Wabaunsee County, Kansas

County in Kansas, United States

County in Kansas

Wabaunsee County

County

Wabaunsee County Courthouse in Alma (2021)

Location within the U.S. state of Kansas

Kansas's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 39°01′07″N 96°17′33″W﻿ / ﻿39.0186°N 96.2925°W﻿ / 39.0186; -96.2925
Country|  United States
State|  Kansas
Founded| 1859
Named for| Chief Waubonsie
Seat| Alma
Largest city| Alma
Area

• Total

| 800 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Land| 794 sq mi (2,060 km2)
• Water| 5.3 sq mi (14 km2)  0.7%
Population

(2020)[1]

• Total

| 6,877

• Estimate

(2023)[2]

| 7,057
• Density| 8.7/sq mi (3.4/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 2nd
Website| wbcounty.org

Wabaunsee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Alma.[3] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 6,877.[1] The county was named for Chief Waubonsie of the Potawatomi Indians.[4]

## History

[edit]

Wabaunsee County Poor Farm, located 4 mi (6.4 km) south of Alma, 1901

### 19th century

[edit]

See also: History of Kansas

For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. In 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The first white settlers in the area were said to have been a band of outlaws known as the McDaniel Gang.[4]

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized and Wabaunsee County was created by the territorial legislature on March 25, 1859.[4] The name used since 1859 is derived from the Potawatomi "Wah-bon-seh", meaning "dawn of day" literally, and it was the name of the chief of the Potawatomi Indians.[4] Originally, the county was named Richardson, after William Alexander Richardson, a congressman from Illinois, who introduced the first Kansas and Nebraska Bill in the House of Representatives, which made certain Indian lands territories in 1854.[5]

Also in 1854, the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church was established by a group of free-staters, who had rifles shipped to the church to be used in the free-state effort in boxes marked Bibles.[4] Captain William Mitchell, Jr., a seaman who joined the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony that settled in Wabaunsee, played an important role in the county settlement and with the underground railroad.[4]

The county's first church, Wabaunsee Church of Christ, was founded in June 1857.[4]

In 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state, entering the union as a free state.

The first railroad to be built through Wabaunsee County was the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe in 1880.[6] In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Topeka to Herington.[7] This main line connected Topeka, Valencia, Willard, Maple Hill, Vera, Paxico, McFarland, Alma, Volland, Alta Vista, Dwight, White City, Latimer, Herington.

### 20th century

[edit]

A massive drought beginning in 1930 resulted in a series of dust storms that lasted until 1941. The drought combined with the onset of the Great Depression, forced farmers off the land. This ecological disaster caused an exodus of many farmers to escape from the hostile environment of Kansas.[8][9] As the world demand for wheat plummeted, rural Kansas became poverty-stricken. The state became an eager participant in such major New Deal relief programs as the Civil Works Administration, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, which put tens of thousands of Kansans to work as unskilled labor.[10] Republican Governor Alf Landon also employed emergency measures, including a moratorium on mortgage foreclosures and a balanced budget initiative.[11] The Agricultural Adjustment Administration succeeded in raising wheat prices after 1933, thus alleviating the most serious distress.[12]

During World War II, the U.S. Army located a German prisoner of war camp at Lake Wabaunsee, near Eskridge. It was believed that the prisoners would be less of a security risk in North America, where there were fewer Nazi sympathizers, than they would be in Europe. The prisoners were paid $0.40 per hour and granted a daily noon lunch, in exchange for their help on farms and bridges throughout the region.[13]

## Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 800 square miles (2,100 km2), of which 794 square miles (2,060 km2) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km2) (0.7%) is water.[14]

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Pottawatomie County (north)
* Shawnee County (east)
* Osage County (southeast)
* Lyon County (south)
* Morris County (southwest)
* Geary County (west)
* Riley County (northwest)

## Demographics

[edit]

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1860| 1,023| | —
1870| 3,362| | 228.6%
1880| 8,756| | 160.4%
1890| 11,720| | 33.9%
1900| 12,813| | 9.3%
1910| 12,721| | −0.7%
1920| 11,424| | −10.2%
1930| 10,830| | −5.2%
1940| 9,219| | −14.9%
1950| 7,212| | −21.8%
1960| 6,648| | −7.8%
1970| 6,397| | −3.8%
1980| 6,867| | 7.3%
1990| 6,603| | −3.8%
2000| 6,885| | 4.3%
2010| 7,053| | 2.4%
2020| 6,877| | −2.5%
2023 (est.)| 7,057| [15]| 2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]
1790-1960[17] 1900-1990[18]
1990-2000[19] 2010-2020[1]

Wabaunsee County is part of the Topeka, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the census[20] of 2000, there were 6,885 people, 2,633 households, and 1,958 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile (3.5 people/km2). There were 3,033 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.24% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. 1.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,633 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.30% were married couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.70% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,710, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,629 versus $23,148 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,704. About 5.80% of families and 7.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

## Government

[edit]

County governance is overseen by a three member Board of Commissioners, each of whom is responsible for a separate district.[21]

### Presidential elections

[edit]

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Wabaunsee County, Kansas[22] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 2,816  | 72.95% | 944  | 24.46%  | 100  | 2.59%
2020 | 2,845  | 72.91% | 964  | 24.71%  | 93  | 2.38%
2016 | 2,372  | 70.18% | 776  | 22.96%  | 232  | 6.86%
2012 | 2,256  | 69.05% | 918  | 28.10%  | 93  | 2.85%
2008 | 2,395  | 68.02% | 1,036  | 29.42%  | 90  | 2.56%
2004 | 2,531  | 70.23% | 1,001  | 27.77%  | 72  | 2.00%
2000 | 2,182  | 63.80% | 1,025  | 29.97%  | 213  | 6.23%
1996 | 1,884  | 55.67% | 966  | 28.55%  | 534  | 15.78%
1992 | 1,254  | 37.17%  | 851  | 25.22%  | 1,269  | 37.61%
1988 | 1,737  | 58.54% | 1,166  | 39.30%  | 64  | 2.16%
1984 | 2,276  | 72.72% | 805  | 25.72%  | 49  | 1.57%
1980 | 2,255  | 67.98% | 853  | 25.72%  | 209  | 6.30%
1976 | 1,921  | 57.58% | 1,354  | 40.59%  | 61  | 1.83%
1972 | 2,461  | 76.83% | 662  | 20.67%  | 80  | 2.50%
1968 | 1,979  | 64.17% | 695  | 22.54%  | 410  | 13.29%
1964 | 1,839  | 58.34% | 1,287  | 40.83%  | 26  | 0.82%
1960 | 2,351  | 70.58% | 969  | 29.09%  | 11  | 0.33%
1956 | 2,650  | 76.63% | 802  | 23.19%  | 6  | 0.17%
1952 | 3,182  | 81.03% | 736  | 18.74%  | 9  | 0.23%
1948 | 2,437  | 66.80% | 1,162  | 31.85%  | 49  | 1.34%
1944 | 2,839  | 75.95% | 873  | 23.35%  | 26  | 0.70%
1940 | 3,481  | 73.64% | 1,212  | 25.64%  | 34  | 0.72%
1936 | 2,809  | 55.52% | 2,235  | 44.18%  | 15  | 0.30%
1932 | 2,304  | 47.39%  | 2,465  | 50.70% | 93  | 1.91%
1928 | 3,099  | 71.89% | 1,189  | 27.58%  | 23  | 0.53%
1924 | 2,742  | 65.90% | 633  | 15.21%  | 786  | 18.89%
1920 | 2,859  | 77.63% | 782  | 21.23%  | 42  | 1.14%
1916 | 2,640  | 58.95% | 1,706  | 38.10%  | 132  | 2.95%
1912 | 783  | 26.82%  | 1,128  | 38.63% | 1,009  | 34.55%
1908 | 1,849  | 60.25% | 1,163  | 37.90%  | 57  | 1.86%
1904 | 2,016  | 71.44% | 688  | 24.38%  | 118  | 4.18%
1900 | 1,793  | 58.06% | 1,263  | 40.90%  | 32  | 1.04%
1896 | 1,586  | 51.80% | 1,442  | 47.09%  | 34  | 1.11%
1892 | 1,356  | 46.82%  | 0  | 0.00%  | 1,540  | 53.18%
1888 | 1,708  | 62.52% | 960  | 35.14%  | 64  | 2.34%

Wabaunsee County is overwhelmingly Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Wabaunsee County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and since at least 1888 only Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, plus William Jennings Bryan in 1896, have reached 41 percent of the county's vote for the Democratic Party. The county was however one of three Kansas counties – Anderson and Jefferson being the other two – to give a plurality to Ross Perot in 1992.

### Laws

[edit]

Wabaunsee County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.[23]

## Education

[edit]

### Unified school districts

[edit]

School districts based in the county include:[24]

* Wabaunsee USD 329 (Mill Creek Valley USD 329)
* Mission Valley USD 330 (Wabaunsee East USD 330)

Other districts include:[24]

* Kaw Valley USD 321
* Manhattan USD 383
* Morris County USD 417
* North Lyon County USD 251
* Wamego USD 320

## Communities

[edit]

2005 map of Wabaunsee County from KDOT[25] (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Wabaunsee County.[25]

### Cities

[edit]

‡ denotes a community with portions in an adjacent county.

* Alma (county seat)
* Alta Vista
* Eskridge
* Harveyville
* Maple Hill
* McFarland
* Paxico
* St. Marys‡
* Willard‡

### Unincorporated communities

[edit]

† denotes a community which is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

* Keene
* Newbury†
* Volland
* Wabaunsee†
* Wilmington

### Ghost towns

[edit]

* Bradford
* Vera

### Townships

[edit]

1915 Railroad Map of Wabaunsee County

Wabaunsee County is divided into thirteen townships. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Sources: 2000 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau.  Township | FIPS | Population
center  | Population | Population
density
/km2 (/sq mi) | Land area
km2 (sq mi) | Water area
km2 (sq mi) | Water %  | Geographic coordinates

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Alma | 01375 | Alma | 1,137 | 11 (28) | 104 (40) | 0 (0) | 0% | 39°1′8″N 96°17′33″W﻿ / ﻿39.01889°N 96.29250°W﻿ / 39.01889; -96.29250
Farmer | 23125 |  | 119 | 1 (2) | 172 (66) | 0 (0) | 0.07% | 38°55′37″N 96°18′44″W﻿ / ﻿38.92694°N 96.31222°W﻿ / 38.92694; -96.31222
Garfield | 25850 | Alta Visa | 590 | 5 (13) | 118 (45) | 0 (0) | 0.09% | 38°51′44″N 96°27′20″W﻿ / ﻿38.86222°N 96.45556°W﻿ / 38.86222; -96.45556
Kaw | 36150 |  | 242 | 2 (6) | 110 (42) | 2 (1) | 1.55% | 39°10′16″N 96°9′46″W﻿ / ﻿39.17111°N 96.16278°W﻿ / 39.17111; -96.16278
Maple Hill | 44525 | Maple Hill | 930 | 5 (13) | 190 (73) | 1 (0) | 0.55% | 39°4′43″N 96°0′52″W﻿ / ﻿39.07861°N 96.01444°W﻿ / 39.07861; -96.01444
Mill Creek | 46725 | Lake Wabaunsee | 293 | 2 (4) | 192 (74) | 1 (0) | 0.43% | 38°53′23″N 96°11′23″W﻿ / ﻿38.88972°N 96.18972°W﻿ / 38.88972; -96.18972
Mission Creek | 47300 |  | 495 | 2 (6) | 209 (81) | 0 (0) | 0.04% | 38°55′49″N 96°3′0″W﻿ / ﻿38.93028°N 96.05000°W﻿ / 38.93028; -96.05000
Newbury | 50275 | Paxico / McFarland | 1,045 | 5 (13) | 203 (78) | 0 (0) | 0.06% | 39°3′44″N 96°11′18″W﻿ / ﻿39.06222°N 96.18833°W﻿ / 39.06222; -96.18833
Plumb | 56800 | Harveyville | 640 | 5 (13) | 129 (50) | 0 (0) | 0.17% | 38°47′56″N 95°58′36″W﻿ / ﻿38.79889°N 95.97667°W﻿ / 38.79889; -95.97667
Rock Creek | 60650 |  | 84 | 0 (1) | 171 (66) | 0 (0) | 0.05% | 38°46′58″N 96°18′15″W﻿ / ﻿38.78278°N 96.30417°W﻿ / 38.78278; -96.30417
Wabaunsee | 74250 | Wabaunsee | 455 | 3 (7) | 172 (66) | 2 (1) | 1.05% | 39°6′57″N 96°18′21″W﻿ / ﻿39.11583°N 96.30583°W﻿ / 39.11583; -96.30583
Washington | 75800 |  | 83 | 1 (1) | 148 (57) | 0 (0) | 0.02% | 38°57′49″N 96°25′14″W﻿ / ﻿38.96361°N 96.42056°W﻿ / 38.96361; -96.42056
Wilmington | 79525 | Eskridge | 772 | 5 (13) | 150 (58) | 0 (0) | 0.03% | 38°49′54″N 96°6′14″W﻿ / ﻿38.83167°N 96.10389°W﻿ / 38.83167; -96.10389

## See also

[edit]

* Kansas portal

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Wabaunsee County, Kansas

Community information for Kansas

* Kansas locations by per capita income
* List of counties in Kansas
* List of townships in Kansas
* List of cities in Kansas
* List of unincorporated communities in Kansas
* List of ghost towns in Kansas

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "QuickFacts; Wabaunsee County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
2. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Wabaunsee County, Kansas, Kansapedia. (accessed July 27, 2013)
5. ^ Wabaunsee County History.
6. ^ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2. Standard Publishing Company. pp. 853.
7. ^ "Rock Island Rail History". Archived from the original on June 19, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
8. ^ Timothy Eagan, The Worst Hard Tim : the Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
9. ^ Craig Miner,Next Year Country: Dust to Dust in Western Kansas, 1890-1940 (2007)
10. ^ Peter Fearon, "Kansas History and the New Deal Era," Kansas History, Autumn 2007, Vol. 30 Issue 3, pp 192-223
11. ^ Donald R. McCoy, Landon of Kansas (1966)
12. ^ Peter Fearon, "Regulation and Response: Kansas Wheat Farmers and the New Deal," Rural History, Oct 2007, Vol. 18 Issue 2, pp 245-264
13. ^ "Lake Wabaunsee". Lake Wabaunsee. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
14. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
15. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
16. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
17. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
18. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
19. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
20. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
21. ^ Wabaunsee County, County Commission, accessed September 1, 2023
22. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
23. ^ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
24. ^ a b "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Wabaunsee County, KS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2024. \- Text list
25. ^ a b "General Highway Map of Wabaunsee County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). October 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2023.

## Further reading

[edit]

See also: List of books about Kansas, including historical information about its counties and cities

* Early History of Wabaunsee County, Kansas; Matt Thomson; 376 pages; 1901.
* Standard Atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 76 pages; 1919.
* Standard Atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 47 pages; 1902.
* Atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas; Gillen & Davy; 51 pages; 1885.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wabaunsee County, Kansas.

County

* Official website
* Wabaunsee County - Directory of Public Officials

Historical

* Wabaunsee County GenWeb website

Maps

* Wabaunsee County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
* Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
* Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

* v
* t
* e

Places adjacent to Wabaunsee County, Kansas

| Riley County | Pottawatomie County |

|
|

|  |
Geary County |

Wabaunsee County, Kansas

| Shawnee County
|  |
Morris County | Lyon County | Osage County

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Wabaunsee County, Kansas, United States

County seat: Alma

Cities|

* Alma
* Alta Vista
* Eskridge
* Harveyville
* Maple Hill
* McFarland
* Paxico
* St. Marys‡
* Willard‡

Map of Kansas highlighting Wabaunsee County

CDPs|

* Newbury
* Wabaunsee

Unincorporated
communities|

* Keene
* Volland
* Wilmington

Ghost towns|

* Bradford
* Vera

Footnotes|

‡This community also has portions in an adjacent county or counties.

* Kansas portal
* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Kansas

Topeka (capital)

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38°58′N 96°11′W﻿ / ﻿38.967°N 96.183°W﻿ / 38.967; -96.183
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