A presentation on the history of Arkansas City and the Walnut Valley is from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Wright Room at Cowley College. The Etzanoa Conservancy, Anthropology Program at Cowley College, USD470, Visit Ark City and the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum will conduct the presentation. The event is free and open to the public. Spanish conquistador and explorer Juan de Oñate in 1601 encountered a great settlement called Etzanoa at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers. Based on translations of the Spanish documents, it appears this town was home to 20,000 people, more than Ark City today, the release states. Ark City became a city of the second class 420 years later. The year 2021 represents the 150th anniversary of that designation.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
