Banner_Counties
You are here: Blue Skyways > Kansas > Counties > Linn
 
Linn County courthouse in Mound City, Kansas. Photo by Susan Howell

Linn County

 Location
 
County Seat: Mound City
Founded: 1855
Population:
  ·   9,570 (2000)
  ·   8,254 (1990)
  · 16,689 (1900)
Area: 710 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: LN

 

Linn County is one of the most naturally beautiful and historically significant counties in Kansas. It is particularly well known for its pre-Civil War and Civil War history, which earned this area the name "Bleeding Kansas."
 
Linn County was home to the original Kansas Jayhawkers, the site of the Marais des Cygnes Massacre, one of the triggers of the Civil War, and the location of the only Civil War battlefield in Kansas.
 
The confluence of the Marais des Cygnes River and Big Sugar Creek resulted in natural wetlands which are now protected as a wildlife refuge.
 
The county is now experiencing rapid growth due to its proximity to the Kansas City metropolitan area, and to the US 69 corridor which runs through the eastern part of the county.

History

Map of Linn County, KS in 1899
Organized in 1855.  County seat, Mound City.  Named for Lewis F. Linn, a distinguished United States Senator from Missouri, who died in 1843, in office.  He was a colleague of Hon. Thos. H, Benton
 
Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)
 
William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Linn County.
 
The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Mound City, La Cygne, and Blue Mound.
 
The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Linn County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Linn County

    Town                Population  ZIP         Year  Elevation
    =================   ==========  =========   ====  =========
    Blue Mound                 277  66010               1040
    Boicourt                                             800
    Cadmus                                               881
    Centerville                     66014                925
    Critzer                                              886
    Dunlay                                               950
    Farlinville                                          820
    Goodrich                                             900
    La Cygne                 1,115  66040                828
    La Cygne Corner                                      864
    Mantey                                               880
    Mound City                 821  66056                875
    Parker                     281  66072               1005
    Pleasanton               1,387  66075       1869     861
    Prescott                   280  66767                880
    Trading Post                                1869     810

 
Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Linn County

Monument to the people killed at the Marais des Cygne massacre. Trading Post, Kansas
  • Trading Post is the oldest, still occupied, settlement in Kansas.
  • The cemetery at Trading Post has a granite obelisk (left) commemorating the people killed at the Marais des Cygne massacre.  Part of a famous poem by John Greenleaf Whitter is inscribed on the marker.  At the Trading Post cemetary there is also an historical marker about the massacre.
  • Kansas only major Civil War battle took place at Mine Creek.  The battlefield is now a state historic site.
  • The Mound City city hall is a simple plain brick building built in 1868.
  • The Linn county courthouse in Mound City, built in 1886, is the second oldest courthouse still in use in Kansas.
  • The site of the Marais Des Cygnes massacre, a horrible event of the "Bleeding Kansas" era, is now a state historic site near Trading Post.
  • The Marais des Cygnes wildlife area is home to a wide variety of migrating birds.
  • Sugar Creek Mission, destination of the Pottawatomie Indian relocation (the Trail of Death), is now the site of a 400 acre park. It offers discriptive displays, hiking trails, and rustic areas.

Special Events in Linn County

  • Border War Days, held each May to remember the Marais des Cygnes massacre. It's located at the State Historical site east of Trading Post.
  • Sugar Mound Arts & Crafts festival is held the second full weekend in October on the fairgrounds in Mound City. There are over 550 booths of craftsmen from all over the United States that come to show and sell their crafts to 20,000 to 25,000 shoppers.
  • The Prescott Coal Center Days in July celebrate the railroad history of the towns.
  • The Swan Fest is held each June in La Cygne.
  • The county fair and rodeo is the second week in August at the fairgrounds in Mound City.
  • La Cygne has a Fiesta the third weekend in September.
  • The Trading Post Festival is the last Sunday in September; it features fiddlers, contests, and an auction.

Libraries

  • Blue Mound Library   (913) 756-2628
    216 W. Main, P. O. Box 13 / Blue Mound, KS 66010
  • Linn County Library District #2   (913)  757-2151
    209 N. Broadway / P. O. Box 127 / LaCygne, KS 66040
  • Linn County Library District #1   (913) 898-4650
    230 Main / P.O. 315 / Parker, Kansas 66072
  • Mary Sommerville Free Library   (913) 795-2788
    509 Main / P. O. Box 325 / Mound City, KS 66056
    The oldest library in continuous operation in the state
  • Pleasanton-Lincoln Library   (913) 352-8554
    202 W. Ninth Box 101 / Pleasanton, KS 66075-0101
  • Prescott City Public Library   (913) 471-4837
    P. O. Box 112 / Prescott, KS 66767-0112

Museums

  • La Cygne (913) 757-2101
    La Cygne, KS 66040
    Antiques, horse-drawn implements, old-time apothecary shop
  • Linn County Historical Museum   (913) 352-8739
    Dunlap Park / Pleasanton KS 66075
    Genealogical Library, county history, and an old county store display
  • Mound City Historic Park (913) 795-2029 or (913) 795-2269
    Mound City, KS 66056
    A whole village of historical buildings
  • Parker Historical Museum (913) 898-4781
    Parker, KS 66072
    Displays of antiques and tools, school house
  • Trading Post Museum   (913) 352-6441
    E-mail: awitradingpostmuseum@ckt.net
    Trading Post, KS - Hwy 69, mile marker 96 - beside the Trading Post cemetery

Linn County School Systems

Newspapers

More Data About Linn County

Economic Development
  • Kansas County Profile Reports
    Statistical data from The Institute for Policy and Social Research, the University of Kansas
Health Data

Genealogy

Linn County Offices

  • Linn County   (913) 795-2660
    P. O. Box B / Mound City, KS 66056
  • Extension Service   913-795-2829
    115 S. Sixth Street / P.O. Box 160 / Mound City, KS 66056

References

  • WPA. The WPA Guide to 1930s Kansas (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, reprint 1984) See tour 13, pages 501-502
  • Linn County: A History - Mitchell

For more information:


 
This page was created with help from Bridget Fitzwater
 
______________________
 
Linn County Economic Development
(913) 795-2274
P. O. Pox 25 / Mound City, KS 66506
 
Go to top of page Kansas:   Colleges · Counties · Genealogy · History · Libraries · Museums · Poetry · Towns Go to top of page
Last updated on November 29, 2009 by COUNTIES@KSLIB.INFO
Hosted by
Link to Blue Skyways - a service of the Kansas State Library
A service of the Kansas State Library   		Kansas on the Net, a subsidiary of 'Kansas Traveler, LLC'
Graphics by John Howell,
photos by Susan Howell,
used by permission.