Editing Potwin, Kansas (section)

==History==

===Early history===
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
For many [[millennia]], the [[Great Plains]] of [[North America]] was inhabited by [[nomadic]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].  From the 16th century to 18th century, the [[Kingdom of France]] claimed ownership of large parts of [[North America]].  In 1762, after the [[French and Indian War]], France secretly ceded [[New France]] to [[Spain]], per the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]].

===19th century===
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France.  In 1803, most of the land for [[History of Kansas|modern day Kansas]] was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile [[Louisiana Purchase]] for 2.83 [[Penny (United States coin)|cents]] per [[acre]].

In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th [[U.S. state]].  In 1855, [[Butler County, Kansas|Butler County]] was established within the [[Kansas Territory]], which included the land for modern day Potwin.

Potwin was incorporated as a town on April 8, 1885.  This land, owned by Charles Potwin, whereby the town received its name, became a station for the [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]], instigated by William I. Joseph, known as the Father of Potwin.<ref name="History1">{{cite web|url=http://www.skyways.org/towns/Potwin/History.html|title=The History of Potwin, Kansas|website=www.skyways.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030526012155/http://www.skyways.org/towns/Potwin/History.html|archive-date=May 26, 2003}}</ref>

Joseph came from [[West Virginia]] and, as more settlers arrived, became interested in a railroad to serve the area.  After much diligent pursuit, the station was built and Joseph, a land agent for Charles Potwin, began development of a town site around the Potwin station.  He opened a land office where the Potwin grocery now stands.<ref name="History1" />

A post office was established in '''Ayr''' (an extinct town) on July 12, 1875, but it was moved to Potwin on September 22, 1885.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county:BU |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 (archived) |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |access-date=5 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009125851/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county:BU |archive-date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page:2/county:BU |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961, page 2 (archived) |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |access-date=5 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009184935/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page:2/county:BU |archive-date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref>

It quickly grew, including some businesses and houses from nearby community of [[Plum Grove, Kansas|Plum Grove]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette_usa_kansas_peabody_18850611_english_4|title=New town of Brainerd and Potwin|work=The Peabody Gazette|page= 4|date=June 11, 1885|via=peabody.advantage-preservation.com}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[Image:381st SMW Titan II Missile Sites.png|thumb|right|[[381st Strategic Missile Wing]] [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] sites]]
During half of the twentieth century, Potwin enjoyed the prosperity of oil fields in the [[Mid-Continent oil province]].  In 1920, John (Jack) Vickers (1891–1940) built the [[Vickers Petroleum|Vickers Oil Refinery]] in Potwin.  He got his start in oil fields in Butler County, commencing with the lease on the Parris Farm 10 miles north of Potwin, production reached 16,000 barrels a day during the 1950s.  In 1964, distressed economic conditions shut down the oil processing facilities.  The company was sold to Swift & Company and the remaining operations were closed in 1970,<ref name="History1" /> and later demolished.  In 1934, Vickers built a large mansion (named "Vickridge") east of [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]] (now in the city limits), which his estate later become the current site of [[Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Tihen Notes Subject Search Vickers,vickridge|url=http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/collections/local_history/tihen/pdf/People&Places/Vickers.pdf|publisher = Wichita State University Libraries’ Department Of Special Collections|access-date=19 March 2015}}</ref>

In 1961, [[Frederic Remington High School]] was built immediately north of Brainerd.  Leading up to this new school, [[Whitewater, Kansas|Whitewater]], Potwin, [[Brainerd, Kansas|Brainerd]], [[Elbing, Kansas|Elbing]], [[Furley, Kansas|Furley]], Countryside, and Golden Gate schools merged to form a joint rural high school. Heated opposition between Whitewater and Potwin occurred during the discussion for the location of the new high school.  Rural voters pushed for a centralized location in neither town.  A public vote was passed to build the new school near Brainerd.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usd206.org/?PN=AboutUs|title=USD 206|website=www.usd206.org}}</ref>

From 1960s to 1980s, a [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] site was located north of Potwin.  The site was one of eighteen overseen by the [[381st Strategic Missile Wing]] at [[McConnell Air Force Base]] in [[Wichita, Kansas]].  The Titan II near Potwin likely contained a 9 [[TNT equivalent|megaton]] [[B53 nuclear bomb|W-53 nuclear warhead]].

===21st century===
In 2010, the [[Keystone Pipeline|Keystone-Cushing Pipeline]] (Phase II) was constructed along the east city limits of Potwin, north to south through [[Butler County, Kansas|Butler County]], with much controversy over tax exemption and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs).<ref>[http://www.gpace.org/news/marion-county-commission-calls-out-legislative-leadership-on-pipeline-deal/ Keystone Pipeline - ''Marion County Commission calls out Legislative Leadership on Pipeline Deal''; April 18, 2010.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022015437/http://www.gpace.org/news/marion-county-commission-calls-out-legislative-leadership-on-pipeline-deal/ |date=October 22, 2011 }}</ref><ref>[http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/dec/10/transcanada-inspecting-keystone-pipeline/ Keystone Pipeline - ''TransCanada inspecting pipeline''; December 10, 2010.]</ref>  A pumping station named ''Burns'' was built two miles north of Potwin, and new power lines were built from a high-voltage line 0.3 mile east of [[De Graff, Kansas|De Graff]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.entrix.com/keystone/XL/May192010/Appendix+B/PS-29.pdf|title=Cardno - English (Australia) - Home|website=www.entrix.com}}</ref>

In an unusual technical glitch, a farmstead approximately four miles northeast of Potwin became the default [[Internet geolocation|geolocation]] of 600 million [[IP address]]es when the Massachusetts-based digital mapping company [[MaxMind]] changed the putative [[geographic center of the contiguous United States]] from 39.8333333,-98.585522 to 38.0000,-97.0000.<ref name="Potwin, Kansas">{{cite web | url=http://fusion.net/story/287592/internet-mapping-glitch-kansas-farm/ | title=How an internet mapping glitch turned a random Kansas farm into a digital hell | publisher=Fusion | date=2016-04-10 | access-date=2016-04-10 | author=Hill, Kashmir}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article94447622.html|title=Kansas couple sues over internet glitch targeting their home|date=August 8, 2016|website=kansas.com}}</ref>  Later, the default geolocation was changed to the middle of [[Cheney Reservoir#Information technology|Cheney Reservoir]] in Kansas.