Neosho County, Kansas

Neosho County
County
James and Ella Truitt House in Chanute (2017)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°40′57″N95°17′51″W / 37.6825°N 95.2975°W / 37.6825; -95.2975
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	June 3, 1861
Named for	Neosho River
Seat	Erie
Largest city	Chanute
Area
• Total	578 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Land	571 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	6.3 sq mi (16 km2)  1.1%
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	15,904
• Density	27.9/sq mi (10.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	NeoshoCountyKS.org

Neosho County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Erie. ^[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 15,904. ^[1] The county was named for the Neosho River, which passes through the county.

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.

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

The first railroad was built through Neosho County in 1870. ^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 578 square miles (1,500 km²), of which 571 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 6.3 square miles (16 km²) (1.1%) is water. ^[4]

Adjacent counties

• Allen County (north)
• Bourbon County (northeast)
• Crawford County (east)
• Labette County (south)
• Montgomery County (southwest)
• Wilson County (west)
• Woodson County (northwest)

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	88		—
1870	10,206		11,497.7%
1880	15,121		48.2%
1890	18,561		22.7%
1900	19,254		3.7%
1910	23,754		23.4%
1920	24,000		1.0%
1930	22,665		−5.6%
1940	22,210		−2.0%
1950	20,348		−8.4%
1960	19,455		−4.4%
1970	18,812		−3.3%
1980	18,967		0.8%
1990	17,035		−10.2%
2000	16,997		−0.2%
2010	16,512		−2.9%
2020	15,904		−3.7%
2023 (est.)	15,420	[5]	−3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [6] 1790-1960 [7] 1900-1990 [8] 1990-2000 [9] 2010-2020 [1]

As of the census ^[10] of 2000, there were 16,997 people, 6,739 households, and 4,683 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile (12 people/km²). There were 7,461 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.90% White, 0.87% Black or African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.05% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 2.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,739 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,167, and the median income for a family was $38,532. Males had a median income of $26,906 versus $19,387 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,539. About 10.00% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Neosho County is a mostly Republican county. Only six presidential elections from 1888 to the present have resulted in Republicans failing to win the county, with the last of these being in 1964. However, like the rest of the four most southeasterly Kansas counties, Democrats have maintained a sizable presence, but not enough to win the county.

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Neosho County, Kansas ^[11]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,842	72.83%	1,658	24.94%	148	2.23%
2020	4,970	72.27%	1,796	26.12%	111	1.61%
2016	4,431	70.18%	1,501	23.77%	382	6.05%
2012	4,272	65.93%	2,050	31.64%	158	2.44%
2008	4,473	62.19%	2,563	35.64%	156	2.17%
2004	4,705	65.07%	2,424	33.52%	102	1.41%
2000	4,014	58.29%	2,588	37.58%	284	4.12%
1996	3,409	49.43%	2,527	36.64%	961	13.93%
1992	2,926	37.07%	2,799	35.46%	2,168	27.47%
1988	3,739	51.77%	3,402	47.11%	81	1.12%
1984	4,968	64.11%	2,679	34.57%	102	1.32%
1980	4,613	57.11%	2,923	36.19%	541	6.70%
1976	4,038	50.32%	3,842	47.88%	144	1.79%
1972	5,034	65.06%	2,559	33.07%	145	1.87%
1968	3,950	52.92%	2,725	36.51%	789	10.57%
1964	3,458	41.68%	4,795	57.80%	43	0.52%
1960	5,877	62.71%	3,451	36.83%	43	0.46%
1956	5,886	65.99%	3,005	33.69%	29	0.33%
1952	6,595	68.60%	2,987	31.07%	32	0.33%
1948	5,072	56.69%	3,770	42.14%	105	1.17%
1944	5,420	62.45%	3,233	37.25%	26	0.30%
1940	6,556	59.43%	4,419	40.06%	56	0.51%
1936	5,777	50.55%	5,611	49.09%	41	0.36%
1932	4,212	42.27%	5,616	56.36%	137	1.37%
1928	6,603	72.27%	2,459	26.92%	74	0.81%
1924	5,106	58.70%	2,274	26.14%	1,319	15.16%
1920	5,150	60.82%	3,195	37.73%	122	1.44%
1916	4,053	43.87%	4,891	52.94%	295	3.19%
1912	1,580	30.18%	1,993	38.07%	1,662	31.75%
1908	2,929	53.15%	2,386	43.30%	196	3.56%
1904	3,134	62.11%	1,530	30.32%	382	7.57%
1900	2,424	50.94%	2,279	47.89%	56	1.18%
1896	2,177	45.20%	2,601	54.01%	38	0.79%
1892	2,000	47.81%	0	0.00%	2,183	52.19%
1888	2,134	49.66%	1,144	26.62%	1,019	23.71%

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1998, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement. ^[12]

Education

Unified school districts

• Erie-Galesburg USD 101, serves the communities of Erie, Galesburg, Stark.
• Southeast USD 247, serves primarily portions of Crawford and Cherokee counties, but also includes small portions of Labette and Neosho counties. ^[13]
• Chanute USD 413
• Chetopa–St. Paul USD 505
• Cherryvale-Thayer USD 447

Communities

2005 map of Neosho County (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Neosho County. ^[14]

Cities

• Chanute
• Earlton
• Erie (county seat)
• Galesburg
• St. Paul
• Stark
• Thayer

Unincorporated communities

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county. † means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

• Kimball
• Leanna‡
• Morehead
• Odense
• Shaw
• South Mound†
• Urbana†

Ghost towns

• Ladore

Townships

Neosho County is divided into twelve townships. The city of Chanute 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.

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
Big Creek	06675		456	4 (10)	124 (48)	1 (0)	0.47%	37°41′N95°18′W / 37.683°N 95.300°W / 37.683; -95.300
Canville	10525		571	5 (12)	124 (48)	0 (0)	0.34%	37°36′N95°27′W / 37.600°N 95.450°W / 37.600; -95.450
Centerville	12375		564	5 (12)	123 (48)	1 (0)	0.93%	37°31′N95°18′W / 37.517°N 95.300°W / 37.517; -95.300
Chetopa	12975		894	7 (19)	124 (48)	0 (0)	0.40%	37°31′N95°28′W / 37.517°N 95.467°W / 37.517; -95.467
Erie	21525		1,524	12 (32)	123 (47)	1 (1)	1.17%	37°35′N95°16′W / 37.583°N 95.267°W / 37.583; -95.267
Grant	27800		384	3 (8)	125 (48)	0 (0)	0.19%	37°41′N95°10′W / 37.683°N 95.167°W / 37.683; -95.167
Ladore	37600		401	3 (9)	121 (47)	3 (1)	2.69%	37°26′N95°18′W / 37.433°N 95.300°W / 37.433; -95.300
Lincoln	40875		345	3 (7)	123 (47)	2 (1)	1.29%	37°26′N95°9′W / 37.433°N 95.150°W / 37.433; -95.150
Mission	47250		927	8 (20)	119 (46)	5 (2)	3.97%	37°31′N95°10′W / 37.517°N 95.167°W / 37.517; -95.167
Shiloh	65300		297	2 (6)	125 (48)	0 (0)	0.25%	37°26′N95°28′W / 37.433°N 95.467°W / 37.433; -95.467
Tioga	70650		885	8 (21)	109 (42)	1 (1)	1.21%	37°42′N95°27′W / 37.700°N 95.450°W / 37.700; -95.450
Walnut Grove	75175		338	3 (7)	125 (48)	0 (0)	0.11%	37°36′N95°10′W / 37.600°N 95.167°W / 37.600; -95.167

See also

• Kansas portal

National Register of Historic Places listings in Neosho 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; Neosho County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 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. pp.  349.
4. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
5. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
9. "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.
10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
11. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
12. "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.
13. Burns, Tim (September 19, 2005). "Welcome To USD #247". Cherokee, USD 247. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
14. "General Highway Map of Neosho County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). August 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2023.

Further reading

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

• Standard Atlas of Neosho County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 53 pages; 1906.

External links

County

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

Maps

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

37°34′N95°17′W / 37.567°N 95.283°W / 37.567; -95.283