Wilson County, Kansas

County in Kansas, United States

Not to be confused with Wilson, Kansas.

County in Kansas

Wilson County

County

Brown Hotel in Neodesha (2017)

Location within the U.S. state of Kansas

Kansas's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 37°34′00″N 95°44′00″W﻿ / ﻿37.5667°N 95.7333°W﻿ / 37.5667; -95.7333
Country|  United States
State|  Kansas
Founded| 1855
Named for| Hiero T. Wilson
Seat| Fredonia
Largest city| Neodesha
Area

• Total| 575 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land| 570 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water| 4.7 sq mi (12 km2)  0.8%
Population

(2020)[1]

• Total| 8,624
• Density| 15.1/sq mi (5.8/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 2nd
Website| wilsoncountykansas.org

Wilson County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Fredonia.[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 8,624.[1] The county was named after Hiero Wilson, a colonel in the American Civil War.

## History[edit]

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|

### Early history[edit]

See also: History of Kansas

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

### 19th century[edit]

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized. In 1855, Wilson County was established and included what is now Wilson County and Montgomery County. It was named for Colonel Hiero T. Wilson. He was a successful Indian trader who had been the first white settler of Fort Scott, Kansas and had served as postmaster and sutler at the fort. He could speak Cherokee, Creek, and Osage and the Osage called him "Big White Chief". He was a delegate to the Lecompton Constitutional Convention.[3]

## Geography[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 570 square miles (1,500 km2) is land and 4.7 square miles (12 km2) (0.8%) is water.[4]

### Adjacent counties[edit]

* Woodson County (north)
* Allen County (northeast)
* Neosho County (east)
* Montgomery County (south)
* Elk County (west)
* Greenwood County (northwest)

## Demographics[edit]

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

|
|
|

1860| 27| | —
1870| 6,694| | 24,692.6%
1880| 13,775| | 105.8%
1890| 15,286| | 11.0%
1900| 15,621| | 2.2%
1910| 19,810| | 26.8%
1920| 21,157| | 6.8%
1930| 18,646| | −11.9%
1940| 17,723| | −5.0%
1950| 14,815| | −16.4%
1960| 13,077| | −11.7%
1970| 11,317| | −13.5%
1980| 12,128| | 7.2%
1990| 10,289| | −15.2%
2000| 10,332| | 0.4%
2010| 9,409| | −8.9%
2020| 8,624| | −8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2020[1]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 10,332 people, 4,203 households, and 2,849 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile (6.9 people/km2). There were 4,937 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.78% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.88% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. 1.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,203 households, out of which 29.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.20% were non-families. 29.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 19.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,747, and the median income for a family was $36,990. Males had a median income of $27,255 versus $18,670 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,910. About 7.50% of families and 11.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.

## Government[edit]

### Presidential elections[edit]

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Wilson County, Kansas[10] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2020 | 3,153  | 79.74% | 723  | 18.29%  | 78  | 1.97%
2016 | 2,788  | 77.64% | 594  | 16.54%  | 209  | 5.82%
2012 | 2,825  | 76.00% | 818  | 22.01%  | 74  | 1.99%
2008 | 2,850  | 69.16% | 1,170  | 28.39%  | 101  | 2.45%
2004 | 3,263  | 74.19% | 1,060  | 24.10%  | 75  | 1.71%
2000 | 2,748  | 67.11% | 1,186  | 28.96%  | 161  | 3.93%
1996 | 2,458  | 56.41% | 1,297  | 29.77%  | 602  | 13.82%
1992 | 1,925  | 41.53% | 1,331  | 28.72%  | 1,379  | 29.75%
1988 | 2,743  | 63.12% | 1,545  | 35.55%  | 58  | 1.33%
1984 | 3,663  | 72.23% | 1,344  | 26.50%  | 64  | 1.26%
1980 | 3,328  | 69.32% | 1,205  | 25.10%  | 268  | 5.58%
1976 | 2,682  | 55.67% | 2,047  | 42.49%  | 89  | 1.85%
1972 | 3,568  | 74.80% | 1,043  | 21.87%  | 159  | 3.33%
1968 | 3,340  | 63.35% | 1,276  | 24.20%  | 656  | 12.44%
1964 | 2,919  | 52.54% | 2,592  | 46.65%  | 45  | 0.81%
1960 | 4,333  | 67.77% | 2,034  | 31.81%  | 27  | 0.42%
1956 | 4,502  | 73.00% | 1,645  | 26.67%  | 20  | 0.32%
1952 | 5,180  | 73.18% | 1,845  | 26.07%  | 53  | 0.75%
1948 | 3,868  | 59.45% | 2,538  | 39.01%  | 100  | 1.54%
1944 | 4,248  | 68.57% | 1,912  | 30.86%  | 35  | 0.56%
1940 | 5,288  | 64.42% | 2,859  | 34.83%  | 62  | 0.76%
1936 | 4,829  | 55.59% | 3,816  | 43.93%  | 42  | 0.48%
1932 | 3,422  | 44.93%  | 4,001  | 52.53% | 193  | 2.53%
1928 | 5,603  | 78.46% | 1,465  | 20.52%  | 73  | 1.02%
1924 | 4,596  | 65.00% | 1,736  | 24.55%  | 739  | 10.45%
1920 | 4,024  | 66.23% | 1,768  | 29.10%  | 284  | 4.67%
1916 | 2,970  | 41.81%  | 3,494  | 49.18% | 640  | 9.01%
1912 | 849  | 19.92%  | 1,304  | 30.60%  | 2,108  | 49.47%
1908 | 2,428  | 53.14% | 1,777  | 38.89%  | 364  | 7.97%
1904 | 2,583  | 63.37% | 1,034  | 25.37%  | 459  | 11.26%
1900 | 2,193  | 55.58% | 1,711  | 43.36%  | 42  | 1.06%
1896 | 1,852  | 48.38%  | 1,959  | 51.18% | 17  | 0.44%
1892 | 1,803  | 51.80% | 0  | 0.00%  | 1,678  | 48.20%
1888 | 2,191  | 55.48% | 1,035  | 26.21%  | 723  | 18.31%

Wilson County is overwhelmingly Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Wilson County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and none have passed 36 percent since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

### Laws[edit]

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1998, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.[11]

## Education[edit]

### Unified school districts[edit]

* Altoona-Midway USD 387[12]
* Neodesha USD 461[13]
* Fredonia USD 484[14]

## Communities[edit]

2005 KDOT Map of Wilson County from KDOT (map legend)

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

### Cities[edit]

* Altoona
* Benedict
* Buffalo
* Coyville
* Fredonia (county seat)
* Neodesha
* New Albany

### Unincorporated communities[edit]

* Buxton
* Lafontaine†
* Rest
* Roper
* Vilas

### Townships[edit]

Wilson County is divided into fifteen townships. The cities of Fredonia and Neodesha are considered governmentally independent and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. 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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Cedar | 11375 |  | 701 | 8 (19) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.11% | 37°31′21″N 95°40′14″W﻿ / ﻿37.52250°N 95.67056°W﻿ / 37.52250; -95.67056﻿ (Cedar Twp.)
Center | 12225 |  | 618 | 6 (16) | 103 (40) | 0 (0) | 0.14% | 37°31′5″N 95°49′11″W﻿ / ﻿37.51806°N 95.81972°W﻿ / 37.51806; -95.81972﻿ (Center Twp.)
Chetopa | 13000 |  | 188 | 2 (5) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.11% | 37°30′28″N 95°34′14″W﻿ / ﻿37.50778°N 95.57056°W﻿ / 37.50778; -95.57056﻿ (Chetopa Twp.)
Clifton | 14250 |  | 414 | 4 (12) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.53% | 37°41′56″N 95°42′23″W﻿ / ﻿37.69889°N 95.70639°W﻿ / 37.69889; -95.70639﻿ (Clifton Twp.)
Colfax | 14825 |  | 452 | 4 (10) | 123 (47) | 0 (0) | 0.17% | 37°40′55″N 95°36′20″W﻿ / ﻿37.68194°N 95.60556°W﻿ / 37.68194; -95.60556﻿ (Colfax Twp.)
Duck Creek | 18800 |  | 103 | 1 (3) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.23% | 37°26′14″N 95°54′58″W﻿ / ﻿37.43722°N 95.91611°W﻿ / 37.43722; -95.91611﻿ (Duck Creek Twp.)
Fall River | 22825 |  | 398 | 3 (8) | 131 (51) | 0 (0) | 0.16% | 37°32′21″N 95°55′33″W﻿ / ﻿37.53917°N 95.92583°W﻿ / 37.53917; -95.92583﻿ (Fall River Twp.)
Guilford | 29200 |  | 205 | 2 (6) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.06% | 37°36′32″N 95°43′22″W﻿ / ﻿37.60889°N 95.72278°W﻿ / 37.60889; -95.72278﻿ (Guilford Twp.)
Neodesha | 49675 |  | 583 | 6 (17) | 90 (35) | 0 (0) | 0.52% | 37°25′29″N 95°40′52″W﻿ / ﻿37.42472°N 95.68111°W﻿ / 37.42472; -95.68111﻿ (Neodesha Twp.)
Newark | 50200 |  | 226 | 2 (6) | 92 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.18% | 37°25′30″N 95°34′56″W﻿ / ﻿37.42500°N 95.58222°W﻿ / 37.42500; -95.58222﻿ (Newark Twp.)
Pleasant Valley | 56650 |  | 201 | 2 (4) | 123 (47) | 0 (0) | 0.09% | 37°36′25″N 95°36′21″W﻿ / ﻿37.60694°N 95.60583°W﻿ / 37.60694; -95.60583﻿ (Pleasant Valley Twp.)
Prairie | 57425 |  | 118 | 2 (4) | 78 (30) | 0 (0) | 0.28% | 37°36′17″N 95°49′26″W﻿ / ﻿37.60472°N 95.82389°W﻿ / 37.60472; -95.82389﻿ (Prairie Twp.)
Talleyrand | 69900 |  | 232 | 3 (7) | 92 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.06% | 37°25′19″N 95°48′25″W﻿ / ﻿37.42194°N 95.80694°W﻿ / 37.42194; -95.80694﻿ (Talleyrand Twp.)
Verdigris | 73500 |  | 394 | 4 (10) | 103 (40) | 0 (0) | 0.27% | 37°39′29″N 95°53′51″W﻿ / ﻿37.65806°N 95.89750°W﻿ / 37.65806; -95.89750﻿ (Verdigris Twp.)
Webster | 76300 |  | 51 | 1 (2) | 77 (30) | 0 (0) | 0.15% | 37°42′0″N 95°50′1″W﻿ / ﻿37.70000°N 95.83361°W﻿ / 37.70000; -95.83361﻿ (Webster Twp.)

## See also[edit]

* Kansas portal

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilson 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

## Notes[edit]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "QuickFacts; Wilson County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ Rydjord, p 317
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
5. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
6. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
7. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
8. ^ "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.
9. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
10. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
11. ^ "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 26, 2007.
12. ^ Altoona-Midway USD 387
13. ^ Neodesha USD 461
14. ^ Fredonia USD 484

## Further reading[edit]

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

* Rydjord, John (1972). Kansas Place-Names. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. ISBN 0-8061-0994-7.
* Handbook of Wilson County, Kansas; C.S. Burch Publishing Co; 44 pages; 1886.
* Standard Atlas of Wilson County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 52 pages; 1910.
* Historical Atlas of Wilson County, Kansas; John P. Edwards; 35 pages; 1881.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilson County, Kansas.

County

* Wilson County - Official Website
* Wilson County - Directory of Public Officials

Maps

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

Places adjacent to Wilson County, Kansas

| Greenwood County | Woodson County | Allen County

|
|

|  |
Elk County |

Wilson County, Kansas

| Neosho County
|  |
| Montgomery County |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Wilson County, Kansas, United States

County seat: Fredonia

Cities|

* Altoona
* Benedict
* Buffalo
* Coyville
* Fredonia
* Neodesha
* New Albany

Map of Kansas highlighting Wilson County

Unincorporated
communities|

* Buxton
* Lafontaine†
* Rest
* Roper
* Vilas

Townships|

* Cedar
* Center
* Chetopa
* Clifton
* Colfax
* Duck Creek
* Fall River
* Guilford
* Neodesha
* Newark
* Pleasant Valley
* Prairie
* Talleyrand
* Verdigris
* Webster

Footnotes|

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

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37°34′N 95°44′W﻿ / ﻿37.567°N 95.733°W﻿ / 37.567; -95.733
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