Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Topeka

TOPEKA, a city of the United States, the county seat of Shawnee county and the capital of the State of Kansas, is situated (39° 3′ N. lat. and 95° 39′ W. long.) for the most part upon the south bank of the Kansas or Kaw river, upon a level prairie bench considerably elevated above the river. A small portion, known locally as North Topeka, lies upon the north side of the river. Besides the State capitol, which is an imposing building in the midst of an extensive park, the city contains the State insane asylum and the reform school. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railroad Company has its offices and work shops here, and the city is also intersected by a branch of the Union Pacific line. In 1860 Topeka had only 759 inhabitants; in 1870 the number had risen to 5790. In 1880 the population was 15,452 (8140 males and 7312 females); and in 1886 the number is returned at 25,005, making Topeka the second largest city in the State. The assessed valuation in 1886 was $6,547,079, and the debt of the corporation only $422,900.