SR 7, US 59 and US 73 are the major roads running through Atchison.

As you might expect, Kansas was named for the Kansa Indians who inhabited the area around Atchison over 300 years ago.Atchison lies along the Missouri river. It was incorporated around 1858 and it was one of the first settlements of the Kanas territory. Men from Platte City, Missouri, having crossed the Missouri River around 1854, laid out a town and named it for a noted Missouri senator. The Mormon immigration westward, the establishment in the city of eastern terminus of the Overland Stage Line and Salt Lake City freighters and the U.S. Post Office headquarters and starting point for mail to the West all contributed to the economic growth of Atchison. To add all of this; a few short years later the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was founded making Atchison its hub.