Winfield, Kansas

===19th century===
====Railroads====
In 1877, the [[Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad]] Company built a branch line from [[Florence, Kansas|Florence]] to [[El Dorado, Kansas|El Dorado]]. The line was extended to [[Douglass, Kansas|Douglass]] then reached Winfield on October 1, 1879,<ref name="book-hcck"/> and finished at [[Arkansas City, Kansas|Arkansas City]] in 1881.<ref name="Marion 1972"/> The line was leased and operated by the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]. The line from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942.<ref name="Abandon Railway 1942"/> The original branch line connected Florence, [[Burns, Kansas|Burns]], De Graff, El Dorado, [[Augusta, Kansas|Augusta]], [[Douglass, Kansas|Douglass]], [[Rock, Kansas|Rock]], Akron, Winfield, [[Arkansas City, Kansas|Arkansas City]].

The Southern Kansas and Western Railroad was completed from the east to Winfield on February 17, 1880, then continued westward, and it reached the western county line on March 16.<ref name="book-hcck"/> This railroad changed its name over time as it merged or purchased by other railroads.

Eventually, a total of five railroads passed through Winfield.<ref name="book-hcck"/>

====State mental hospital====
In 1881, The Kansas Constitution stated that the care, treatment, and education of the handicapped were responsibilities of public residential institutions. Accordingly, the Kansas State Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth was temporarily established at Lawrence, moving to Winfield in 1887.<ref name="disability"/>

The Kansas State Imbecile Asylum (later the [[Winfield State Hospital and Training Center]]) was established in the community in 1888, on a hill overlooking the city. For the next 117 years, it served as a dominant local employer, housing and confining those with mental problems from throughout the state of Kansas.<ref name="council_calls" /><ref name="wsh_ctnewsonline"/>