Kearny County, Kansas

Infobox U.S. County
county=Kearny County
state=Kansas
founded=March 20, 1873
seat wl=Lakin
area_total_km2=2257|area_total_sq_mi=872
area_land_km2=2256|area_land_sq_mi=871
area_water_km2=1|area_water_sq_mi=0
area percentage=0.05%
census estimate yr=2006
pop=4469
density_km2=2.0|density_sq_mi=5.1
time zone=Central
UTC offset=-6
DST offset=-5
web=www.kearnycountykansas.com

Kearny County (county code KE) is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. The population was estimated to be 4,469 in the year 2006. Its county seat and most populous city is Lakin.GR|6 The county is named in honor of General Philip Kearny.

History

The original Kearney County was established on March 6 1873 and was dissolved in 1883, with the land area being split between Hamilton and Finney counties. It was reestablished with its original borders in 1887, and organized on March 27 1888. The county is named in honor of Philip Kearny, a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican–American War and a Union army general in the American Civil War. In 1889, the name was corrected to Kearny County. [cite journal|last=Hicks|first=Virginia Pierce|year=1938|month=February|title=Sketches of Early Days in Kearny County|journal=Kansas Historical Quarterly|volume=VII|issue=1|pages=pp. 54–80|url=http://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1938/38_1_hicks.htm|accessdate=2007-01-04]

Kearny County observed Mountain Standard Time until the late 1980s, when the United States Department of Commerce moved the county into the Central Time Zone, which 100 of the state's other 104 counties observe. Only four counties (Hamilton, Greeley, Wallace, and Sherman), all of which border Colorado, observe Mountain Time.

Law and government

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1988, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. [Cite web| url=http://www.ksrevenue.org/abcwetdrymap.htm| title=Map of Wet and Dry Counties| publisher=Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue| month=November | year=2006| accessdate=2007-12-26]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 872 square miles (2,257 km²), of which 871 square miles (2,256 km²) is land and 0 square miles (1 km²), or 0.05%, is water.GR|2

Adjacent counties

*Wichita County (north)
*Scott County (northeast)
*Finney County (east)
*Haskell County (southeast)
*Grant County (south)
*Stanton County (southwest)
*Hamilton County (west)

Demographics

Kearny County's population was estimated to be 4,469 in the year 2006, a decrease of 39, or -0.9%, over the previous six years.Cite web| url=http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.php| title=Population Estimates| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division| Annual estimates of the population to 2006-07-01. Released 2007-03-22. Six year change is from 2000-07-01 to 2006-07-01.]

As of the U.S. Census in 2000,GR|2 there were 4,531 people, 1,542 households, and 1,199 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 1,657 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.34% White, 0.55% Black or African American, 0.86% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 15.71% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.55% of the population.

There were 1,542 households out of which 43.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.10% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.20% were non-families. 20.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county the population was spread out with 34.30% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 19.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 104.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,149, and the median income for a family was $43,703. Males had a median income of $30,117 versus $20,179 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,708. About 8.40% of families and 11.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 4.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2004 estimate):
*Lakin, 2,303 (county seat)
*Deerfield, 879

Townships

Kearny County is divided into seven 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.

Education

Unified school districts

*Lakin USD 215 ( [http://www.usd215.org/ Web site] )
*Deerfield USD 216 ( [http://www.usd216.org/ Web site] )

ee also

References

External links

Official sites
* [http://www.kearnycountykansas.com/ Kearny County]
* [http://www.kearnycountyhospital.com/ Kearny County Hospital]

Additional information
* [http://skyways.lib.ks.us/counties/KE/ Blue Skyways]
* [http://www.ku.edu/pri/ksdata/county.shtml Kansas Statistical Abstract]