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Kansas State...
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Kansas Counties
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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. |
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Ottawa County, Kansas
Ottawa County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Minneapolis
Year Organized: 1866
Square Miles: 721 |
Court House: 307 North Concord Street
County Courthouse
Minneapolis, KS 67467-2140
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Named for the tribe of Ottawas
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts
History
Ottawa County, named for the Ottawa tribe of Indians, is located on the west side of the 6th principal meridian and is the third county from the Nebraska line. It is bounded on the north by Cloud county; on the east by Clay; on the south by Saline, and on the west by Lincoln and Mitchell. The
extent of the county was described by the legislature of 1860 as including townships 9, 10, 11 and 12 south and ranges 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 west. The legislature at that time named as commissioners R. C. Whitney, Henry Martin and a Mr. Branch. The county was formally organized in 1866 in response to a
petition from the citizens.
Minneapolis was the boyhood home of
the famous scientist George Washington Carver from 1880 to 1885.
Geography
The surface in general is undulating prairie with rough lands along the divides and slopes leading down to the bottom lands, which constitute about one-fourth of the total area of the county. Limestone, red sandstone, ocher, gypsum and potter's clay are plentiful. One of the geological
curiosities of the state, known as the "City of Rocks," is located a short distance southwest of Minneapolis on the opposite side of the Solomon Valley. At one time it consisted of several hundred round and oval shaped rocks, varying in size from 2 to 15 feet in diameter. The material is a white
flinty sandstone in thin layers or scales. A number of theories have been advanced to explain the formation.
The principal stream is the Solomon river entering the county in the northwest part and flowing in a southeasterly direction. Into it empty Pipe and Coal creeks from the east and Salt creek from the west. The Saline river crosses the southwest corner. The area is 720 square miles or 640,800 acres,
of which 350,397 acres are under cultivation.
Neighboring Counties:
- Cloud County (north)
- Clay County (northeast)
- Dickinson County (southeast)
- Saline County (south)
- Lincoln County (west)
- Mitchell County (northwest)
Cities and Towns:
| - Bennington |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Buckeye |
township |
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| - Center |
township |
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| - Concord |
township |
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| - Culver |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Delphos |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Fountain |
township |
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| - Grant |
township |
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| - Henry |
township |
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| - Minneapolis (County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Morton |
township |
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| - Richland |
township |
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| - Sheridan |
township |
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| - Sherman |
township |
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| - Stanton |
township |
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| - Tescott |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Wells |
township |
County Resources:
Ottawa County - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912
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Online High Schools
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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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