Ness County, KS

History

Organized in 1873. County seat, Ness City. Named in honor of Noah V. Ness, corporal of Company G, Seventh Kansas Cavalry, who died Aug. 24, 1864, at Abbeyville, Miss., of wounds received in action, August 19, 1864.

Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)

On May 29, 2000, a bronze, life-sized, statue of Corporal Ness was unveiled - it resides on the courthouse lawn.

George Washington Carver homesteaded near Beeler and built himself a sod house. Two years later he sold the farm for money to go to college with. There's an historical marker beside K-96 and a stone monument on his homestead.

William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Ness County.

There is a section on Ness County in the book Kansas: a Cyclopedia Of State History by Frank Blackmar (1912).

The Kansas State Historical Society has historical data for Ness County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Utica, Ransom, Ness City, and Beeler.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Ness County

                           2000
    Town                Population  ZIP         Year  Elevation
    =================   ==========  =========   ====  =========
    Arnold                          67515       1902    2563
    Bazine                     311  67516               2125
    Beeler                          67518       1887    2505
    Brownell                    48  67521               2410
    Harold                                              2255
    Laird                                               2411
    Ness City                1,534  67560       1878    2251
    Osgood                                              2460
    Ransom                     338  67572               2511
    Riverside                                           2190
    Utica                      223  67584               2618

Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Ness County

After you leave Utica and approach Gove county from the south there is a dramatic landscape change.
Ness City has a beautiful and well-maintained four story bank downtown. Built in the 1890s, it was originally the Ness County Bank known as the "skyscraper of the plains."

Libraries

Brownell Public Library (785) 481-2300
Brownell, KS 67521
Ness City Library (785) 798-3415
113 S. Iowa, Ness City, KS 67560
Ransom Public Library (785) 731-2855
Ransom, KS 67572
Utica Library (785) 391-2419
249 N. Ohio, Utica, KS 67584

Museums

Ness County Historical Society (785) 798-3298
123 Pennsylvania, Ness City, KS

Ness County School Systems

USD 106 Western Plains North (785) 731-2434 Ransom
USD 106 Western Plains South (785) 398-2535 Bazine
USD 303 Ness City (785) 798-2210 Ness City

Hospitals

Grisell Memorial Hospital (785) 731-2231
210 S. Vermont, Ransom, KS 67572
Ness County Hospital (785) 798-2291
312 E Custer St., Ness City, KS 67560

Newspapers

Ness County News (785) 798-2213
110 S. Kansas, Ness City, KS 67560
Utica Star Courier (785) 391-2235
332 N. Mary / Utica, KS 67584

More Data About Ness County

Economic Development

University of Kansas' County Profile Reports
Statistical data from The Institute for Policy and Social Research, the University of Kansas

Health Data

KDHE's Ness County Health Profile

Geologic Data

The Kansas Geological Society has a Geologic Map of Ness County online.

Genealogy

Ness County KSGenWeb

Ness County Offices

Ness County (785) 798-2401
202 W. Sycamore St., Ness City, KS 67560
Extension Service (785) 798-3921
105 S Penn St / Ness City, KS 67560