Edwards County, Kansas

Edwards County, Kansas
Location in the state of Kansas
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 18, 1874
Seat	Kinsley
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	622.10 sq mi (1,611 km²) 622.02 sq mi (1,611 km²) 0.08 sq mi (0 km²), 0.01%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	3,037 5.0/sq mi (1.9/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	EdwardsCounty.org

Edwards County (county code ED) is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,037.^[1] Its county seat and most populous city is Kinsley.^[2]

Law and government

Edwards County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.^[3]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 622.10 square miles (1,611.2 km²), of which 622.02 square miles (1,611.0 km²) (or 99.99%) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km²) (or 0.01%) is water.^[4]

Geographic Features

The Arkansas River flows through Edwards County from the southwest corner to the Pawnee County line near U.S. Route 56. Since the early 1990s, however, the riverbed has contained little to no water, and can be waded across in most places.^{[citation needed]}

Major highways

Three U.S. Routes run through Edwards County, all meeting in Kinsley. An east-west route, U.S. Route 50 circumvents Belpre and Lewis before joining with westbound U.S. Route 56 in Kinsley. The single road then passes through Offerle and west into Ford County. U.S. Route 183 runs from Kiowa County in the South to Kinsley, where it joins eastbound U.S. 56, running as a single highway to Panwee County. Kansas Highway K-19 starts at U.S. Route 50 near Belpre, and travels North into Pawnee County.

Adjacent counties

• Pawnee County (north)
• Stafford County (east)
• Pratt County (southeast)
• Kiowa County (south)
• Ford County (southwest)
• Hodgeman County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	2,409	[5]	—
1890	3,600		49.4%
1900	3,682		2.3%
1910	7,033		91.0%
1920	7,057		0.3%
1930	7,295		3.4%
1940	6,377		−12.6%
1950	5,936		−6.9%
1960	5,118		−13.8%
1970	4,581		−10.5%
1980	4,271		−6.8%
1990	3,787		−11.3%
2000	3,449		−8.9%
2010	3,037		−11.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

Population pyramid

2005 KDOT Map of Edwards County (map legend)

As of the U.S. Census in 2000,^[6] there were 3,449 people, 1,455 households, and 955 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 1,754 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.52% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 5.57% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.71% of the population.

There were 1,455 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 6.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.30% were non-families. 32.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,530, and the median income for a family was $38,250. Males had a median income of $27,050 versus $20,132 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,586. About 7.00% of families and 10.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.40% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2004 estimate):

• Kinsley, 1,559 (county seat)
• Lewis, 476
• Offerle, 215
• Belpre, 101

Unincorporated places

• Centerview
• Fellsburg
• Nettleton
• Trousdale

Townships

Edwards County is divided into ten townships. The city of Kinsley is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. 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.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Belpre	05850		186	1 (3)	140 (54)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°57′14″N 99°6′12″W / 37.95389°N 99.10333°W / 37.95389; -99.10333
Franklin	24350		93	0 (1)	191 (74)	0 (0)	0 %	37°48′55″N 99°11′12″W / 37.81528°N 99.18667°W / 37.81528; -99.18667
Jackson	34750		98	1 (1)	187 (72)	0 (0)	0.05%	37°59′35″N 99°30′18″W / 37.99306°N 99.505°W / 37.99306; -99.505
Kinsley	37100		160	1 (3)	121 (47)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°56′27″N 99°24′0″W / 37.94083°N 99.4°W / 37.94083; -99.4
Lincoln	40650		143	1 (2)	193 (74)	0 (0)	0 %	37°49′17″N 99°4′39″W / 37.82139°N 99.0775°W / 37.82139; -99.0775
Logan	41875		42	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0 %	38°3′5″N 99°23′47″W / 38.05139°N 99.39639°W / 38.05139; -99.39639
North Brown	51100		67	0 (1)	163 (63)	0 (0)	0.05%	37°51′43″N 99°21′34″W / 37.86194°N 99.35944°W / 37.86194; -99.35944
South Brown	66550		90	0 (1)	251 (97)	0 (0)	0 %	37°47′5″N 99°22′5″W / 37.78472°N 99.36806°W / 37.78472; -99.36806
Trenton	71400		306	2 (6)	136 (53)	0 (0)	0 %	37°52′50″N 99°32′31″W / 37.88056°N 99.54194°W / 37.88056; -99.54194
Wayne	76125		606	5 (12)	132 (51)	0 (0)	0 %	37°56′28″N 99°15′30″W / 37.94111°N 99.25833°W / 37.94111; -99.25833
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html.

Education

Unified school districts

• Kinsley-Offerle USD 347
• Lewis USD 502

See also

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. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. http://www.ksrevenue.org/abcwetdrymap.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
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. ^ The 1880 census population includes areas that were organized into Kiowa County in 1886.
6. ^ "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 sites

• Edwards County

Additional information

• Blue Skyways
• Kansas Statistical Abstract

Maps

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