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Location in Kansas of Rush County.
 
 
 
 
County Seat: Lyons
Founded: 1871
Population:
  · 10,761   (2000)
  · 11,900   (1990)
  · 14,745   (1900)
Area: 728 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: RC

 

 

 

Rice County  

 Rice County Courthouse in Lyons, Kansas. Photo by Susan Howell.
Rice County Courthouse 

History

Map of Barber County, KS in 1899
County seat Lyons. Named in memory of Samuel A. Rice, Brigadier-General, United States volunteers, killed April 30, 1864 at Jenkins Ferry, Ark.
 
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 Rice County.
 
There is a section on Rice 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 Alden, Bushton, Frederick, Geneseo, Little River, Lyons, and Sterling.
 
The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Rice County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Rice County

                 2000
  Year  Elev  Population Name              ZIP
  ====  ====  ========== ================ =====
  1872  1680         168 Alden            67512
        1765         314 Bushton          67427
        1718         490 Chase            67524
        1692             Crawford
  1878  1762          11 Frederick
        1650             Galt
  1886  1750         272 Geneseo          67444
        1590         536 Little River     67457
  1876  1700       3,732 Lyons            67554
        1738             Mitchell
        1735             Pollard
  1872  1726          95 Raymond          67573
        1625             Saxman
        1810             Silica
        1640       2,642 Sterling         67579
Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Rice County

  • The Santa Fe Trail ran east/west across the county following the route of US-56; the ruts can still be seen at various places. Nine of the red stone DAR markers are in Rice County.
  • Beside US-56, there is a huge cross and a historical marker in honor of Father Juan Padilla who first came to Kansas with Coronado in 1542 and was later killed by Indians.
  • The courthouse on the square in Lyons shows the pride and optimism that went into the development of the area.
  • Alden, located just north of the Arkansas River, is proud of its 1884 depot and of its turn-of-the-century township hall.

Rice County School Systems

Colleges

Hospitals

Libraries

Museums

  • Bushton Museum   (620) 562-3411
    218 S. Main / Bushton, KS, 67427
  • Geneseo City History Museum   (620) 824-6250
    708 10th / Geneseo, Kansas 67444
  • Coronado-Quivira Museum   (620) 257-3941
    105 West Lyon / Lyons, KS 67554
    Tues-Sat 9:00-5:00 & Closed Sun, Mon and major holidays

Newspapers

  • The Monitor-Journal   (620) 897-6234
    240 Main / Little River, KS 67457
  • Lyons Daily News   (620) 257-2368
    210 W. Commercial / Lyons, KS 67554
  • Sterling Bulletin   (620) 278-2114
    209 S. Broadway / Sterling, KS 67579

More Data About Rice County

Economic Development Health Data

Genealogy

References

  • Jones, Horace. Up from the Sod (Lyons: Coronado Publishers. 1968)

Rice County Government

For More Information

 
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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.