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Lyon County Courthouse in Emporia, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

New courthouse--downtown Emporia (2002)

Lyon County

 Location
 
County Seat: Emporia
Founded: 1858
Population:
    · 35,935  (2000)
    · 34,732  (1990)
    · 25,074  (1900)
Area: 844 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: LY     

History

Map of Lyon County, KS in 1899
Organized in 1860.  County seat, Emporia.  Named by the first Legislature, Breckenridge, in honor of John C. Breckenridge, United States Senator from Kentucky, and who became Vice-President of the United States in 1856.  Name changed to Lyon, in honor of General Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed while in command of the Union Army at the battle of Wilson's creek, Missouri, August 10, 1861.
 
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 Lyon County.
 
There is a section on Lyon County in the book Kansas: a Cyclopedia Of State History by Frank Blackmar (1912).
 
The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Admire, Allen, Emporia, Hartford, Olpe, and Plymouth.
 
The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Lyon County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Lyon County

                           2000
    Town                Population  ZIP         Year  Elevation
    =================   ==========  =========   ====  =========
    Admire                     177  66830               1230
    Allen                      211  66833               1320
    Americus                   938  66835               1160
    Bushong                     55  66833               1383
    Emporia                 26,760  66801       1857    1150
    Emporia Junction                            1857    1135
    Hartford                   500  66854               1085
    Lang                                                1199
    Merrick                                             1118
    Miller                                      1886    1120
    Neosho Rapids              274  66864               1090
    Olpe                       504  66865               1200
    Plymouth                                            1160
    Reading                    247  66868               1080
Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Lyon County

  • The Emporia Zoo offers native and exotic birds and animals in a garden-like setting.

Libraries

Museums

Lyon County School Systems

Colleges & Universities

Hospitals

Newspapers

  • Emporia Gazette   (620) 342-4800
    517 Merchant Street / Emporia, KS 66801

More Data About Lyon County

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

Genealogy

Lyon County Offices

For more about Lyon County contact:

 
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Last updated on July 25, 2011 by COUNTIES@KSLIB.INFO
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photos by Susan Howell,
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