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North Topeka
Steamboats passed through North Topeka in the 1850s and the Union
Pacific arrived in the following decade.
Topeka's history has a foundation in North Topeka. It was the crossroads
for the trail that linked Fort Riley with Fort Leavenworth. The
Oregon and California roads also traversed the mostly unexplored
countryside.
The area was established as the town of Eugene in 1867, but was
quickly annexed by Topeka. The section of the city north of the
Kansas River is dotted with Victorian homes and has its own downtown
area.
North Topeka is one of the city's oldest area, but history is alive
across the region.
The city flourished when pioneer families who arrived in the 1850s
called Topeka their home. North Topeka was also home to Charles
Curtis, who served as vice president under Herbert Hoover from 1929
to 1933. Of part Native American ancestry, Curtis also served as
a U.S. congressman from Kansas.
North Topeka is perhaps the oldest section of the city that remains
in tact, although growth has largely bypassed the area in favor
of expanding the city's west side.
US-24 highway crosses through north Topeka and meets US-75 near
the city's western edge. Access to the rest of the city is provided
by four bridges < the Westgate bridge, the Topeka Boulevard bridge,
the Kansas Avenue bridge and the Sardou bridge < that span the Kansas
River.
Topeka Civic Theatre and Garfield Park also are found north of the
river. The area is served by the Seaman school district.
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