Decatur County, Kansas

Decatur County
County
Bank of Oberlin (2014)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°48′N100°28′W / 39.800°N 100.467°W / 39.800; -100.467
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	March 20, 1873
Named for	Stephen Decatur, Jr.
Seat	Oberlin
Largest city	Oberlin
Area
• Total	894 sq mi (2,320 km2)
• Land	894 sq mi (2,320 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2)  0.07%
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	2,764
• Density	3.1/sq mi (1.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	785
Congressional district	1st
Website	oberlinks.com

Decatur County is a county located in Northwest Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Oberlin. ^[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,764. ^[1] The county was named in honor of Stephen Decatur, Jr., a commodore in the United States Navy who served during both Barbary Wars in North Africa, the Quasi-War with France, and the War of 1812 with Britain.

History

See also: History of Kansas

19th century

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.

Decatur County was established by an act of the state legislature on 1873-03-20, ^[3] which defined the original borders of the county as:

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. ^[3]

The county had been surveyed the previous year, and its first settlers had been arriving since then. ^[3]

Independent county government was established on 1879-12-11, by proclamation of Governor John A. Martin in response to a petition. ^[3] Martin originally proclaimed Oberlin as the county seat, as an initial temporary arrangement. ^[3] It was chosen as the permanent seat by an election on 1880-02-03. ^[3]

The county is named for the Navy war hero Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., ^{[3] [4]} who served during the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War and the War of 1812.

In 1878, the Sappa Creek valley in Decatur county was the scene of the last raid by Native Americans (Indians) in Kansas. In the Northern Cheyenne Exodus after the Battle of Punished Woman's Fork, a band of Cheyenne needing horses and provisions raged through the valley, killing more than 30 civilians and raping several woman. Several Cheyenne elderly, women, and children were also killed in the region by soldiers and civilians. ^[5] In Oberlin, the Decatur County Last Indian Raid Museum commemorates the Cheyenne raid. ^{[6] [7]}

The county's first newspaper was the Oberlin Herald, established on 1879-06-12 by Humphrey & Counter. ^[8] Later Oberlin newspapers included the Oberlin Eye and the Oberlin Opinion. ^[9] The Norcatur Register was published in Norcatur, ^[9] and there were two more newspapers in Dresden and Jennings as of 1909. ^[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 894 square miles (2,320 km²), of which 894 square miles (2,320 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.07%) is water. ^[10]

Geology and hydrology

The county is crossed by Beaver Creek and Long Branch Creek in the north, by Sappa Creek in the middle, and by Prairie Dog Creek and South Fork Solomon River in the south. ^{[3] [11]} Sappa has two forks, north and south, and Prairie Dog's principal branch is Tom Cat. ^[11]

Adjacent counties

• Red Willow County, Nebraska (north)
• Furnas County, Nebraska (northeast)
• Norton County (east)
• Sheridan County (south)
• Thomas County (southwest)
• Rawlins County (west)

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	4,180		—
1890	8,414		101.3%
1900	9,234		9.7%
1910	8,976		−2.8%
1920	8,121		−9.5%
1930	8,866		9.2%
1940	7,434		−16.2%
1950	6,185		−16.8%
1960	5,778		−6.6%
1970	4,988		−13.7%
1980	4,509		−9.6%
1990	4,021		−10.8%
2000	3,472		−13.7%
2010	2,961		−14.7%
2020	2,764		−6.7%
2023 (est.)	2,712	[12]	−1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [13] 1790-1960 [14] 1900-1990 [15] 1990-2000 [16] 2010-2020 [1]

In 1879 the population was just over 1,500. ^[8] By 1886 there were 6,300 people in the county, up from 4,067 in 1885. ^[11] By the 1910 Census this had risen to 8.976. ^[17]

As of the 2000 census, ^[18] there were 3,472 people, 1,494 households, and 981 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (1.5 people/km²). There were 1,821 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (0.77/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.87% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population.

There were 1,494 households, out of which 25.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 5.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.30% were non-families. 32.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 4.70% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 26.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,257, and the median income for a family was $34,982. Males had a median income of $25,139 versus $17,368 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,348. About 8.00% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.20% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Decatur county is heavily Republican. The last time a democratic candidate carried the county was in 1936 by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Presidential elections

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Decatur County, Kansas ^[19]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,177	84.49%	197	14.14%	19	1.36%
2020	1,260	84.11%	218	14.55%	20	1.34%
2016	1,210	83.05%	178	12.22%	69	4.74%
2012	1,218	79.50%	266	17.36%	48	3.13%
2008	1,189	76.81%	343	22.16%	16	1.03%
2004	1,355	77.87%	355	20.40%	30	1.72%
2000	1,255	71.35%	424	24.10%	80	4.55%
1996	1,255	68.06%	417	22.61%	172	9.33%
1992	940	45.00%	576	27.57%	573	27.43%
1988	1,291	60.10%	793	36.92%	64	2.98%
1984	1,770	78.15%	467	20.62%	28	1.24%
1980	1,642	72.98%	443	19.69%	165	7.33%
1976	1,232	52.74%	1,011	43.28%	93	3.98%
1972	1,707	70.22%	616	25.34%	108	4.44%
1968	1,654	65.74%	652	25.91%	210	8.35%
1964	1,382	50.96%	1,314	48.45%	16	0.59%
1960	1,846	63.83%	1,038	35.89%	8	0.28%
1956	2,028	68.58%	920	31.11%	9	0.30%
1952	2,451	74.54%	821	24.97%	16	0.49%
1948	1,545	51.41%	1,402	46.66%	58	1.93%
1944	1,758	59.92%	1,159	39.50%	17	0.58%
1940	2,018	56.16%	1,546	43.03%	29	0.81%
1936	1,727	42.08%	2,362	57.55%	15	0.37%
1932	1,439	36.26%	2,422	61.02%	108	2.72%
1928	2,314	66.53%	1,129	32.46%	35	1.01%
1924	1,621	46.89%	1,218	35.23%	618	17.88%
1920	1,448	51.55%	1,221	43.47%	140	4.98%
1916	1,007	27.73%	2,431	66.95%	193	5.32%
1912	256	14.88%	955	55.52%	509	29.59%
1908	898	39.33%	1,250	54.75%	135	5.91%
1904	1,215	59.71%	411	20.20%	409	20.10%
1900	848	41.77%	1,158	57.04%	24	1.18%
1896	594	36.37%	1,032	63.20%	7	0.43%
1892	619	38.59%	0	0.00%	985	61.41%
1888	1,224	57.41%	731	34.29%	177	8.30%

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 2002, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. ^[20]

Education

There were 101 school districts in the county in 1909. ^[8]

Unified school districts

• Oberlin USD 294

Communities

2005 map of Decatur County (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Decatur County. ^[21]

Cities

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county.

• Clayton‡
• Dresden
• Jennings
• Norcatur
• Oberlin (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Allison
• Cedar Bluffs
• Kanona
• Leoville
• Lyle
• Traer

Ghost towns

• Bassetville
• Decatur
• Hawkeye
• Hooker
• Jackson
• Lund
• Sheffield
• Shibboleth
• Stephen
• Vallonia

Post offices

The first post office in the county was Sappa, established in April 1874 by postmaster J. A. Rodehaver. ^[22] It was located where Oberlin now is. ^[22] In 1886 there were seventeen post offices in the county: Allison, Altory, Bassettville, Cedar Bluffs, Decatur, Hawkeye, Hooker, Jackson, Jenings, Lyle, Oberlin, Norcatur, Sheffield, Shibboleth, Stephen, Traer, and Vallonia. ^[23]

Townships

Decatur County is divided into twenty-five townships. The city of Oberlin is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km2 (/sq mi)	Land area km2 (sq mi)	Water area km2 (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Allison	01300		39	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.01%	39°35′36″N100°12′24″W / 39.59333°N 100.20667°W / 39.59333; -100.20667
Altory	01650		16	0 (0)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°47′22″N100°21′15″W / 39.78944°N 100.35417°W / 39.78944; -100.35417
Bassettville	04475		26	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°41′12″N100°40′38″W / 39.68667°N 100.67722°W / 39.68667; -100.67722
Beaver	05050		86	1 (2)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.11%	39°58′42″N100°34′2″W / 39.97833°N 100.56722°W / 39.97833; -100.56722
Center	11650		60	1 (2)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.03%	39°47′5″N100°27′38″W / 39.78472°N 100.46056°W / 39.78472; -100.46056
Cook	15375		44	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°36′16″N100°40′32″W / 39.60444°N 100.67556°W / 39.60444; -100.67556
Custer	16850		27	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.04%	39°41′17″N100°26′59″W / 39.68806°N 100.44972°W / 39.68806; -100.44972
Dresden	18625		141	2 (4)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.01%	39°36′39″N100°27′5″W / 39.61083°N 100.45139°W / 39.61083; -100.45139
Finley	23425		39	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°57′42″N100°41′20″W / 39.96167°N 100.68889°W / 39.96167; -100.68889
Garfield	25525		41	0 (1)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°46′38″N100°14′44″W / 39.77722°N 100.24556°W / 39.77722; -100.24556
Grant	27600		31	0 (1)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.07%	39°57′36″N100°14′11″W / 39.96000°N 100.23639°W / 39.96000; -100.23639
Harlan	30050		51	1 (1)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.05%	39°56′50″N100°20′56″W / 39.94722°N 100.34889°W / 39.94722; -100.34889
Jennings	35400		173	2 (5)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.34%	39°40′35″N100°18′56″W / 39.67639°N 100.31556°W / 39.67639; -100.31556
Liberty	39975		48	1 (1)	91 (35)	0 (0)	0.03%	39°53′2″N100°33′31″W / 39.88389°N 100.55861°W / 39.88389; -100.55861
Lincoln	40600		203	2 (6)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.02%	39°50′58″N100°12′21″W / 39.84944°N 100.20583°W / 39.84944; -100.20583
Logan	41825		52	1 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°52′38″N100°42′42″W / 39.87722°N 100.71167°W / 39.87722; -100.71167
Lyon	43450		24	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°36′52″N100°21′8″W / 39.61444°N 100.35222°W / 39.61444; -100.35222
Oberlin	52025		91	1 (3)	89 (34)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°47′32″N100°34′20″W / 39.79222°N 100.57222°W / 39.79222; -100.57222
Olive	52675		68	1 (2)	92 (35)	1 (0)	0.65%	39°51′43″N100°28′18″W / 39.86194°N 100.47167°W / 39.86194; -100.47167
Pleasant Valley	56525		46	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.05%	39°41′53″N100°13′59″W / 39.69806°N 100.23306°W / 39.69806; -100.23306
Prairie Dog	57475		50	1 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.01%	39°36′33″N100°33′49″W / 39.60917°N 100.56361°W / 39.60917; -100.56361
Roosevelt	61025		32	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.07%	39°53′1″N100°21′43″W / 39.88361°N 100.36194°W / 39.88361; -100.36194
Sappa	63050		43	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.04%	39°45′57″N100°41′48″W / 39.76583°N 100.69667°W / 39.76583; -100.69667
Sherman	64900		25	0 (1)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.01%	39°57′5″N100°28′7″W / 39.95139°N 100.46861°W / 39.95139; -100.46861
Summit	69075		22	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.09%	39°41′27″N100°34′37″W / 39.69083°N 100.57694°W / 39.69083; -100.57694
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.

This list has remained the same since 1910. ^[17] In 1886 there had been just eleven: Bassettville, Beaver, Center, Custer. Garfield, Grant, Jennings, Logan, Oberlin, Olive, and Prairie Dog. ^[11] Originally in 1879, the county commissioners established just six townships: Grant, Beaver, Bassettville, Oberlin, Prairie Dog, and Jennings. ^[8]

See also

• Kansas portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Decatur County, Kansas

Community information for Kansas

• Kansas locations by per capita income
• List of counties in Kansas
• List of townships in Kansas
• List of cities in Kansas
• List of unincorporated communities in Kansas
• List of ghost towns in Kansas

References

1. "QuickFacts; Decatur County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Blackmar 1912a, p. 498.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 102.
5. Leiker, James N.; Powers, Ramon (2011). The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 59–67. ISBN   9780806142210.
6. "Decatur County Last Indian Raid Museum". Decatur County. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
7. Weiser, Kathy (March 2012). "Cheyenne Raid in Kansas". Legendsofkansas.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
8. Blackmar 1912a, p. 500.
9. Sims & Wheeler 1887, p. 177.
10. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
11. Sims & Wheeler 1887, p. 174.
12. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
13. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
14. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
15. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
16. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
17. Blackmar 1912a, p. 501.
18. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
19. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
20. "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
21. "General Highway Map of Decatur County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). November 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2023.
22. Blackmar 1912a, p. 499.
23. Sims & Wheeler 1887, p. 178.

Sources

• Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). "Decator County". Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History. Vol. 1. Chicago: Standard publishing Company. pp. 498–501. LCCN   12015729. OL   13489994M. (Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History at the Internet Archive )
• Sims, Wm.; Wheeler, Joshua (1887). "Decatur County". Fifth Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, for the years 1885–1886. Topeka, Kansas: T. S. Thacher. pp. 173–178.

Further reading

See also: List of books about Kansas, including historical information about its counties and cities

• Standard Atlas of Decatur County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 80 pages; 1921.
• Standard Atlas of Decatur County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 69 pages; 1905.
• Handbook of Decatur County, Kansas; C.S. Burch Publishing Co; 25 pages; 1885.

External links

County

• Decatur County - Official
• Decatur County - Directory of Public Officials

Maps

• Decatur County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society