Business

Employers, storefronts, farms and the money that moves through Cowley County.

The state hospital that was Winfield’s biggest employer for 117 years

The Kansas institution for children with disabilities moved to Winfield in the late 1880s and dominated local employment for more than a century.

By Wade Ellison October 30, 2026

Arkansas City's 58-building historic district grew out of the boom before the 1893 land run.

By Jolene Marquardt October 7, 2026

Burden was laid out in 1879 in anticipation of the railroad, which arrived in 1882 and made the town a shipping point.

By Garrett Pruitt September 13, 2026

Between 11,000 and 15,000 people come to the fairgrounds for the festival, many of them camping all week.

By Wade Ellison August 21, 2026

After three rounds of bidding, the Mulvane casino opened in a temporary building in 2011 and its permanent home in 2012.

By Loretta Vance July 29, 2026

The Dexter candy shop sold 'Momma Henry' bars, and the family name is tied to the story of the Oh Henry! bar.

By Garrett Pruitt July 5, 2026

A 1903 gas well at Dexter led University of Kansas researchers to find helium in natural gas.

By Wade Ellison June 12, 2026

For a few years after the war, Central Airlines flew scheduled service out of Strother Field.

By Jolene Marquardt May 19, 2026

The airport between Winfield and Arkansas City trained World War II pilots before it became the two cities' shared industrial park.

By Garrett Pruitt April 14, 2026

The Streamline Moderne facade on East Eighth dates to 1947, but the building behind it is much older.

By Wade Ellison February 27, 2026

The two-and-a-half-story Second Empire building at 820-822 Main opened as the Farmers' Bank in 1886.

By Jolene Marquardt January 11, 2026

The Winfield National Bank Building went up in 1923 and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

By Garrett Pruitt November 2, 2025