A local Native American legend said that Burnet's Mound (a local landmark that was named after Potawatomi Indian chief Abram Burnett) was thought to protect the city from tornadoes. It was thought that the hill would cause a tornado that was going to Topeka to die. A few years earlier, a water tower had been built on the mound. This caused controversy among many Topeka residents. They thought it would make the mound less able to protect Topeka fro from tornades. However, ten other tornadoes had hit the city since Kansas state tornado records were first kept in 1889. The 1966 tornado was much stronger than the other ten tornadoes that hit Topeka before June 8.