HAYS

city, seat of Ellis county, central Kansas, U.S., on Big Creek. It was founded in 1867 after the establishment of Fort Hays (a frontier post built as Fort Fletcher in 1865). The fort was abandoned in 1889; its blockhouse and guardhouse are preserved in the Frontier Historical Park. Oil fields in the vicinity began to be developed in 1936. The city is a trading centre and shipping point for an extensive wheat-growing and oil-producing area and is the seat of Fort Hays State University (1902) and a large dryland agricultural experiment station. The Cathedral of the Plains (190911) is at nearby Victoria. Inc. 1885. Pop. (1990) 17,767.