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Location of Washington County
 
County Seat: Washington
Founded: 1860
Population:
    ·   6,483 (2000)
    ·   7,073 (1990)
    · 21,963 (1900)
Area: 900 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: WS
Area Code: 785

 Washington 
   County 

 Washington County Courthouse, photo by Susan Howell.

Description

        Washington, County, Kansas, is an agricultural area thirty miles square with twelve incorporated communities. Crops grown in the county include mainly wheat, milo or grain sorghum, corn, soybeans, alfalfa, prairie hay and some sunflowers. The county ranks high in the state in pork production. Many cow-calf herds roam the beautiful prairie grasslands.

        The county is very diversified in industry ranging from metal fabrication companies, construction, silk screening, woodworking, pet wholesaling, pallet building, and machining companies.

        The geography of the county finds us located in three geologic regions: the Smoky Hills, Flint Hills, and Glaciated Regions. This gives us a diverse geography of fertile river and creek valleys, to flatland regions, to rolling hills, varying across the county.

  -   Mrs. Billie Jo Smart

History

Map of Washington County, KS in 1899
Organized in 1873. County seat Washington. Named in honor of George Washington, the first president of the United States.
 
Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)
        Settlers began to come into this area after the Kansas Territory was opened in 1854. However, most of the thousands of goldseekers traveled across Washington County in 1849 along the Oregon Trail on their way to California. Not until 1857 did the first settlers come in numbers to carve out farms in the rich creek and river valleys. Little did the gold seekers realize that the lush prairie grass covered a wealth far more precious and lasting that the glitter of metal.

        Swedes, Germans, Dutch, Danes, Bohemians, French, Scots, English, and Irish settled in the county until it became a miniature melting pot all in itself.

        The map shown here is from History of Kansas by Noble Prentis (1899).

        The sixth principal meridian was established in the northwest corner of the county on June 11, 1856, and a red sandstone marker was set at this point. From this point all land in Kansas, Nebraska, three quarters of Colorado, most of Wyoming, and a small part of South Dakota was surveyed and numbered. A marker, dedicated on June 11, 1987, or 131 years after being set by Charles Manners, today marks this location.

-   Mrs. Billie Jo Smart, Washington County Economic Development
 
William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Washington County.
 
There is a section on Washington County in the book Kansas: a Cyclopedia Of State History by Frank W. Blackmar (1912).
 
The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Washington, Mahaska, Hanover, Barnes, Greenleaf, and Clifton.
 
The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Washingon County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Washington County

                         2000                  School
   Town               Population   Year   ZIP   Dist.  Elevation
   ============       ==========   ====  ===== ======= =========
   Barnes                    152         66933 USD 223   1331
   Clifton                   557         66937 USD 224   1302
   Greenleaf                 357         66943 USD 222   1417
   Haddam                    169         66944 USD 221   1400
   Hanover                   653   1857  66945 USD 223   1231
   Hollenberg                 31         66946 USD 223   1271
   Linn                      425         66953 USD 223   1460
   Mahaska                   107         66955 USD 221   1600
   Morrowville               168   1884  66958 USD 221   1350
   Palmer                    108         66962 USD 223   1325
   Vining                     58         66937 USD 224
   Washington              1,223   1860  66968 USD 222   1335
Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Washington County

Special Events in Washington County

Libraries

Museums

Washington County School Systems

Hospitals

Newspapers

More Data About Washington County

Economic Development Health Data

Genealogy

References

Washington County Offices

For more about Washington County contact:

 
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Last updated on July 16, 2009 by COUNTIES@KSLIB.INFO
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Graphics by John Howell,
photos by Susan Howell,
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