100 Years Later

100 Years Later

Audio by Marty Melia

Over 100 years later, Goodland has become one of the largest and busiest cities in the entire area.  It’s attractions to area residents and tourists are many.  The Goodland Public Library is proud to have been serving the residents of Sherman County for decades, striving to meet all of your library needs. Books, Wi-Fi, movies and more, come join us and open yourself to a world of possibilities.

A beautiful museum, the Ennis-Handy House, the Carnegie Arts Center and the Sherman Theatre are a pleasure to visit.  Two elementary schools, a Jr./High school and a major sports facility, and the internationally known Northwest Kansas Technical College help prepare our youth for the future. 

A water park swimming facility serves residents and travelers, eight public tennis courts are available and a baseball/softball complex serves the City Little League and Adult programs and teams that host surrounding towns during the season.  Goodland also boasts a professionally designed 18 hole golf course, west of town named Sugar Hills Golf Club; and is considered one of the most challenging and beautiful in a wide area.  The Goodland Activities Center, located in the downtown business area offers weight rooms, racquetball courts and supervised exercise training for adults and children.  There are 9 City Parks – 62 total acres for picnics and play areas – including Pioneer Park where the Big Easel Project featuring a giant Van Gogh reproduction can be seen. 

Motels located convenient to I-70 offer over 400 modern rooms, restaurants, fast food and home style, serve a variety of fare for diners. Goodland’s Municipal Airport called Renner Field boasts two lighted runways, one 5,499 foot and the second 3,501 foot concrete runway, able to service business jet craft, a total service repair facility, hangar space and a licensed charter service; a full service restaurant serves pilots, passengers and residents of Goodland at the airport.  Adjacent to the runway is a National Weather Service Station, complete with Doppler Radar System.  The Goodland Regional Medical Center provides high quality primary care, specialized health services and provides Eagle Med. 

Goodland and the surrounding area are served by three radio stations and a bi-weekly newspaper.  Many find retail stores provide a variety of goods for the shoppers, and because of Goodland’s location, it is called the Tristate Trade Center.  The mile long brick Main Street offers plenty of parking and shopping ease.  Long known for its production of Hard Red Winter Wheat, Sherman County is the bread basket of the nation.  Irrigation expanded in the 1970’s increasing crop production and soon allowed wide diversification.  The Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest underground sources in the world, supplies the water. 

Introduction of Sunflower seeds, both oil and confectionary has greatly increased the productivity of Sherman County.  Two facilities operate to process these crops; the oil processing factory operates year round and ships their product worldwide.  Because wheat, corn, and sunflowers are the major crops of this area, Sherman County is annually in the top ten in production in the state.  The availability of many large storage elevators in Goodland, gives producers the option to store crops in times of an unsteady market.  The cattle and feed lot industry in Sherman County is also a viable part of the economy and is growing annually. 

The Goodland Area Chamber of Commerce is one of the most active in the state and continues to encourage economic development as its number one priority.  Much has been accomplished on the Topside of Kansas in Goodland and Sherman County during the 19th and 20th Centuries; the pioneers and homesteaders truly came to stay and made great strides.  The 21st Century belongs to their descendants and to new pioneers who will make great leaps into the future.