Emporia, Kansas

Emporia is a city of about 25,000 inhabitants in east-central Kansas. Situated near the confluence of the Neosho and Cottonwood rivers, it is known as the "twin-rivers" city. Emporia has been and remains a transportation crossroads. It is on the mainlines of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, and is the junction point for several highways--Kansas Turnpike, I-35, U.S. 50, and Kansas 57/99. Other major industries are related to agriculture, manufacturing, and education.

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View east along South Avenue, showing the eastern side of Emporia. Ball fields are visible in the foreground, residential district to right, and commercial district can be seen in left background. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
View west along South Avenue, showing the southwestern side of Emporia. Las Casitas park (and kite flyer) appear in the foreground. IBP, a beef processing plant, is visible in the right background, and the plant's waste-water treatment lagoons can be seen in the left background. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
View across the main switching yard of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
View toward the northwest showing the western and northwestern portions of Emporia. Prairie Street overpass of the railroad is visible to left of scene. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
Closeup view of the rail yard, grain elevators (center), and concrete plant (right) in central Emporia. Tank cars, box cars, hopper cars, vehicle carriers, and other types of rail cars are visible. Train car colors indicate Santa Fe (maroon) or Burlington Northern (green) rolling stock. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
Roundhouse remains. Emporia was formerly a repair station for steam locomotives on the Santa Fe railroad. With the demise of steam power, the round house was abandoned, and it was demolished in 1980. The remains of its foundation are still clearly visible in the foreground of this view. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
Northwestern sector of Emporia. The Wal-Mart building and parking lot dominate the center of this scene. Water storage tanks are visible to left, and I-35 appears in the upper right corner of view. This portion of Emporia has experienced rapid growth during the 1990s. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
Emporia Middle School for 7th and 8th grade students. This building was constructed during the mid 1990s. A section of the Kansas Turnpike (I-335) is visible in the background. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
Water treatment plant occupies the center background of this scene. The two water storage tanks hold 3 million gallons, and the plant can process 12 million gallons of water per day. Emporia is the first city in Kansas to utilize ozone as the primary method of disinfection. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.
Emporia State University (ESU) campus. View southward over the stadium with classroom, administration, and dormatory buildings in the background. Wooster Lake can be seen in the left background. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber. More views of ESU.
View toward the northwest from ESU campus. Tennis courts are visible in the lower left corner, and the "one-room school house" appears to the right. This stone building was reconstructed from an original rural school house. The Emporia Country Club golf course can be seen in the background. Photo date 11/98; © J.S. Aber.

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More Emporia scenes are located in the KAP gallery. Last update: 1 December 1998.