Kansas State...
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Kansas Counties
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Franklin County, Kansas
Franklin County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Ottawa
Year Organized: 1857
Square Miles: 577 |
Court House: 315 S Main
County Clerk's Office
Ottawa, KS 66067-2331
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Named: Named in honor of the illustrious Benjamin Franklin.
State & County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts
History
Franklin County, located in the eastern part of the state, was one of the original 33 counties created by the first territorial legislature in 1855. It was named Franklin in honor to Benjamin Franklin. At the present time the county is bounded on the north by Douglas county, on the east by Miami,
on the south by Anderson, and on the west by Osage and Coffey counties. It has an area of 576 square miles, and had a population of 20,884 in 1910. The county is divided into sixteen townships, as follows: Appanoose, Centropolis, Cutler, Franklin, Greenwood, Harrison, Hayes, Homewood, Lincoln, Ohio,
Ottawa, Peoria, Pomona, Pottawatomie, Richmond and Williamsburg.
Geography
The surface of Franklin county is mostly undulating prairie. The "bottom" lands along the creeks and Marais des Cygnes river average from one to two miles in width and comprise nearly one-fifth of the area. Timber belts confined to the streams average from one-half to one mile in width and
contain trees of the following varieties: walnut, oak, cottonwood, elm, hickory, willow, locust, ash, soft maple, mulberry and hackberry. Winter wheat, Irish potatoes, and flax are important crops but corn is the leading cereal. Much effort is given to the production of live-stock and also to the
growing of fruit trees, there being 150,000 bearing fruit trees in 1907. Limestone and sandstone are abundant, marble and potter's clay are found near Ottawa, coal is mined in several localities, and oil and gas have been found in the southern portion of the county.
The principal stream is the Marais des Cygnes (Marsh of Swans) which enters the county from the west and flows through it into Miami county. Pottawatomie creek is second in size. It enters near the southeast corner and flows northeastward into Miami county.
Neighboring Counties:
- Douglas County (north)
- Johnson County (northeast)
- Miami County (east)
- Linn County (southeast)
- Anderson County (south)
- Coffey County (southwest)
- Osage County (west)
Cities:
| - Appanoose |
township |
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| - Centropolis |
township |
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| - Cutler |
township |
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| - Greenwood |
township |
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| - Harrison |
township |
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| - Hayes |
township |
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| - Homewood |
township |
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| - Lane |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Ohio |
township |
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| - Ottawa (County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Peoria |
township |
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| - Pomona |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Pottawatomie |
township |
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| - Princeton |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Rantoul |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Richmond |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Wellsville |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Williamsburg |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Franklin County - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912
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County Resource Guide
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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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Penn Foster High School
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