Leavenworth

Leavenworth, city, seat of Leavenworth County, northeastern Kansas, on the Missouri River, in a wheat-growing and livestock-raising area; incorporated 1855. Also important to the economy is nearby Fort Leavenworth, a U.S. military post that is the home of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (1881) and a military prison (1874). One of the first federal penitentiaries opened here in 1906 and still operates, providing many jobs for the area.

University of Saint Mary (1927), two performing arts centers, and a historical society and museum are here. The fort was founded (1827) by Colonel Henry H. Leavenworth to protect travelers on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. The community was established near the fort in 1854 by proslavery emigrants from Missouri, and the following year it became the first incorporated community in the Kansas Territory. Population 33,656 (1980); 38,495 (1990); 35,420 (2000); 34,993 (2006).