Arkansas City

Arkansas City (ärkănˈzəs) [key], city (1990 pop. 12,762), Cowley co., S Kans., at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers, near the Okla. border; inc. 1872. Located in an agricultural and oil region (rich oil fields were discovered in 1914), it has flour mills and oil refineries; transportation equipment and mobile homes are manufactured. Arkansas City was the starting point for the "run" (1893) of thousands of homesteaders into the Cherokee Strip; a marker south of the city commemorates the event. The Cherokee Strip Living Museum is nearby.