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Kansas Counties

Kansas has 105 counties, the sixth-highest total of any state. No Kansas county has two words in its name. Wyandotte County and the city of Kansas City operate as a unified government, and Greeley County and the city of Tribune are in the process of converting to a similar system.

Crawford County, Kansas

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

County Seat: Girard
Year Organized: 1867
Square Miles: 595

Court House:

P.O. Box 249
County Courthouse
Girard, KS 66743-0249

Etymology - Origin of County Name

It was named in honor of Samuel J. Crawford who was elected Governor in 1864, and served nearly four years. The Legislature named the county in obedience to a resolution passed in convention, held to petition for its organization. Governor Crawford resigned in October, 1868, to become Colonel of the Nineteenth Kansas Cavalry, specially raised to for the Indian War of 1868-69. He served as Captain in the Second Kansas Infantry, and was Colonel of the Second Kansas Regiment Colored Volunteer Infantry during the war for the Union

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

This county was, by act of the legislature of 1867, created out of the northern half of Cherokee, which prior to that date reached to Bourbon.

Crawford County, one of the eastern tier and the second north of the line separating Kansas and Oklahoma, is bounded on the north by Bourbon county; on the east by the State of Missouri; on the south by Cherokee county, and on the west by the counties of Neosho and Labette. It was created by the act of Feb. 13, 1867, and was named for Col. Samuel J. Crawford, at that time the governor of Kansas. The area of the county is 592 square miles. It is divided into nine townships, to-wit: Baker, Crawford, Grant, Lincoln, Osage, Sheridan, Sherman, Walnut and Washington.

Geography

The general surface of the county is undulating, the water-courses flowing in three different directions. In the northeast Drywood, Bone and Coxes creeks flow northward to the Marmaton river; in the west Big and Little Walnut and Hickory creeks flow southwest to the Neosho; and in the southeast Lightning, Lime and Cow creeks flow southward, their waters finally reaching the Neosho.

Coal of fine quality underlies the entire county, some of the veins running five feet or more in thickness. More than half the coal mined in the state comes from this county. Building stone, cement rock, fire and potter's clay of excellent quality are abundant in several localities and though only partially developed are a source of revenue to the owners of the deposits. Belts of timber averaging about half a mile in width are found along the streams, the principal varieties being oak, walnut, poplar, hickory and cottonwood. Some artificial groves have been planted.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Bourbon County
Northeast: Vernon County, Mo.
East: Barton County, Mo.
Southeast: Jasper County, Mo.
South: Cherokee County
Southwest: Labette County
West: Neosho County

Cities and Towns:

- Arcadia	city	Incorporated Area
- Arma	city	Incorporated Area
- Baker	township
- Cherokee	city	Incorporated Area
- Crawford	township
- Drywood	township
- Franklin	township
- Frontenac	city	Incorporated Area
- Girard (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Grant	township
- Hepler	city	Incorporated Area
- McCune	city	Incorporated Area
- Monmouth	township
- Mulberry	city	Incorporated Area
- Osage	township
- Pittsburg	city	Incorporated Area
- Sheridan	township
- Sherman	township
- Walnut	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Crawford 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."

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