Your Guide to Buying a Home in Hutchinson, KS

Buying a Home in Hutchinson, Kansas

(Hutchinson is full of opportunity as the town begins to attract new businesses and new people)

Hutchinson is located in Reno County

The town's founder, C.C. Hutchinson, struck a deal with the Santa Fe Railroad to develop a community where the rails crossed the Arkansas River. Early life in Hutchinson was very tame compared to the Kansas frontier towns such as Wichita, Dodge City and Abilene. One large reason for this was C.C. Hutchinson's work in the Kansas Legislature to enforce a law prohibiting cattle drives from passing through Reno County. Another reason was that Mr. Hutchinson was a Baptist preacher and had strict rules regarding alcohol. If sales or consumption of alcohol according on a property, the owner of that property was required to give the land back to Hutchinson.

The Santa Fe Railroad had enormous impact on the growth of Hutchinson and the surrounding towns, as farmers and homesteaders used these communities as centers of trade. Another source of Hutchinson's early economy was the extraction of salt, which began in 1887. Soon, over 20 companies began extracting salt from the area's numerous salt deposits. These big companies included Morton Salt, Carey Salt, Hutchinson-Kansas Salt and later Barton Salt.

Today, Hutchinson and Reno County host 1.5 million tourists per year. The city's early economic success has been a great magnet for not only a variety of businesses, but several "must see" attractions, including the Kansas State Fair and the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. Other items of interest are the Yoder Amish Community, the Hutchinson Zoo & Salt City Splash, and the Reno County Museum. Arts and culture fanatics may visit Flag Theatre and Hutchinson's Historic Fox, the latter of which has been named "the state movie palace of Kansas." The Fox Theatre is one of the finest examples of theatre art deco architecture in the Midwest. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the theatre offers a full schedule of first-rate entertainment from regional favorites to Broadway-caliber performances.

Hutchinson is located is south-central Kansas near the intersection of US 50, Highway 96, and Highway 61. Hutchinson is 25 miles west of I-135 and 45 minutes northwest of Wichita.