LYONS — The Quivira Chapter, Santa Fe Trail Association will host “Railroaded: The Industry that Shaped Kansas,” a presentation and discussion by Leo E. Oliva at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 7, at  the Coronado Quivira Museum, 105 West Lyon in Lyons. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the Quivira Chapter at 620-241-8719 or the Coronado Quivira Museum at 620-257-3941 for more information. The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.

A Quivira Chapter business meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. prior to the program and will include discussion on possible events to host in Rice County related to the 200th anniversary of the Santa Fe Trail coming up in 2021. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Some claim that Kansas was created specifically to accommodate westward expansion of the railroads. Railroads brought immigrants, created jobs, and fed beef markets in the East. Most Kansas towns were founded because of the railroad, and few survived without it. This presentation examines the complicated legacy of railroads in Kansas. 

Leo Oliva is a historian with a research focus on 19th-century Kansas. He is the author of “Soldiers on the Santa Fe Trail,” six books for the Kansas Fort Series, and a founding member of the Santa Fe Trail Association and Fort Larned Old Guard.

“Railroads are the key to understanding the development of Kansas,” said Oliva.

“Railroaded: The Industry that Shaped Kansas” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Movement of Ideas Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and workshops designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.