

The BNSF continues to be a large industrial taxpayer although its impact as an employer has decreased in the past decade. In 1995, the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad, and is now known as the BNSF Railway. Newton served as the Middle Division dispatching headquarters for the "Santa Fe" until the mid-1980s, when all dispatching for the Chicago to Los Angeles system was centralized in the Chicago area. 20th century ĭuring World War II, the Newton airport was taken over by the US Navy as a secondary Naval Air Station, and the main runway was extended to over 7,000 feet (2,100 m). Shortly after incorporation of the city in 1872, the Newton city council passed an ordinance prohibiting the running at large of buffalo and other wild animals. In 1872, the western terminal for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the railhead for the Chisholm Trail were established here. Because of this incident, Newton became known as "bloody and lawless-the wickedest city in the west.". The incident began with an argument between two local lawmen, Billy Bailey and Mike McCluskie. In August 1871, there was a Gunfight at Hide Park, in which a total of eight men were killed. The city was founded in 1871 and named after Newton, Massachusetts, home of some of the Santa Fe stockholders. The town soon became an important railroad shipping point of Texas cattle. In 1871, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway extended a main line from Emporia westward to Newton by July 1871. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. In 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans.
