MCPHERSON

city, seat (1873) of McPherson county, central Kansas, U.S. Laid out in 1872 on the old Santa Fe Trail, it was named for James B. McPherson, a Union general killed in the Civil War. The city is now a processing and shipping point for nearby oil fields and the surrounding diversified agricultural area. Industries include oil refining, flour milling, and the manufacture of aluminum products, plastic pipe, and mobile homes. It is the seat of McPherson College (1887), with a museum displaying the world's first synthetic diamond, and Central (junior) College (1884). McPherson State Fishing Lake is nearby. Inc. 1874. Pop. (1990) 12,422.