Great Bend is the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States of America. Great Bend is also the most populous city in the county. The town received its name thanks to the location it has on the historic big bend of the Arkansas River. According to recent statistics, Great Bend has a population of almost 16.000 people and an area of 11 square miles. Great Bend was established in 1871 and incorporated just a year later, in 1872. In 1873, the first school and the first courthouse were built. Nowadays, Great Bend is a beautiful city and the home of notable people like jazz singer Karrin Allyson, NFL player Damian Johnson, Nobel Prize winner for physics Jack Kilby and photographer Roy Stryker. If you want to visit this great city, you should know a little something about its main attractions.
Top Attractions within Great Bend
Cheyenne Bottoms is great if you are a nature lover. This is the best place to go bird watching, but also to admire the wildlife of Great Bend. At Great Bend you can also taste a piece of history, as the place is marked by the numerous tribes that lived in the area long before the city was settled.
Barton County Historical Society Museum and Village gives you the chance to see how Great Bend was in its early years, when wagons were crossing trough the prairie of Kansas. Learn everything about the city and enjoy great collections of major historical importance in this extraordinary museum in Great Bend.
Kansas Oil and Gas Museum opened in 1990 in order to preserve the history of this important industry from the area. The museum displays great collections of photographs and also tools that the first workers in this industry used years ago. You can take very interesting tours and learn about the people who dedicated their lives to the rich industry of oil and gas.
