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Location
 
 
County Seat: Westmoreland 
Founded: 1856
Population:
    · 18,209 (2000)
    · 16,128 (1990)
    · 18,470 (1900)
Area: 828 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: PT  

Pottawatomie County

 Pottawatomie County Courthouse in Westmoreland, Kansas. Photo by Susan Howell.
Pottawatomie County Courthouse 

History

Map of Pottawatomie County, KS in 1899
Organized in 1856.  County seat, Westmoreland.  Named for the Pottawatomie Indians, whose reservation at the opening of the Kansas Territory for settlement, and for years afterward, embraced a large portion of the geographical area of the County.
 
Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)
 
Louis Vieux, a Pottawatomie Indian, once operated the first ferry along the Oregon Trail to help travelers across the Vermillion River near Wamego.
 
The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of several Pottawatomie County towns: Westmoreland, St. George, Belvue, Onaga, Havensville, and St. Marys.
 
William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Pottawatomie County.
 
The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Pottawatomie County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Pottawatomie County

                           2000
    Town                Population  ZIP         Year  Elevation
    =================   ==========  =========   ====  =========
    Aikins                                              1176
    Barret                                              1137
    Belvue                     228  66407                960
    Blaine                          66549               1507
    Duluth                          66521               1240
    Emmett                     277  66422               1025
    Flush                                               1090
    Fostoria                        66426               1458
    Havensville                146  66432               1200
    Laclede                                             1050
    Louisville                 209  66450               1000
    Olsburg                    192  66520               1422
    Onaga                      704  66521               1150
    Saint Clere                                         1080
    St. George                 434  66535
    St. Marys                2,198  66536               1000
    Swamp Angel                                         1002
    Wamego                   4,246  66547                990
    Westmoreland               631  66549               1168
    Wheaton                     92  66551               1500
U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts about Pottawatomie County

Special Places in Pottawatomie County

  • Wamego has a Dutch-style windmill built in 1873 by an immigramt from Holland to grind grain.
  • The Columbian Theater in Wamego is nicely restored and serves as a theater, museum, and gallery.
  • Westmoreland has the second largest hand-dug well in the state. It's in an attractive park beside highway K-99. While you're in town, go see the neat old courthouse.
  • The Louis Vieux Elm near Wamego has been called the largest American elm in the US. Travelers along the Oregon Trail rested under this tree.

Special Events in Pottawatomie County

  • Eighteen thousand tulips are the drawing card for the Wamego Tulip Festival the third weekend in April.
  • The Wamego Fall Festival, the first Saturday in October, has grown to be one of the largest in Northeast Kansas.
  • Wamego celebrates Independence Day in a big way, including a huge parade.

Libraries

Museums

Newspapers

  • The Onaga Herald   (785) 889-4681
    302 Leonard St., Onaga, KS 66521
  • St. Marys Star   (785) 437-2935
    517 W. Bertrand, St. Marys, KS 66536
  • Wamego Smoke Signal   (785) 456-2602 smokesig@midusa.net
    407 Lincoln, Wamego, KS 66547
  • Wamego Times   (785) 456-7838
    416 Lincoln, Wamego, KS 66547
  • Westmoreland Recorder  (785) 457-3411 newsnose@kansas.net
    106 N. 2nd / P.O. Box 128, Westmoreland, KS 66549

Pottawatomie County School Systems

Hospitals

More Data About Pottawatomie County

Economic Development Health Data

Pottawatomie County Offices

For more about Pottawatomie County contact:

 
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Last updated on November 29, 2009 by COUNTIES@KSLIB.INFO
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Graphics by John Howell,
photos by Susan Howell,
used by permission.