Coffey County, Kansas

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

County Seat: Burlington
Year Organized: 1859
Square Miles: 615

Court House:

110 South 6th
County Courthouse
Burlington, KS 66839-1798

Named: Named in honor of Col. A. M. Coffey, a member of the first Territorial Legislative Council. Colonel Coffey died at Dodge City in 1879.

State & County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Coffey County, in the third tier of counties from the Missouri line, and the fourth tier from Oklahoma, is bounded on the north by Osage county; on the east by Franklin and Anderson; on the south by Woodson, and on the west by Greenwood and Lyon. Its area is 648 square miles, and it was named for Col. A. M. Coffey, a member of the first territorial legislature.

The boundaries of the county were fixed by act of the legislature in July, 1855, as follows: "Beginning at the southeast corner of Weller (Osage) county, thence south 24 miles; thence west 24 miles; thence north 24 miles, and thence east 24 miles to the place of beginning." Although the county was not yet organized a court was established at Hampden under Judge Cato, which the next year was moved to Le Roy. When the legislature officially organized the county in 1857 Le Roy was made the temporary county seat

Geography

Coffey is an agricultural county. The general surface is rolling prairie, and the bottom lands, averaging one to two miles in width, comprise one-eighth of the total area. The native trees are oak, hickory, hackberry, elm, black walnut, sycamore, soft maple, box elder, ash, locust and pecan. Sandstone, red ocher and clay for brick and tile are found in commercial quantities. Salt springs and marshes are plentiful along the Neosho. The county is under laid with natural gas.

The Neosho river, the principal stream, enters the county on the west several miles below the northwest corner, crosses in a southeasterly direction, leaving near the southeast corner. Its tributaries from the north are, Lebo, Hickory, Wolf, Long, Crooked and Spring creeks, and from the south, Duck, Turkey, Big, Rock, Otter and Eagle creeks.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Osage County
Northeast: Franklin County
East: Anderson County
Southeast: Allen County
South: Woodson County
Southwest: Greenwood County
Northwest: Lyon County

Cities:

- Avon	township
- Burlington (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Gridley	city	Incorporated Area
- Hampden	township
- Key West	township
- Le Roy	city	Incorporated Area
- Lebo	city	Incorporated Area
- Neosho	township
- Neosho Falls	city	Incorporated Area
- New Strawn	city	Incorporated Area
- Ottumwa	township
- Pleasant	township
- Pottawatomie	township
- Rock Creek	township
- Spring Creek	township
- Star	township
- Waverly	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Coffey County - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

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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