Find Online CollegesFind Campus Colleges
Choose a County
Allen,
Anderson, Atchison,
Barber, Barton,
Bourbon, Brown,
Butler, Chase,
Chautauqua, Cherokee,
Cheyenne, Clark,
Clay, Cloud,
Coffey, Comanche,
Cowley, Crawford,
Decatur, Dickinson,
Doniphan, Douglas,
Edwards, Elk,
Ellis, Ellsworth,
Finney, Ford,
Franklin, Geary,
Gove, Graham,
Grant, Gray,
Greeley, Greenwood,
Hamilton, Harper,
Harvey, Haskell,
Hodgeman, Jackson,
Jefferson, Jewell,
Johnson, Kearny,
Kingman, Kiowa,
Labette, Lane,
Leavenworth, Lincoln,
Linn, Logan,
Lyon, Marion,
Marshall, McPherson,
Meade, Miami,
Mitchell, Montgomery,
Morris, Morton,
Nemaha, Neosho,
Ness, Norton,
Osage, Osborne,
Ottawa, Pawnee,
Phillips, Pottawatomie,
Pratt, Rawlins,
Reno, Republic,
Rice, Riley,
Rooks, Rush,
Russell, Saline,
Scott, Sedgwick,
Seward, Shawnee,
Sheridan, Sherman,
Smith, Stafford,
Stanton, Stevens,
Sumner, Thomas,
Trego, Unified Govt. of Wyandotte/K.C.,
Wabaunsee, Wallace,
Washington, Wichita,
Wilson, Woodson
Kansas Counties
 Click Image to Enlarge Kansas CountiesKansas 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. |
Decatur County, KansasDecatur County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameNamed in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur, a distinguished American naval officer. He fell in a duel with Commodore Barron, United States Navy, in 1808. Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryDecatur County.—About 1870 there was a great tide of immigration to the western part of Kansas, which at that time was unorganized and a large portion of it unsurveyed territory. Within two years the population in that section had increased to such an extent as to justify the establishment of a
number of new counties. Accordingly, the legislature of 1873 passed an act creating 22 new counties and providing for their organization. Section 1 of that act reads "The county of Decatur is bounded as follows: Commencing where the east line of range 26 west, intersects the fortieth degree of north
latitude; thence south, with the range line, to the first standard parallel; thence west with said parallel to the east line of range 31 west; thence north with said range line to the fortieth degree of north latitude; thence east with said parallel to the place of beginning." GeographyThe surface is generally undulating prairie, breaking into bluffs along the streams. The northern part is watered by Beaver creek; the central by Sappa creek, and the southern by Prairie Dog creek and the north fork of the Solomon river, all of which flow in a northeasterly direction. The belts
of timber along the streams are narrow, less than five per cent. of the entire area being wooded land. Ash, white elm, box-elder, hackberry and cottonwood are the most common varieties. Fine limestone is found in the bluffs along the creeks, and in fact good building stone is found in all parts of
the county. Clay suitable for the manufacture of brick and tile is abundant. Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
County Resources: |
County Resources
The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define
the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local.
And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions,
reflects the "characteristic features of this 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." |
