Chautauqua County, Kansas

Chautauqua County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Sedan
Year Organized: 1875
Square Miles: 644

Court House:

215 Chautauqua
County Courthouse
Sedan, KS 67361

Named: Created out of a portion of what was first Godfrey county, named after "Bill" Godfrey, a noted trader among the Osages; then Howard county in honor of Major-General O. O. Howard, for his efforts in behalf of the Union. Chautauqua county N.Y., was the former home of Hon. Edward Jaquins, a member of the Kansas Legislature in 1875 from Howard county, who introduced the bill which divided Howard into Chautauqua and Elk; hence, from his native place this county derives its name. The name originally given (in 1855) to Howard was Godfrey, and the name changed to Seward in 1861. In 1867, the Legislature, ignoring former names, created the county of Howard.

State & County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

The incorporation of Chautauqua county was provided for by act of the legislature, to take effect June 1, 1875, and Sedan was designated as the county seat.

Chautauqua County, formerly the southern half of Howard county, is located in the southern tier of counties and is the fourth west from the Missouri line. It is bounded on the north by Elk county, on the east by Montgomery county, on the south by the State of Oklahoma, and on the west by Cowley county.

Geography

The surface of the county is level in the northern part and hilly toward the south. Bottom lands along the creek beds average a mile in width on the larger streams and one-fourth of a mile on the small streams, and comprise one-fourth of the total area. The streams are numerous with the watersheds bearing toward the south. The three important branches of Caney creek—Big Caney, Middle Caney and North Caney—are the larger streams. Salt and Bee creeks in the northeastern portion are next in importance. These streams are belted with thin strips of timber native to Kansas soil.

Among the natural products of the county are sandstone of excellent quality for paving and building, limestone from which an excellent quality of lime is produced, and marble which takes a high polish is found in the hills about Sedan. There are a number of gas wells from which all the important towns are lighted and heated. Coal has been found along the streams. This is one of the leading oil producing counties of the state, thousands of barrels of oil being carried out daily by the pipe lines.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Elk County
East: Montgomery County
Southeast: Washington County, Okla.
South: Osage County, Okla.
West: Cowley County

Cities:

- Caneyville	township
- Cedar Vale	city	Incorporated Area
- Center	township
- Chautauqua	city	Incorporated Area
- Elgin	city	Incorporated Area
- Harrison	township
- Hendricks	township
- Jefferson	township
- Lafayette	township
- Little Caney	township
- Niotaze	city	Incorporated Area
- Peru	city	Incorporated Area
- Salt Creek	township
- Sedan (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Summit	township

County Resources:

Chautauqua County - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912

County Resource Guide

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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