Franklin County, Kansas

Franklin County
County
Franklin County Courthouse in Ottawa (2009)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°35′00″N95°17′00″W / 38.5833°N 95.2833°W / 38.5833; -95.2833
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	August 25, 1855
Named for	Benjamin Franklin
Seat	Ottawa
Largest city	Ottawa
Area
• Total	577 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	572 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	5.4 sq mi (14 km2)  0.9%
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	25,996
• Estimate  (2023)	26,125
• Density	45/sq mi (17/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	FranklinCoKS.org

Franklin County is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Ottawa. ^[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 25,996. ^[1] The county was named for Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of the United States. Formerly it was considered part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, but was removed in 2013.

History

Early history

See also: History of Kansas

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

The area was included in a treaty ceding land to the Osage Nation in 1808, and ceded back to the federal government in 1825. After 1825 and prior to 1867, treaties with various Indian nations set off parts of what was later to become Franklin County for the use of Indian tribes removed from their ancestral lands. These tribes included: Ottawa, Chippewa, Sac and Fox, Peoria, and Potawatomi. ^{[3] [4]}

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized under the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1855, Franklin County was established as one of the 33 original Kansas Territory counties created by the first Territorial Legislature of 1855. ^[5] The county was named after Benjamin Franklin. ^[6] In 1861, Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 572 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km²) (0.9%) is water. ^[7]

Major highways

• Interstate 35
• U.S. Route 50
• U.S. Route 59
• K-33
• K-68

Adjacent counties

• Douglas County (north)
• Johnson County (northeast)
• Miami County (east)
• Linn County (southeast)
• Anderson County (south)
• Coffey County (southwest)
• Osage County (west)

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	3,030		—
1870	10,385		242.7%
1880	16,797		61.7%
1890	20,279		20.7%
1900	21,354		5.3%
1910	20,884		−2.2%
1920	21,946		5.1%
1930	22,024		0.4%
1940	20,889		−5.2%
1950	19,928		−4.6%
1960	19,548		−1.9%
1970	20,007		2.3%
1980	22,062		10.3%
1990	21,994		−0.3%
2000	24,784		12.7%
2010	25,992		4.9%
2020	25,996		0.0%
2023 (est.)	26,125	[8]	0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790–1960 [10] 1900–1990 [11] 1990–2000 [12] 2010-2020 [1]

Franklin County comprises the Ottawa, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area.

As of the U.S. Census in 2000, ^[13] there were 24,784 people, 9,452 households, and 6,720 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile (17 people/km²). There were 10,229 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (6.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.05% White, 1.21% Black or African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.78% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.62% of the population.

There were 9,452 households, out of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,052, and the median income for a family was $45,197. Males had a median income of $31,223 versus $22,992 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,311. About 5.60% of families and 7.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Franklin County is often carried by Republican Candidates. The last time a Democratic candidate has carried Franklin County was in 1964 by Lyndon B. Johnson.

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Franklin County, Kansas ^[14]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	8,479	67.96%	3,690	29.57%	308	2.47%
2016	7,185	64.83%	2,892	26.10%	1,005	9.07%
2012	6,984	63.55%	3,694	33.61%	312	2.84%
2008	7,079	60.04%	4,433	37.60%	279	2.37%
2004	7,391	64.40%	3,921	34.17%	164	1.43%
2000	5,925	61.35%	3,321	34.39%	412	4.27%
1996	5,007	50.91%	3,552	36.12%	1,276	12.97%
1992	3,699	37.43%	2,968	30.03%	3,216	32.54%
1988	4,777	56.43%	3,592	42.43%	96	1.13%
1984	6,284	70.61%	2,523	28.35%	92	1.03%
1980	5,525	62.73%	2,726	30.95%	557	6.32%
1976	4,760	55.49%	3,607	42.05%	211	2.46%
1972	6,011	72.71%	2,056	24.87%	200	2.42%
1968	4,875	59.17%	2,524	30.63%	840	10.20%
1964	3,725	45.31%	4,410	53.64%	86	1.05%
1960	6,158	68.20%	2,824	31.28%	47	0.52%
1956	6,557	71.42%	2,591	28.22%	33	0.36%
1952	6,983	72.86%	2,532	26.42%	69	0.72%
1948	5,145	58.24%	3,467	39.25%	222	2.51%
1944	5,375	64.68%	2,880	34.66%	55	0.66%
1940	6,393	63.80%	3,542	35.35%	85	0.85%
1936	6,007	57.00%	4,503	42.73%	28	0.27%
1932	4,887	50.16%	4,690	48.14%	165	1.69%
1928	7,346	78.40%	1,951	20.82%	73	0.78%
1924	6,008	67.05%	2,324	25.94%	628	7.01%
1920	5,216	65.16%	2,606	32.55%	183	2.29%
1916	3,885	45.17%	4,128	47.99%	588	6.84%
1912	672	13.75%	1,970	40.29%	2,247	45.96%
1908	2,658	52.74%	2,155	42.76%	227	4.50%
1904	2,855	62.84%	1,310	28.84%	378	8.32%
1900	2,872	51.55%	2,605	46.76%	94	1.69%
1896	2,609	44.91%	3,152	54.25%	49	0.84%
1892	2,209	46.06%	0	0.00%	2,587	53.94%
1888	2,422	50.47%	1,113	23.19%	1,264	26.34%

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1994, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement. ^[15]

The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas Value Them Both Amendment, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 56% to 44% despite backing Donald Trump with 68% of the vote to Joe Biden's 30% in the 2020 presidential election. ^[16]

Education

Unified school districts

• West Franklin USD 287
• Central Heights USD 288
• Wellsville USD 289
• Ottawa USD 290

Colleges and universities

• Ottawa University, Ottawa
• Neosho County Community College (branch campus), Ottawa

Communities

2005 map of Franklin County (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Franklin County. ^[17]

Cities

• Lane
• Ottawa (county seat)
• Pomona
• Princeton
• Rantoul
• Richmond
• Wellsville
• Williamsburg

Unincorporated places

† means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

• Centropolis†
• Homewood
• Imes
• LeLoup
• Peoria
• Ransomville
• Richter

Ghost towns

• Minneola
• Norwood
• Ohio City
• Pleasant Hill
• Shermansville
• Silkville

Townships

Franklin County is divided into sixteen townships. The city of Ottawa 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
Appanoose	02075		293	4 (10)	77 (30)	0 (0)	0.10%	38°41′57″N95°27′17″W / 38.69917°N 95.45472°W / 38.69917; -95.45472 (Appanoose Township)
Centropolis	12475		997	9 (25)	105 (41)	0 (0)	0.34%	38°41′7″N95°21′29″W / 38.68528°N 95.35806°W / 38.68528; -95.35806 (Centropolis Township)
Cutler	16900	Rantoul	856	8 (20)	111 (43)	1 (0)	0.68%	38°31′33″N95°6′56″W / 38.52583°N 95.11556°W / 38.52583; -95.11556 (Cutler Township)
Franklin	24375	Wellsville	2,552	28 (72)	91 (35)	0 (0)	0.52%	38°42′34″N95°5′38″W / 38.70944°N 95.09389°W / 38.70944; -95.09389 (Franklin Township)
Greenwood	28750		429	5 (14)	79 (30)	0 (0)	0.08%	38°33′39″N95°26′35″W / 38.56083°N 95.44306°W / 38.56083; -95.44306 (Greenwood Township)
Harrison	30300		445	6 (16)	71 (27)	1 (0)	0.84%	38°34′20″N95°13′2″W / 38.57222°N 95.21722°W / 38.57222; -95.21722 (Harrison Township)
Hayes	30925		397	5 (13)	77 (30)	0 (0)	0.36%	38°42′17″N95°13′51″W / 38.70472°N 95.23083°W / 38.70472; -95.23083 (Hayes Township)
Homewood	33000		493	6 (16)	78 (30)	0 (0)	0.26%	38°30′53″N95°23′28″W / 38.51472°N 95.39111°W / 38.51472; -95.39111 (Homewood Township)
Lincoln	40700		797	10 (26)	78 (30)	0 (0)	0.31%	38°34′8″N95°18′33″W / 38.56889°N 95.30917°W / 38.56889; -95.30917 (Lincoln Township)
Ohio	52350	Princeton	783	7 (19)	108 (42)	1 (0)	1.05%	38°29′14″N95°16′32″W / 38.48722°N 95.27556°W / 38.48722; -95.27556 (Ohio Township)
Ottawa	53575		868	8 (20)	111 (43)	0 (0)	0.33%	38°38′21″N95°16′5″W / 38.63917°N 95.26806°W / 38.63917; -95.26806 (Ottawa Township)
Peoria	55425		626	7 (18)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.20%	38°36′32″N95°7′45″W / 38.60889°N 95.12917°W / 38.60889; -95.12917 (Peoria Township)
Pomona	57025	Pomona	1,174	22 (56)	54 (21)	0 (0)	0.30%	38°36′40″N95°27′24″W / 38.61111°N 95.45667°W / 38.61111; -95.45667 (Pomona Township)
Pottawatomie	57225	Lane	669	7 (17)	101 (39)	0 (0)	0.46%	38°26′14″N95°6′32″W / 38.43722°N 95.10889°W / 38.43722; -95.10889 (Pottawatomie Township)
Richmond	59700	Richmond	812	9 (23)	91 (35)	0 (0)	0.50%	38°24′19″N95°15′22″W / 38.40528°N 95.25611°W / 38.40528; -95.25611 (Richmond Township)
Williamsburg	79325	Williamsburg	672	5 (12)	145 (56)	1 (1)	0.95%	38°27′33″N95°27′43″W / 38.45917°N 95.46194°W / 38.45917; -95.46194 (Williamsburg Township)
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.

Notable people

See also: List of people from Franklin County, Kansas

• Foster Dwight Coburn, Secretary of Agriculture, Kansas
• Steve Grogan, NFL quarterback, who grew up in Ottawa.
• Chely Wright, Singer
• James Still (playwright), writer, who grew up in Pomona
• Gary Hart, Democratic US Senator

See also

• Kansas portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Franklin 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; Franklin County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Tucker, Patrick. "When War Under Heaven Ended: Tracking Pontiac's and Atawang's Band of Odawa and Ojibwa in Ohio, Walpole Island (Canada), Kansas, and Oklahoma, 1764-1938".
4. "A brief sketch of Indian tribes in Franklin County, Kansas in 1862-1906 - 23 - Kansas Memory".
5. Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. pp.  680.
6. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  131.
7. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
11. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
12. "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.
13. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
14. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org.
15. "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.
16. Panetta, Grace (August 3, 2022). "14 of the 19 Kansas counties that rejected an anti-abortion amendment voted for Trump in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
17. "General Highway Map of Franklin County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). October 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2024.

Notes

Further reading

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

• Franklin County: Its Past, Its Present & Its Coming Future; Queen City Printing Co; 1983.
• Reflections of Franklin County & Chautauqua Days; Franklin County Centennial Committee; Franklin County Historical Society; 1961.
• Standard Atlas of Franklin County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 69 pages; 1920.
• Plat Book of Franklin County, Kansas; North West Publishing Co; 36 pages; 1903.

External links

County

• Franklin County – Official
• Franklin County – Directory of Public Officials

Historical

• Franklin County Genealogical Society

Maps

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

38°35′N95°17′W / 38.583°N 95.283°W / 38.583; -95.283