Salina Wedding

Salina is a city and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States.GR6 First settled by Preston B. Plum in 1856 along the Saline and Smoky Hill Rivers, and founded by William A. Phillips in 1858, Salina is situated at the intersection of Interstate Highways I-70 and I-135 in central Kansas. The population was 45,679 at the 2000 census. Recent estimates put the population at over 85,000.

In 1860 Salina, the westernmost post on the Smoky Hill Trail, began to establish itself as a staging post for prospectors traveling to Pikes Peak, as well as a trading post between local native tribes, and Fort Leavenworth. After the Civil War, Phillips, then a colonel, used his influence to extend the Union Pacific Railroad to Salina in 1867. Starting in 1872, Salina began transporting meat shipped in refrigerated cars down the rails. During the 1870's, wheat became the dominant crop in Salina and a steam-powered flour mill was built. At the same time Dr. E. R. Switzer, of Salina, introduced alfalfa to Kansas farmers.