Best Web Design in Topeka, KS (2026)

Web Design for Topeka, Kansas

Topeka is Kansas's capital, a river town founded by antislavery settlers whose name comes from a Kansa-Osage phrase meaning "a good place to dig potatoes." It is best known as the home of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court case that struck down school segregation, and its skyline is anchored by a copper-domed statehouse that glows gold at sunset. The city was also, for most of the 20th century, the world capital of psychiatry thanks to the Menninger Clinic.

AppWT works with Topeka, KS businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Topeka

Also known as. The Golden City. Top City. Google, Kansas (temporary self-rename, March 2010).

History. Laid out in 1854 as one of the Free-State towns founded by Eastern antislavery settlers right after the Kansas-Nebraska Act Name is a Kansa-Osage word chosen by founders in 1855 for being "novel, of Indian origin, and euphonious of sound," meaning roughly "a good place to dig potatoes" Chartered as a city in 1857 and selected as the Kansas state capital, with Charles Robinson as the state's first governor Home to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared segregated public schools unconstitutional Washburn University was founded in 1865 as Lincoln College by members of the Congregational Church

Local economy. State capital, so government and public administration are a core employer base Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is the largest insurance employer, with roughly 1,800 employees BNSF Railway is the largest transportation employer, with about 1,100 workers, reflecting the city's railroad heritage Evergy (the regional utility) employs nearly 800 people Economy rounded out by agriculture and manufacturing

Culture and community. The classic-rock band Kansas ("Carry On Wayward Son," "Dust in the Wind") formed in Topeka, honing its sound in local garages and bars in the early 1970s Fiesta Topeka has celebrated Mexican-American culture for more than 90 years, making it one of the oldest community Hispanic celebrations in the U.S. The Sunflower Music Festival presents free orchestra, chamber, and jazz concerts each June on the Washburn University campus The Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival brings national R&B and blues acts to Lake Shawnee Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black poet to win the Pulitzer, was born in Topeka in 1917

What makes Topeka distinct. In March 2010 Topeka temporarily renamed itself "Google, Kansas" to woo Google Fiber; Google reciprocated on April Fools' Day 2010 by "renaming" itself Topeka The Menninger Foundation, founded by the Menninger family in 1919, made Topeka the world hub of psychiatric treatment, research, and training for more than 70 years before relocating to Houston in 2003 The Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka housed the world's largest collection of authentic Evel Knievel memorabilia before announcing a move to Las Vegas in 2024 Its "Golden City" nickname is said to come from the light shining off the Capitol's dome at sunset

Topeka Landmarks and Local Life

• Kansas State Capitol - with its copper dome and John Steuart Curry murals including the famous "Tragic Prelude" John Brown painting
• Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site - housed in the former Monroe Elementary School
• Washburn University (founded 1865)
• Combat Air Museum at Topeka Regional Airport - one of the few major aviation museums on an active airfield, with 40-plus historic aircraft
• Gage Park - home to the Reinisch Rose Garden and a historic carousel
• Cedar Crest - the Kansas Governor's Mansion