Lansing, KS

Lansing is a city in Leavenworth County, Kansas. It is situated along the west side of the Missouri River and Kansas-Missouri state border. Lansing is named for James Lansing, a pioneer settler. Formerly William Lansing Taylor, James changed his name upon his enlistment in 1862 as a hospital steward in the 7th Kansas Cavalry. Following the Civil War, he earned a position at the new state penitentiary in Kansas as a hospital steward. He later resigned and opened a general mercantile store, which held the post office and an apothecary business, in the area called “Town of Progress”. “Doc Lansing”, as he became known, and his friend John C. Schmidt became co-owners of 90 acres (360,000 m2) of land that was platted into town lots in 1878; they named the area “Town of Lansing”. Lansing became an incorporated city in 1959. While visitors may struggle to find vast open prairies and farmland nearby, Lansing has beautiful hiking trails such as the Angel Falls Trail which takes visitors to stunning views of waterfalls. History buffs will also love the city’s rich culture and extensive civil war history at the Lansing Historical Museum.

Lansing was ranked 88 in the top 100 of Money Magazine’s 2007 list of best places to live.