Brainerd is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

Butler County, Kansas Butler County (county code BU) is a county in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas and is the largest county in the state by total area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 67,380. Its county seat is El Dorado and its ...

, United States. It is located on the north side of K-196 highway between the cities of

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

and Potwin.

History

Early history

For many

millennia A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...

Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to King ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

for 2.83 cents per

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

became the 34th

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

. In 1855, Butler County was established within the Kansas Territory, which included the land for modern day Brainerd. A post office was established in Holden on December 14, 1870, then renamed to Brainerd on January 25, 1886. The post office closed on August 31, 1907. Brainerd was platted in 1885 around a depot along the McPherson branch of the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

. The community was named for Elisha B. Brainerd, an original landowner. It quickly grew, including some businesses and houses from nearby community of Plum Grove.

20th century

In 1961, Frederic Remington High School was built immediately north of Brainerd. Leading up to this new school,

, Potwin, Brainerd, Elbing, Furley, Countryside, and Golden Gate schools merged to form a joint rural high school. Heated opposition between Whitewater and Potwin occurred during the discussion for the location of the new high school. Rural voters pushed for a centralized location in neither town. A public vote was passed to build the new school near Brainerd.

21st century

In 2006, th
Remington Rock
monument was built near the Frederic Remington High School.

Geography

Brainerd is located at (37.9511267, -97.0953122), which is the north side of K-196 highway between the cities of

and Potwin.

Education

The community is served by

Remington USD 206 Remington USD 206 is a public unified school district headquartered in Whitewater, Kansas, United States. Depending on the historic use, it may also have the word "Whitewater" either before or after "Remington". The district includes the commun ...

public school district. The Remington High School mascot is a Bronco. * Frederic Remington High School north side of Brainerd. * Remington Middle School in

. * Remington Elementary School in Potwin.

Media

Print

* ''

The Newton Kansan ''The Newton Kansan'' is an American daily newspaper published six days per week (excluding major holidays) in Newton, Kansas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper covers Harvey County, including the cities of Newton, Burrton, Halstead, Hesston ...

'', regional newspaper from

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

. * ''

Butler County Times-Gazette ''The Butler County Times-Gazette'' is an American daily newspaper published in El Dorado, Kansas. It is owned by CherryRoad Media after being sold to the company from Gannett in 2021. The paper covers several communities in northern and easter ...

'', regional newspaper from

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or kin ...

. * ''

The Wichita Eagle ''The Wichita Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. ...

'', major regional newspaper from

Wichita Wichita ( ) may refer to: People *Wichita people, a Native American tribe *Wichita language, the language of the tribe Places in the United States * Wichita, Kansas, a city * Wichita County, Kansas, a county in western Kansas (city of Wichita i ...

Radio

Goessel is served by numerous

radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

of the

- Hutchinson listening market area, and

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ...

. See '' Media in Wichita, Kansas''.

Television

Goessel is served by over-the-air

ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standards are an American set of standards for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable and satellite networks. It is largely a replacement for the analog NTSC standard and, like that ...

digital TV Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative advanc ...

of the

- Hutchinson viewing market area,Wichita-Hutchinson TV market.
/ref>

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

, and

satellite TV Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commo ...

. See '' Media in Wichita, Kansas''.

Infrastructure

Transportation

K-196 highway runs along the south side of the community.

References

External links

Brainerd, Kansas - Time, Place and Memory on the Prairie Plains (A Brief History of the Brainerd Area)

Frederic Remington Area Historical Society
* Butler County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT
Topo Map of Whitewater / Potwin / Brainerd area
USGS {{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Kansas Unincorporated communities in Butler County, Kansas