Meade County, Kansas

Meade County
County
Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum in Meade (2006)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°14′N100°22′W / 37.233°N 100.367°W / 37.233; -100.367
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	March 20, 1873
Named for	George G. Meade
Seat	Meade
Largest city	Meade
Area
• Total	979 sq mi (2,540 km2)
• Land	978 sq mi (2,530 km2)
• Water	1.3 sq mi (3 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	4,055
• Density	4.1/sq mi (1.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	620
Congressional district	1st
Website	County website

Meade County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Meade. ^[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,055. ^[1] The county was created in 1873 and named in honor of George Meade, a Union general during the American Civil War. ^[3]

History

See also: History of Kansas

For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans.

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

In 1873, Meade County was established. The first permanent settlement in the county was established in 1878 at Meade City, 12 miles north of the city of Meade. Pearlette was settled shortly thereafter in 1879 by a company of sixteen families from Zanesville, Ohio led by John Jobling. ^[4] The railroad first entered the country in 1887, ending a decade in which supplies had to be hauled from Dodge City. ^[4]

On August 24, 1874, in Meade County, Mochi, Medicine Water, and the other members of their band of Cheyenne massacred a surveying party led by Capt. Oliver Francis Short, who had fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War. This event became known as the Lone Tree Massacre. Short, his 14-year-old son Truman, and four other members of the party were killed, with three of them being scalped. ^{[5] [6]}

Meade County became known as a hotbed of thievery and cattle rustling in the 1880s and 1890s. Eva Dalton Whipple lived with her husband in Meade County and allowed her house to be used as a hide for her brothers, the infamous Dalton Gang. The Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum was restored by the WPA in the 1930s and today is on the National Register of Historic Places. ^[7]

A large sinkhole filled with saltwater, known as the Salt Well, appeared in the county on March 16, 1879. William Sturgis first produced commercial solar salt from the Salt Well in 1880, and floating in its salty water was a tourist attraction at the turn of the 20th century. ^[8]

Like the rest of southwestern Kansas, Meade County was devastated by the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. ^[6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 979 square miles (2,540 km²), of which 978 square miles (2,530 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) (0.1%) is water. ^[9]

Adjacent counties

• Gray County (north)
• Ford County (northeast)
• Clark County (east)
• Beaver County, Oklahoma (south)
• Seward County (west)
• Haskell County (northwest)

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	296		—
1890	2,542		758.8%
1900	1,581		−37.8%
1910	5,055		219.7%
1920	5,542		9.6%
1930	6,858		23.7%
1940	5,522		−19.5%
1950	5,710		3.4%
1960	5,505		−3.6%
1970	4,912		−10.8%
1980	4,788		−2.5%
1990	4,247		−11.3%
2000	4,631		9.0%
2010	4,575		−1.2%
2020	4,055		−11.4%
2023 (est.)	3,911	[10]	−3.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [11] 1790-1960 [12] 1900-1990 [13] 1990-2000 [14] 2010-2020 [1]

As of the census ^[15] of 2000, there were 4,631 people, 1,728 households, and 1,252 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (1.9 people/km²). There were 1,968 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (0.77/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.10% White, 0.39% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 6.24% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. 10.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,728 households, out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.70% were married couples living together, 4.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.50% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 19.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,761, and the median income for a family was $41,550. Males had a median income of $29,295 versus $20,153 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,824. About 6.70% of families and 9.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.90% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Meade County is usually carried by Republican candidates. The last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried the county was in 1936, when Franklin D. Roosevelt won a landslide victory nationwide.

Presidential elections

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Meade County, Kansas ^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,396	84.30%	239	14.43%	21	1.27%
2020	1,523	83.45%	263	14.41%	39	2.14%
2016	1,415	81.70%	210	12.12%	107	6.18%
2012	1,428	83.56%	258	15.10%	23	1.35%
2008	1,540	79.75%	357	18.49%	34	1.76%
2004	1,748	82.41%	356	16.78%	17	0.80%
2000	1,604	78.13%	400	19.48%	49	2.39%
1996	1,443	70.08%	426	20.69%	190	9.23%
1992	1,135	52.45%	430	19.87%	599	27.68%
1988	1,322	65.19%	664	32.74%	42	2.07%
1984	1,804	77.16%	491	21.00%	43	1.84%
1980	1,618	71.66%	482	21.35%	158	7.00%
1976	1,109	51.53%	983	45.68%	60	2.79%
1972	1,712	74.56%	526	22.91%	58	2.53%
1968	1,511	66.24%	572	25.08%	198	8.68%
1964	1,290	51.77%	1,179	47.31%	23	0.92%
1960	1,826	70.47%	754	29.10%	11	0.42%
1956	1,720	74.30%	575	24.84%	20	0.86%
1952	2,061	76.90%	568	21.19%	51	1.90%
1948	1,406	60.19%	834	35.70%	96	4.11%
1944	1,424	68.23%	631	30.23%	32	1.53%
1940	1,618	61.13%	970	36.65%	59	2.23%
1936	1,218	46.58%	1,394	53.31%	3	0.11%
1932	1,248	49.50%	1,231	48.83%	42	1.67%
1928	1,709	73.16%	618	26.46%	9	0.39%
1924	1,290	66.94%	472	24.49%	165	8.56%
1920	1,236	70.95%	483	27.73%	23	1.32%
1916	973	44.96%	977	45.15%	214	9.89%
1912	204	18.26%	383	34.29%	530	47.45%
1908	560	56.22%	386	38.76%	50	5.02%
1904	383	66.38%	166	28.77%	28	4.85%
1900	238	53.24%	209	46.76%	0	0.00%
1896	203	50.50%	195	48.51%	4	1.00%
1892	261	54.83%	0	0.00%	215	45.17%
1888	578	56.78%	342	33.60%	98	9.63%

Laws

The Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, either with or without a minimum of 30% of sales coming from food. Meade County is one of 67 counties in the state that allows for the sale of liquor by the drink with the minimum food sales stipulation. ^[17]

Education

Unified school districts

• Fowler USD 225
• Meade USD 226

Communities

2005 map of Meade County (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Meade County. ^[18]

Cities

• Fowler
• Meade (county seat)
• Plains

Unincorporated community

• Missler

Townships

Meade County is divided into nine townships. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. 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.

Sources: 2000 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km2 (/sq mi)	Land area km2 (sq mi)	Water area km2 (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Cimarron	13325		93	0 (1)	303 (117)	2 (1)	0.57%	37°4′34″N100°30′42″W / 37.07611°N 100.51167°W / 37.07611; -100.51167
Crooked Creek	16450		92	1 (2)	141 (54)	0 (0)	0.06%	37°24′41″N100°19′30″W / 37.41139°N 100.32500°W / 37.41139; -100.32500
Fowler	24200	Fowler	749	3 (7)	271 (105)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°23′8″N100°11′46″W / 37.38556°N 100.19611°W / 37.38556; -100.19611
Logan	42000		100	0 (1)	284 (110)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°14′30″N100°11′58″W / 37.24167°N 100.19944°W / 37.24167; -100.19944
Meade Center	45350	Meade	1,968	7 (18)	280 (108)	0 (0)	0.14%	37°16′15″N100°20′15″W / 37.27083°N 100.33750°W / 37.27083; -100.33750
Mertilla	46025		221	1 (1)	389 (150)	0 (0)	0.02%	37°24′33″N100°30′58″W / 37.40917°N 100.51611°W / 37.40917; -100.51611
Odee	52075		50	0 (1)	246 (95)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°2′47″N100°22′14″W / 37.04639°N 100.37056°W / 37.04639; -100.37056
Sand Creek	62925		38	0 (0)	272 (105)	0 (0)	0.03%	37°3′59″N100°9′46″W / 37.06639°N 100.16278°W / 37.06639; -100.16278
West Plains	77300	Plains	1,320	4 (10)	348 (134)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°14′59″N100°33′45″W / 37.24972°N 100.56250°W / 37.24972; -100.56250

See also

• Kansas portal

• Dry counties
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Meade 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; Meade County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2. Standard Publishing Company. p. 249.
4. Sullivan, Frank (1916). A History of Meade County, Kansas. p. 21. ISBN   978-1104594145.
5. Montgomery, F.C. (May 1932), "United States Surveyors Massacred by Indians", Kansas Historical Quarterly, 1 (3), Kansas Historical Society: 266–272, retrieved April 21, 2011
6. "Meade County, Kansas - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
7. "Meade County, Kansas - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
8. Sullivan, Frank (1916). A History of Meade County, Kansas. p. 98. ISBN   978-1104594145.
9. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
14. "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 27, 2014.
15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
16. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
17. "Map of Wet and Dry Counties" (PDF). Kansas Department of Revenue Alcoholic Beverage Control. December 30, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
18. "General Highway Map of Meade County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). October 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 3, 2023.

Notes

Further reading

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

• A History of Meade County, Kansas; Frank Sullivan; 184 pages; 1916.
• Plat Book of Meade County, Kansas; R. P. Ice Co; 43 pages; 1909.

External links

County

• Meade County - Official Website
• Meade County - Directory of Public Officials

Historical

• Meade County History

Maps

• Meade County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Highway maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society