Counties of Kansas - History and Information

Kansas Counties

Map of Kansas Counties

County	County Seat	Established	Origin
Allen	Iola	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Anderson	Garnett	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Atchison	Atchison	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Barber	Medicine Lodge	1867	From unorganized area
Barton	Great Bend	1867	From unorganized area
Bourbon	Fort Scott	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Brown	Hiawatha	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Browne County)
Butler	El Dorado	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Chase	Cottonwood Falls	1859	Formed from Butler and Wise counties
Chautauqua	Sedan	1875	Formed from Howard County
Cherokee	Columbus	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly McGee County)
Cheyenne	Saint Francis	1873	From unorganized area
Clark	Ashland	1885	Formed from Ford County
Clay	Clay Center	1857	From unorganized area
Cloud	Concordia	1866	Formed from Washington County (Formerly Shirley County)
Coffey	Burlington	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Comanche	Coldwater	1867	From unorganized area
Cowley	Winfield	1867	Formed from Butler County
Crawford	Girard	1867	Formed from Bourbon and Cherokee Counties
Decatur	Oberlin	1873	From unorganized area
Dickinson	Abilene	1857	From unorganized area
Doniphan	Troy	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Douglas	Lawrence	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Edwards	Kinsley	1874	Formed from Kiowa County
Elk	Howard	1875	Formed from Howard County
Ellis	Hays	1867	From unorganized area
Ellsworth	Ellsworth	1867	From unorganized area
Finney	Garden City	1883	Formed from Arapahoe, Grant, Kearney and Sequoyah Counties
Ford	Dodge City	1867	From unorganized area
Franklin	Ottawa	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Geary	Junction City	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Davis County)
Gove	Gove	1868	From unorganized area
Graham	Hill City	1867	From unorganized area
Grant	Ulysses	1888	Formed from Finney and Hamilton Counties
Gray	Cimarron	1887	Formed from Finney and Ford Counties
Greeley	Tribune	1873	From unorganized area
Greenwood	Eureka	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Hamilton	Syracuse	1873	From unorganized area
Harper	Anthony	1867	From unorganized area
Harvey	Newton	1872	Formed from McPherson, Sedgwick and Reno Counties
Haskell	Sublette	1887	Formed from Finney and Ford Counties
Hodgeman	Jetmore	1867	From unorganized area (Formerly Hageman County)
Jackson	Holton	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Calhoun County)
Jefferson	Oskaloosa	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Jewell	Mankato	1867	From unorganized area
Johnson	Olathe	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Kearny	Lakin	1887	Formed from Finney and Hamilton Counties
Kingman	Kingman	1872	Formed from Harper and Reno Counties
Kiowa	Greensburg	1886	Formed from Comanche and Edwards Counties
Labette	Oswego	1867	Formed from Neosho County
Lane	Dighton	1886	From unorganized area
Leavenworth	Leavenworth	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Lincoln	Lincoln	1867	From unorganized area
Linn	Mound City	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Logan	Oakley	1888	Formed form Wallace County (Formerly named St. John County)
Lyon	Emporia	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Breckenridge County)
Marion	Marion	1860	From unorganized area
Marshall	Marysville	1855	One of the original 36 counties
McPherson	McPherson	1867	From unorganized area
Meade	Meade	1885	Formed from Finney, Ford and Seward Counties
Miami	Paola	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Lykins)
Mitchell	Beloit	1867	From unorganized area
Montgomery	Independence	1867	Formed from Wilson County
Morris	Council Grove	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Wise County)
Morton	Elkhart	1886	Formed from Seward County
Nemaha	Seneca	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Dorn County)
Neosho	Eri	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Ness	Ness City	1867	From unorganized area
Norton	Norton	1867	From unorganized area (Formerly Billings County)
Osage	Lyndon	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Weller County)
Osborne	Osborne	1867	From unorganized area
Ottawa	Minneapolis	1860	From unorganized area
Pawnee	Larned	1867	From unorganized area
Phillips	Phillipsburg	1867	From unorganized area
Pottawatomie	Westmoreland	1857	Formed from Calhoun and Riley Counties
Pratt	Pratt	1867	From unorganized area
Rawlins	Atwood	1873	From unorganized area
Reno	Hutchinson	1867	From unorganized area
Republic	Belleville	1868	Formed from Washington County
Rice	Lyons	1867	From unorganized area
Riley	Manhattan	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Rooks	Stockton	1867	From unorganized area
Rush	La Crosse	1867	From unorganized area
Russell	Russell	1867	From unorganized area
Saline	Salina	1860	From unorganized area
Scott	Scott City	1873	From unorganized area
Sedgwick	Wichita	1867	Formed from Butler County
Seward	Liberal	1873	From unorganized area
Shawnee	Topeka	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Sheridan	Hoxie	1873	From unorganized area
Sherman	Goodland	1873	From unorganized area
Smith	Smith Center	1867	From unorganized area
Stafford	Saint John	1867	From unorganized area
Stanton	Johnson City	1887	Formed from Hamilton County
Stevens	Hugoton	1886	Formed from Seward County
Sumner	Wellington	1867	Formed from Butler County
Thomas	Colby	1873	From unorganized area
Trego	WaKeeney	1867	From unorganized area
Wabaunsee	Alma	1855	One of the original 36 counties (Formerly Richardson County)
Wallace	Sharon Springs	1868	From unorganized area
Washington	Washington	1857	From unorganized area
Wichita	Leoti	1873	From unorganized area
Wilson	Fredonia	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Woodson	Yates Center	1855	One of the original 36 counties
Wyandotte	Kansas City	1859	Formed from Leavenworth and Johnson Counties

Hays, Kansas, Ellis County in the late 1800's.

Bismarck Grove corrals in Douglas County, early 1900s

Francisco Juan De Padilla was a Franciscan friar and the first missionary to the Indians of Kansas.

Fort Zarah in Barton County.

Dodge City, in Ford County, 1876.

Charles Ransford Jennison was an anti-slavery Jayhawker who led the Redlegs

Atchison, Kansas around 1860.

Buffalo once roamed all over the Kansas Plains.

William "Bat" Masterson was a

Ford County sheriff, gunfighter and friend to Wyatt Earp.

The first seesion of the Bogus Legislature was held at

the Territorial Capitol building at Pawnee, Kansas, now on

the Fort Riley reservation.

The Battle of Prairie Dog Creek

was fought in Phillips County.

The state was called home to the Kanza (Kaw) Indians long before

white settlers.

Mound City in Linn County, Kansas

Emporia in Lyon County,

Kansas

Council Grove, in Morris County,

was for years, the last stop on the Santa Fe Trail.

William L. "Buffalo Bill" Brooks was a Kansas lawman turned outlaw.

Fort Larned, in Pawnee County, Kansas in the 1860s

Carrie Nation

From Medicine Lodge, Carry A. Nation was a well-known and radical temperance advocate.

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Civil War & Military Photographs - From our personal Photo Print Shop, you can now order prints that provide dramatic glimpses into the Civil War and other military expeditions and battles that occurred during the days of the Old West . From battlegrounds, to generals, Indian Campaigns, the cavalry, and everything in between, you'll find it here and check back often as this varied collection grows daily.