Counties

Kansas City, Kansas is at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers at the eastern edge of the State, is the largest city in Kansas and the seat of Wyandotte County.

This section of the Kansas Reading Library contains an ever evolving and expanding section containing Kansas Facts, figures, historical data and other information about the state of Kansas. 

This series should be of interest to students, teachers, authors, historians and others interested in the history of the State. So without further ado, we begin with a list of Kansas Facts. This list will grow and expand throughout the coming months, so keep checking back from time to time to see what is new. 

According to Cutler's History of the State of Kansas, "Allen County is located in the southeastern part of the State, in the second tier of counties west of the Missouri River, and about fifty miles north of Indian Territory. In extent it is twenty-one miles north and twenty-four miles east and west, containing 504 square miles, or 322,560 acres. The county is divided into ten townships as follows: Osage, Deer Creek, Geneva, Iola, Elm, Marmaton, Elsinore, Salem, Humboldt, Cottage Grove."

Cutler's History states that, "Anderson County is situated in the second tier of counties west from Missouri, fifty miles south from the Kansas River, and seventy miles north from the Indian Territory. It is in extent twenty-four miles square, and is bounded on the north by Franklin County, on the east by Linn, on the south by Allen, and on the west by Coffey."

Atchison County is in the second tier of counties south of the Nebraska state line and has an area of 423 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Brown and Doniphan counties, on the east by Doniphan county and the Missouri river, which divides it from the State of Missouri, on the south by Leavenworth and Jefferson counties, and on the west by Jackson County. It is divided into the following townships: Benton, Center, Grasshopper, Kapioma, Lancaster, Mount Pleasant, Shannon, and Walnut. Source: Cutlers History of the State of Kansas 

Barber County takes its name from Thomas W. Barber, a Free-State settler in Douglas County, who was killed near Lawrence on December 6, 1855. It was intended when the county was christened that it should bear the name of Barber, but somebody, out of an exceedingly wise head, determined that the spellilng should be Barbour, and it stood in this form until 1883, when the Legislature enacted that henceforward the county should bear the name originally given it. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Barton County is nearly in the geographical center of the State, being situated exactly midway between the northern and southern boundary lines, and is in the first tier of counties west of a central line drawn from north to south; the east line of the county being a little over 200 miles west of the east line of the State, and a little less than 200 east of the west line. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Bourbon County borders on Missouri, and is in the third tier of Counties from the Indian Territory. The northern boundary of the county is three miles north of the 38th parallel of north latitude. It is bounded as follows: On the north by Linn County; on the east by Missouri; on the South by Crawford County and on the West by Neosho and Allen Counties. By the "Bogus Laws," its limits were defined as follows: beginning at the southeast corner of Linn County, thence south thirty miles; thence west twenty-four miles; thence north thirty miles; thence east twenty-four miles to the place of beginning. Within these limits were contained 720 square miles or 460,800 acres. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Brown County is situated in the northeastern portion of Kansas, being located in the first tier of counties, from Nebraska. Doniphan County lies to the east, Atchison and Jackson counties to the south, and Nemaha County to the west. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Butler the largest organized county in the State, may well be called 'the State of Butler.' Within it lines lies more territory than that of some of the Eastern States, while its arable land amounts to nearly as much as that of two of the smaller ones. From north to south it stretches forty-two miles, and from east to west thirty-four and a half; making a total area of about one million acres. It is named in honor of Andrew P. Butler, for twelve years United States Senator from South Carolina. Source: Cutler's History of the state of Kansas 

Chase County, named after Salmon P. Chase, who was United States Senator from, and Governor of, Ohio, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was organized in 1859. It was south and west of the center of population of Kansas in 1875, and in 1880 this center had moved some distance west of it. The northern boundary of the county is 102 miles south of the Nebraska line; its eastern line, 96 miles from the State of Missouri; its southern boundary, 75 miles from the Indian Territory; and its western boundary, 285 miles from the State of Colorado. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Chautauqua County was formerly, in common with Elk County, included in the county of Howard. By an act of the Legislature, which took effect on the 1st day of June, 1875, that portion of Southern Kansas known as Howard County, became divided into two equal parts, and called Elk and Chautauqua Counties, the latter comprising the south half of old Howard County.

Cherokee County is situated in the southeast corner of the State. It is bounded on the north by Crawford County, on the east by Missouri, on the south by the Indian Territory, on the west by Labette County. It lies within what was originally McGee County, which according to the "Bogus Statutes," was bounded as follows: "Beginning at the southeast corner of Bourbon County; thence south to the southern boundary of this Territory: thence west on said boundary twenty-four miles; thence north to a point due west from the place of beginning; thence east twenty-four miles to the place of beginning."

Clark County, originally a part of Ford County, is located in the southwest portion of Kansas. The County is bordered on the south by the State of Oklahoma; Ford County to the North; Meade County to the West and Comanche County and Kiowa County to the east. There is approximately 960 square miles in Clark County. Source: Clark County Website 

Clay County is situated in the second tier of counties south of the State of Nebraska, about one hundred miles west of the Missouri River, and lies on the east side of the sixth principal meridian. It is bounded on the north by Washington, on the east by Riley and Davis counties, on the south by Dickinson, and on the west by Ottawa and Cloud counties, between which extends the sixth principal meridian. It lies wholly within the valley of the Republican River, which enters at the northwest corner, and flows southeast through the center of the county, one-half of which consists of first and second bottom lands. It is, therefore, destined to be one of the richest agricultural counties in the State. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Cloud County, formerly Shirley County, is on the west side of the sixth Principal Meridian in the second tier of counties from the north. It is bounded on the north by Republic, on the east by Washington and Clay, on the south by Ottawa, and on the west by Mitchell and Jewell counties. The northern third of the county lies in the Republican Valley, and its southwest townships are in the valley of the Solomon, making it agriculturally, one of the finest in the State. The elevated, rolling, and quite broken country between the Republican and Solomon rivers at first was considered useless, but a large portion of it is now under cultivation, yet it is better suited for grazing purposes. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas

Coffey County lies in longitude eighteen west from Washington and in eight-eight north latitude. It is bounded on the north by Osage County, on the east by Franklin and Anderson counties, on the south by Woodson County, and on the west by Lyon and Greenwood counties. The general surface of the county is undulating, and 13 per cent of the territory is bottom land, 87 per cent upland, 8 per cent forest and 92 per cent prairie.

Comanche County, one of the southern tier, is the sixth county east of the Colorado state line. It was created by an act of the state legislature in 1867, which provided for the division into counties of all the unorganized part of the state east of range line 26 west, and was named for the Comanche tribe of Indians.

Cowley County takes its name from Matthew Cowley, First Lieutenant in Company I, Ninth Kansas Cavalry, who died in service at Little Rock, Ark., in August, 1864. It was carved out of Hunter County by the Legislature of 1867, which defined it as running thirty-three miles north from a point on the south line of the State, 103 miles west of the State line, and extending thirty-four and a half miles west. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Crawford County lies in the eastern tier, and in the second tier from the southern boundary of the State. It is bounded on the north by Bourbon county, on the east by Missouri, on the south by Cherokee County, and on the west by Labette and Neosho Counties.

Decatur County was created by the act of the legislature of 1873. It is one of the northern tier of counties in the northwestern part of the State; ten counties lie between it and the Missouri River, two between it and Colorado. Its area is 900 square miles. The name of the county was given to it in commemoration of Commodore Stephen Decatur, who was born in Sinnepaxent, Md., and killed in a duel with Commodore James Barron, March 20, 1820, and who was a prominent actor in the war of 1812. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Dickinson County is the third tier of counties from the north line of the State, and in the sixth tier from the east line or about one hundred and thirty miles west of the Missouri river. Measured from north to south, the county is thirty-six miles, and from east to west, it is twenty-four miles. The county contains 544,640 acres, or 851 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Clay County, on the south by Marion County, on the east by Davis and Morris counties, and on the west by Saline and Ottawa counties. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Doniphan County, situated in the extreme northeast of Kansas, makes but a small showing on the general map, but a great one in the history of the State. It is bounded on the south by the Missouri River, the State of Missouri, and Atchison County, Kansas; west by Brown County; north by the State line and the Missouri, and east by the Missouri River and the State of Missouri. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

The Chicago Workingmen's Town Company founded a nearby town in 1872, naming it "Petersburg" for T. J.. Peter, a director of the Santa Fe Railroad, which was then building westward. In 1874 the Kansas Legislature defined Edwards County and it was named for W. C. Edwards, who built the first brick block, which became the center around which the county was built. 

Elk  county located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 2,882.[1] Its county seat and most populous city is Howard.

Ellis County was named after Lieutenant George Ellis, of the Twelfth Kansas Infantry, who was killed April 30, 1864, in a battle at Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas. Until 1867, the county was embraced in the unorganized territory of the western portion of the State, but the Legislature of that year defined its boundaries and named it as above. The county contains 576,000 acres, or 900 square miles, and is bounded on the north by Rooks County, on the south by Rush, on the east by Russell, and on the west by Trego County. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Ellsworth County is a county located in Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 6,497. Its county seat and most populous city is Ellsworth. Source: Wikipedia

Finney County is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 36,776. Its county seat and most populous city is Garden City. Source: Wikipedia

Located in the southwestern part of the state, Ford County was created by a Legislative Act of 1867, which provided for the division into counties of all the unorganized part of the state. It was named in honor of Colonel James H. Ford of the Second Colorado Cavalry, who was in charge of the construction of Fort Dodge after the Civil War. Source: Legends of Kansas 

Franklin County, Kansas was established in 1855 and named in honor of the legendary Benjamin Franklin. It is located in the second tier of counties west from Missouri, and also in the second tier south from the Kansas River. It is bounded on the north by Douglas County, on the east by Miami, on the south by Anderson, and on the west by Coffey and Osage counties.

Geary,formerly known as Davis County,is located in the third tier of counties from the northern boundary line of the State, and in the fifth tier west from the Missouri River. Were the township of Milford, and a small portion from the north of Smoky Hill Township taken from the county, its formation then would be almost square. Milford Township is a tract of land about six miles east and west, and nine miles north and south; that, jutting northward from the northwest corner of the county, projects, as it were, into Riley County, of which it was formerly a part. The map of Davis County bears a strong resemblance to the side wall of a church, with a spire-less belfry built on top of the west corner, Milford Township representing the belfry. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas 

Gove county was organized on September 2, 1886, by J. H. Baker; D. D. Drake; Thomas H. Moore; Gruce Sanders; Vern Smith; F. W. Norton; Willis Walker; Richman Hart; S. S. Howe; and Frank Wright. Named for Union soldier Grenville L. Gove, Company F, 11th Kansas Cavalry the county contains the cities of Quinter, Gove City, Grainfield, Grinnell and Park. Source: Kansapedia

Graham County was one of thirty-four counties created by the legislature in 1867, which divided into counties all of the organized portion of the state east of range line 26W. It was named in honor of Captain L. Graham, Company D, Eighth Kansas Infantry, who was killed in action in Chickamauga, September 19, 1863. Source: Graham County website

Grant County is named in honor of Ulysses S. Grant, the most capable of the Union generals during the Civil War, and later the 18th president of the United States.

Greeley County is named in Honor of Newspaper Publisher Horace Greeley, who advocated support of land grants for farmers and a government-financed railroad to the Pacific.

Greenwood County was named in honor of Greenwood, United States Land Commissioner, under pierce and Buchanan. It was first laid off by the bogus Legislature of 1855-56, but was for a number of years thereafter unorganized territory. As at first laid out, the county was a very nearly square tract of uniform size with its neighbors, but when in 1867 Madison County was abolished, and its north part given to Breckinridge (now Lyon) County, the lower portion, to a point three miles above Madison, was added to Greenwood. Source: Cutler's History of the State of Kansas

Hamilton County was founded in 1873. It is named for Alexander Hamilton.

Harper County lies in one of the most beautiful prairie regions of Kansas. South of it stretches the fertile Indian Territory, already containing nearly as many whites as aborigines, from which comes a vast and profitable traffic.

Harvey County is situated on the eastern line of the central belt of counties in the State, about seventy five miles north of the Indian territory, and about one hundred and ten miles south of the Nebraska State line, being only about thirty miles in a southeasterly direction from the geographical center of the State. It is bounded on the north by McPherson and Marion; east, Marion and Butler; south, Sedgwick, and on the west by Reno County. 

An old atlas of 125 years ago would reveal that what is now Haskell County was located in the Great American Desert. This territory was first divided into Sequoyah and Garfield Counties. In 1873 Arapahoe County was created. By an act of the Legislature of 1883 Kearney, Grant, Sequoyah and Arapahoe Counties became Finney County. In 1886 they were again reshuffled and old Sequoyah became Finney. That which was formerly Arapahoe was finally sliced off the southern part of Finney to become Haskell County. .In 1893 Garfield County was made part of Finney.

Hodgeman County was organized by an act of the Legislature of 1868, but was not organized until 1879. Its area is 864 square miles; it is twenty-four miles from north to south; thirty-six miles from east to west. It embraces Townships 21, 22, 23 and 24, of Ranges 21, 22, 23, 23, 25 and 26. It is bounded on the north by Ness; on the east by Pawnee and Edwards; on the south by Ford; on the west by Gray and Lane.

The purpose of a county is for local administration of an area beneath the state level, i.e federal, state, county, and municipal governments. In Kansas, there are a total of 105 counties, each with their own county seat. This county seat is the town where the governing body of the county resides. This body is known as the County Legislature which is named after the county. 

Jackson County (formerly Calhoun), was one of the thirty-three counties organized by the first Territorial Legislature of Kansas, at its session in 1858, at the Shawnee Manual Labor School, in Johnson County. Calhoun County embraced upwards of 1,140 square miles.

Jefferson County is situated in the eastern part of the State and is in extent twenty-six miles north and south, and twenty-two miles east and west. It is bounded on the north by Atchison County, on the east by Leavenworth, on the south by Douglas and Shawnee, and on the west by Shawnee and Jackson.

Jewell County is located in the northernmost tier of counties, 150 miles from the Missouri River. The county is thirty miles square, divided into twenty-five Congressional townships, and contains 900 square miles, or 576,000 acres of land. The county is among the first in the State in agricultural resources. Its central portion is rolling, and in places somewhat broken, but contains many fine farms and much good pasture land. The valley of Marsh and Buffalo Creeks - a tract embracing the southeast quarter of the county - is, next to the White Rock Valley, the finest, richest and most densely settled portion of the county. It is about fifty or seventy-five feet below the central portion, and is exceedingly fertile, and just rolling enough to afford proper drainage.

Johnson County is located in the eastern part of the State. It is bounded on the north by Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties, on the east by Missouri, on the south by Miami, and on the west by Douglas County. It is twenty-one miles from north to south and twenty-four from east to west, containing 475 square miles, or 304,000 acres. At the first organization of the county, in 1855, the Kansas river constituted its entire northern boundary, but in 1859 the present boundary was established.

Kearny County has an area of 864 square miles; it is twenty-four miles from east to west; thirty-six miles from north to south. The Arkansas, as it enters the county, some twelve miles from its southern boundary, runs in a southeasterly direction, and before it crosses its center line from east to west, its course is northwesterly. Kearny County held its first election as a township at Lakin, July 7, 1879, polling 38 votes.

 Kingman County is twenty-four miles north and south, by thirty-six east and west. It contains twenty-four Congressional townships and has a total of 552,960 acres or 864 square miles. Excepting 30,720 acres of school land, the residue is embraced in what is known as the Osage Reservation or trust lands. Of the 522,240 acres of land in the county, subject to pre-emption, 312,560 acres have been either deeded or filed upon, leaving 209,680 acres, exclusive of school lands, still vacant and subject to entry.

Kiowa County, in the southwestern part of the state, is the second county north from Oklahoma and the sixth east from Colorado. It is bounded on the north by Edwards county; on the east by Pratt and Barber; on the south by Comanche, and on the west by Ford and Clark. It was named for the Kiowa tribe of Indians and was first created by the act of 1867, which erected 26 western counties.

Labette County was organized on March 10, 1867, by Larkin McGee; William Blythe; Finchel Monroe; David Hopins; Austin T. Dickerman; Samuel Collins; Jabez Zink; Charles Bent; C. H. Talbot; Ba. A. Rice; Elza Craft; David Lowe; J. S. Waters; C.C. Clover; J. F. Newlon; and George W. Kingsbury. Containing the cities of Chetopa, Edna, Bartlett, Labette, Mound Valley, Altamont, Oswego and Parsons, the county was named for the Kiowa Indians.