Morton County, Kansas

Morton County, Kansas
Morton County Court House in Elkhart
Location in the state of Kansas
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 20, 1886
Seat	Elkhart
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	729.94 sq mi (1,891 km²) 729.92 sq mi (1,890 km²) 0.02 sq mi (0 km²), 0.003%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	3,233 4.4/sq mi (1.7/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.mtcoks.com

Morton County (standard abbreviation: MT) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,233.^[1] The largest city and county seat is Elkhart.

History

Morton County was named for Oliver Morton, who was a United States Senator from Indiana from 1867 to 1877.^[2]

Until recently, Morton County was the only Kansas county in the media market of Amarillo, Texas. In early 2007, the Federal Communications Commission moved Morton into the Wichita market, along with the rest of western Kansas.^{[citation needed]}

Law and government

Although the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Morton County has remained a prohibition, or "dry", county.^[3]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 729.94 square miles (1,890.5 km²), of which 729.92 square miles (1,890.5 km²) (or 99.997%) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.052 km²) (or 0.003%) is water.^[4]

Adjacent counties

• Stanton County (north)
• Stevens County (east)
• Texas County, Oklahoma (south)
• Cimarron County, Oklahoma (southwest)
• Baca County, Colorado (west)

National protected area

• Cimarron National Grassland (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	304		—
1910	1,333		338.5%
1920	3,177		138.3%
1930	4,092		28.8%
1940	2,186		−46.6%
1950	2,610		19.4%
1960	3,354		28.5%
1970	3,576		6.6%
1980	3,454		−3.4%
1990	3,480		0.8%
2000	3,496		0.5%
2010	3,233		−7.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

Age pyramid

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 3,496 people, 1,306 households, and 961 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 1,519 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.39% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 1.14% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 7.52% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. 14.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,306 households out of which 36.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.30% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,232, and the median income for a family was $43,494. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $19,474 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,076. About 8.50% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.00% of those under age 18 and 5.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2004 estimate):

• Elkhart, 2,081 (county seat)
• Rolla, 453
• Richfield, 45

Unincorporated places

• Wilburton

Townships

Morton County is divided into six townships. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Sources: 2000 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Cimarron	13350		67	0 (1)	173 (67)	0 (0)	0 %	37°4′11″N 101°46′45″W / 37.06972°N 101.77917°W / 37.06972; -101.77917
Jones	35650		17	0 (0)	140 (54)	0 (0)	0 %	37°1′4″N 101°56′56″W / 37.01778°N 101.94889°W / 37.01778; -101.94889
Richfield	59225		218	0 (1)	649 (251)	0 (0)	0 %	37°14′37″N 101°42′36″W / 37.24361°N 101.71°W / 37.24361; -101.71
Rolla	60925	Rolla	650	2 (5)	373 (144)	0 (0)	0 %	37°6′46″N 101°37′42″W / 37.11278°N 101.62833°W / 37.11278; -101.62833
Taloga	69975	Elkhart	2,437	17 (44)	142 (55)	0 (0)	0 %	37°0′22″N 101°53′42″W / 37.00611°N 101.895°W / 37.00611; -101.895
Westola	77225		107	0 (1)	412 (159)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°14′19″N 101°58′40″W / 37.23861°N 101.97778°W / 37.23861; -101.97778

Education

2005 KDOT Map of Morton County (map legend)

Unified school districts

• Rolla USD 217
• Elkhart USD 218

See also

• Dry counties
• Cimarron National Grassland

Information on this and other counties in Kansas

• List of counties in Kansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Kansas
• Kansas locations by per capita income

Other information for Kansas

• List of cities in Kansas
• List of unified school districts in Kansas
• List of colleges and universities in Kansas

References

1. ^ "2010 County Population and Housing Occupancy Status". U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved March 31, 2011. 
2. ^ http://www.kshs.org/research/topics/kansasnewspapers/MortonCo.htm
3. ^ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2004. http://www.ksrevenue.org/abcwetdrymap.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
4. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Further reading

• History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
• Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)

External links

Kansas portal

Official

• Morton County

General county information

• Blue Skyways - Morton County

County Level Data

• Kansas Statistical Abstract

Maps

• Morton County Map, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Map, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Map, KDOT
• Kansas School District Boundary Map, KSDE