Bourbon County, Kansas

Bourbon County, Kansas
Location in the state of Kansas
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	August 25, 1855
Named for	Bourbon County, Kentucky
Seat	Fort Scott
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	638.82 sq mi (1,655 km²) 637.09 sq mi (1,650 km²) 1.73 sq mi (4 km²), 0.27%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	15,173 23.5/sq mi (9.1/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	BourbonCountyKS.org

Bourbon County (county code BB) is a county located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 15,173. Its county seat and most populous city is Fort Scott.

Law and government

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1992, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 638.82 square miles (1,654.5 km²), of which 637.09 square miles (1,650.1 km²) (or 99.73%) is land and 1.73 square miles (4.5 km²) (or 0.27%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Linn County (north)
• Vernon County, Missouri (east)
• Crawford County (south)
• Neosho County (southwest)
• Allen County (west)
• Anderson County (northwest)

National protected area

• Fort Scott National Historic Site

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas, U.S. Census Bureau

• U.S. Route 54
• U.S. Route 69
• Kansas Highway 3
• Kansas Highway 7
• Kansas Highway 31
• Kansas Highway 39
• Kansas Highway 65

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	6,101		—
1870	15,076		147.1%
1880	19,591		29.9%
1890	28,575		45.9%
1900	24,712		−13.5%
1910	24,007		−2.9%
1920	23,198		−3.4%
1930	22,386		−3.5%
1940	20,944		−6.4%
1950	19,153		−8.6%
1960	16,090		−16.0%
1970	15,215		−5.4%
1980	15,969		5.0%
1990	14,966		−6.3%
2000	15,379		2.8%
2010	15,173		−1.3%
Est. 2012	14,897		−1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

Population pyramid

2005 KDOT Map of Bourbon County (map legend)

As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 15,379 people, 6,161 households, and 4,127 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 7,135 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.06% White, 3.08% Black or African American, 0.84% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.

There were 6,161 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,199, and the median income for a family was $39,239. Males had a median income of $27,043 versus $20,983 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,393. About 9.50% of families and 13.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2006 estimate):

• Fort Scott, 7,976 (county seat)
• Bronson, 339
• Uniontown, 278
• Fulton, 180
• Redfield, 138
• Mapleton, 97

Unincorporated places

• Barnesville
• Berlin
• Devon
• Garland
• Godfrey
• Hammond
• Harding
• Hiattville
• Hidden Valley
• Hollister (no longer exists)
• Marmaton
• Pawnee Station (a/k/a Anna)
• Ronald (Walkertown)
• Xenia

Townships

Bourbon County is divided into eleven townships. The city of Fort Scott 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
Drywood	18750		394	3 (8)	120 (47)	0 (0)	0.19%	37°43′19″N 94°40′36″W
Franklin	24300		312	2 (4)	185 (71)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°59′41″N 94°59′14″W
Freedom	24600	Fulton	505	4 (12)	113 (44)	0 (0)	0.17%	38°0′4″N 94°44′45″W
Marion	44650	Bronson, Uniontown	1,165	4 (12)	259 (100)	0 (0)	0.19%	37°51′14″N 95°1′12″W
Marmaton	44900		815	6 (15)	145 (56)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°48′57″N 94°50′16″W
Mill Creek	46675		472	3 (9)	136 (52)	1 (0)	0.42%	37°54′45″N 94°50′14″W
Osage	53100		394	3 (8)	125 (48)	0 (0)	0.16%	37°58′40″N 94°39′33″W
Pawnee	54775		308	2 (6)	126 (49)	0 (0)	0.31%	37°43′31″N 94°50′30″W
Scott	63500		2,326	13 (34)	179 (69)	2 (1)	0.94%	37°48′35″N 94°41′30″W
Timberhill	70600	Mapleton	256	3 (7)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.05%	38°0′31″N 94°52′57″W
Walnut	74850		135	1 (2)	154 (59)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°43′10″N 94°59′0″W
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division.

Education

Unified school districts

• Fort Scott USD 234
• Uniontown USD 235

Notable people

• Jonathan M. Davis, 22nd Governor of Kansas; born in Bourbon County.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bourbon County, Kansas

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

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

County

• Bourbon County - Official Website
• Bourbon County - Directory of Public Officials
• Bourbon County - Information, Skyways

Maps

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