discussions it occurred to me that in many ways, the NE quadrant of Oklahoma has a lot in common with SE Kansas and SE Missouri and to a lesser extent NW Arkansas.

Ironically, each of this areas has a completely unique political and settlement history. NW Arkansas (the least southern part of a southern confederate state). SW Missouri (a southern sympathizing part of a border state). NE Oklahoma (part of Indian territory with split allegiance). That leaves SE Kansas which would have been the part of a free northern state that was closest to the southern sympathizing states.

Through the years, the separate components of these 4 states seem to be culturally and economically similar. The Zinc mining era in particular.

My question is how do Kansans in other parts of Kansas perceive the SE part of Kansas and what, if any unique history does that area have?

[empires228]

Quite a few people in Western Kansas can't tell you a thing about Se Kansas and have only been there if they chose to go that way to get to Branson. I know the economy hasn't been very strong down there for the most part and that several of the larger towns like Pittsburg still have some impressive commercial buildings from the mining days. I considered going to college in Pittsburg, but most of the towns on the drive left me with a depressed feeling as they looked depressed either from decades of population loss or never properly rebuilding from floods. The area is geographically beautiful though and I did enjoy the scenery down there more then anything else. The last thing I can tell you is that some of the communities have big problems with groundwater quality. Big tip, In Pittsburg only drink bottled water.

[AnywhereElse]

We lived for 8 years in southeast KS. It is very different than the areas off of I-70 where we had lived before and not in a good way. Drugs were a big problem and, yes, they are a problem everywhere but other areas actually try to do something about it while it seems that they (cities and the state) just "study" it there which brings in a lot of others that are interested in that life style. Actually, jobs are available as is lower cost housing and if they would clean up the drug problem and all the bad stuff that comes with that, it would be a decent place to live. I did not see a lot of impressive history there. Fort Scott, the national park, has a nice set-up that is worth seeing to understand about the whole free slave state thing. We did find SE KS to often show a lack of pride of ownership of their homes and cities though and even with jobs available, welfare tended to be the first and only choice that some were willing to pursue and that gets old to watch.

[kanhawk]

SE Kansas used to be one of the most Democratic areas of Kansas years ago, outside of Wyandotte County of course. I don't know if it still is.