[1] Founded on January 1, 1873, it was named after railroad engineer and aviation pioneer Octave Chanute.

In 1870 when the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Rail Road (later the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, now the BNSF Railway) crossed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line within the limits of Neosho county four rival towns sprang up, in the vicinity of the junction: New Chicago, Chicago Junction, Alliance, and Tioga.

With the LL&G Railroad set to arrive shortly thereafter, the early residents of the towns of Tioga, Chicago Junction, Alliance, and New Chicago needed an innovative solution to an escalating dispute over which town would claim the right to house the LL&G Railroad's new land office.

[citation needed] With the Southern Kansas Railroad locating a division headquarters in Chanute, the city began to flourish.

In 1887, Chanute boasted a rapid growth in flourmills, grain elevators, banks, drug and hardware stores, and natural gas.

In September 2011 Spirit AeroSystems announced the expansion of an assembly facility which will grow to 150 employees in five years and boost the local economy.

Neosho County Community College is a public, two-year institution, that currently provides post-secondary education for just under 3,200 students.

Chanute's public school system also includes Chanute High School-affiliated New Beginnings Academy, a program for students lacking credits to graduate and designed for individuals who have dropped out or are in danger of dropping out of high school.

Chanute Christian Academy is not listed as an accredited school on the KSDE website.

The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum offers exhibits and programs that highlight the achievements of Martin and Osa Johnson, pioneering documentary filmmakers, photographers, authors, explorers, and Kansans.

A trip to the museum allows one to relive the Johnsons' 1917–1936 adventures in Africa, Borneo and the South Seas.

[29] The Tioga Suites Hotel, on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Neosho County, Kansas as the Tioga Inn, was built in 1929 boasting "modern fireproof construction" consisting of concrete framing, ceramic block fire walls, firehose connections on each floor, fire extinguishers and even "complete fire fighting apparatus" in the roof-top elevator penthouse.

Collections include: The Luigi Kasimir Etchings, European and Oriental Art, The Kansas Prairie Printmakers and local and area artists.

Exhibits include a replica of Octave Chanute's 1896 biplane glider that was once displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, historic artifacts from the Santa Fe Railroad and the Harvey House restaurant, and more.

[31] Both the downtown and historic home districts offer a variety of architectural styles and examples of restoration.

The Cardinal Drug Store in downtown Chanute is the home of one of the oldest original soda fountains in Kansas.

Local pioneers invested $15,000 in the bridge for their economic future of getting livestock and crops to the railhead.

In August 1999 the bridge was moved into Santa Fe Park to become the southern terminus of a 3.11 mile hike/bike path.

A Federal grant, Neosho County and the City of Chanute funded the project.

Summit Hill was restored and a historic home and modern structure were added to the family residence.

[citation needed] Located at 1 West Main, this sculpture was dedicated in September 2003[34] by the Chanute High School Class of 1941.

The SKO connects to several major railroads allowing local businesses the opportunity to bid and negotiate their rail transportation costs to acquire the best possible price to all locations throughout North America.

Expansion of services and infrastructure is in the planning stages, including new T-hangars and pavement improvements.

In October 2014, the City of Chanute announced it planned to establish a municipal-operated broadband network, offering 1 Gigabit Internet connectivity for about US$40 per month.

AT&T, which currently offers only 6 megabit DSL service to the town (at a higher price), filed a petition with the Kansas Corporation Commission to intervene in the city's proposed offering, arguing it has the right to intervene since a 1947 law requires the Commission to approve any bond issue the city would use to finance the construction.