WHEN CORONADO CAME TO KANSAS
WHEN CORONADO CAME TO KANSAS Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, with 36 soldiers and Father Juan de Padilla, marched north from the Rio Grande valley in the spring of 1541. Coronado's objective was the land of Quivira, described to the Spaniards as a fabulously wealthy kingdom where gold was commonplace. In June the expedition entered the Arkansas River to what is now Rice and McPherson counties. The Spaniards found no gold, only the grass lodges of the Quiviran Indians, and the guide who misled Coronado was killed.
After more than a month spent in exploring central Kansas, the expedition returned to the Southwest, disappointed in the quest for riches but favorably impressed by the land itself. Juan Jaramillo, Coronado's lieutenant, wrote: 'It is not a hilly country, but has table-lands, plains, and charming rivers . . . . I am of the belief that it will be very productive of all sorts of commodities.'
According to legend, Seymour S. Rogers, the first settler here in the mid-1880s, was said to have been 'mighty liberal' with water from his well. From this came the name for the city established here in 1888.
US-54, Seward County
Jewel Avenue in City Park, Liberal
Plaque via Kansas Historical Society, and is used with their permission. Full page